I devoured books about the original American Girls1 and the Salem Witch Trials in elementary school. As a family, we watched and re-watched “Indiana Jones” and “Forrest Gump”2. I’ve fallen deep down research rabbit holes sorting through old photos and documents for outreach projects at work3. I spend a lot of free time on genealogy and other family history research when I’m not binge-listening to podcasts like NPR’s “Throughline” or “Noble Blood.”
So I’m trying to listen more closely to my heart and my gut and find a role where I can research, preserve, and/or communicate history. I’m not sure yet exactly what this career pivot looks like. I’m exploring everything from archives, records management, and digital curation, to conservation/restoration/preservation, to libraries and museums.
Perhaps I can tap into my background in journalism, feature writing, and video production and use my storytelling skills to breathe life into historical narratives, making them relevant and engaging for the present and future. I bet I’d excel as an organizational archivist, ensuring the preservation of institutional memory and valuable information for decision-making, branding, context, marketing, and more. I’d be a great general researcher for documentary filmmakers or podcasters, publishers, or corporations. My customer service skills would come in handy helping seniors downsize or working an estate sale or restoring old furniture. Maybe I should deal in antiques, or lead group tours, or start a YouTube channel about my early 1990s collection of cassingles4 (did I mention I’m also quiet fluent in many eras of pop culture?).
My goal right now is to explore and learn as much as I can and work to figure out how to leverage my skills (storytelling and content creation/curation, project management, research, technology, and natural curiosity) to make a meaningful impact. If you happen to think of any learning opportunities, know anyone in these fields who might be open to an informal chat or informational interview, or hear of any short-term projects or temp roles, I would be so grateful. Your support means the world to me. Thank you.
1Felicity, Kirsten, Addy, Samantha, and Molly, in chronological order of time period.
2Yes, yes, of course I know these movies are only loosely based on historical events and figures.
3Don’t tell my former manager at the Wisconsin Alumni Association how many slow Fridays I spent investigating campus curiosities. Fun fact: to celebrate the university’s 100th anniversary, alumna and First Lady Mary Fowler Rennebohm cut and served a 60-pound frosted cake in the shape of Bascom Hall, measuring six feet wide and over a foot tall.
4A small cassette containing a single track of popular music on each side. Example: Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire;” The Beach Boys’ “Kokomo” from the soundtrack album for Cocktail.
Wendy Hathaway 