贝瑟妮·哈克是圣母会的成员.A. 2017年博物馆研究班的学生. She received a Bachelor of Arts in 历史 from Harvard University and is currently a  Ph.D. candidate at the University of Heidelberg’s Cluster of Excellence for Asia and Europe, 在跨文化研究领域.

Why did you choose to pursue your degree at bet亚洲365欢迎投注意大利? 
我想攻读法语文学硕士学位, 德国, or Italian-speaking nation to improve my language skills, Ph值需要哪些元素.D. Florence is the home of so many different kinds of collections and venues, and the opportunity to study in actual museums was unique. It’s also well-positioned for travel to other places I wanted to visit for research.

Tell us about a project or course that was particularly meaningful to your professional development. 
I worked really hard the first semester to learn Italian so I could take a course offered at the University of Florence called ‘Storia delle mostre’ (历史 of Exhibitions). The things I learned in that class were essential when doing research during my internship for an exhibition about the 19th-20th-century history of a collection because I was already familiar with the development of displays from that time period, 档案资源, and how to examine and analyze displays that no longer exist.   

你在哪里实习? 
I focus in Egyptology, so I interned at the Museo Egizio in Turin, 意大利. It holds one of the best Egyptian collections in the world, and I was able to work on a temporary exhibition from the initial research right through to opening night. It was a wonderful experience but also gave me a chance to turn theory into practice.

Where did you travel during your time in 意大利? 
为了论文研究，我经常出差, 其中包括在罗马待一个月, 在都灵实习三个月, 以及意大利境内到那不勒斯的旅行, 帕多瓦, 博洛尼亚, 比萨, 还有其他城市. I also travel frequently throughout England and 德国y to see collections. I’ve recently been in Barcelona, and I will spend August in Ireland and Cyprus.

What was your favorite place in Florence and why? 
I like to hike past the famous Piazzale Michelangelo to the church of San Miniato al Monte. It was begun in the early 11th century and is still a working monastery, where the monks sing vespers every evening. The church and grounds are beautiful, and there is an incredible view over the city of Florence. 它在一个相当陡峭的山顶上, but there is a bus (plus gym memberships are expensive here, 所以这是一个很好的锻炼!). 也, there is a small daily farmer’s market (until 1 pm) in Santo Spirito where the old Italian grandmas come to buy their produce. Shopping with them always makes me feel more like a local.

What is your least favorite aspect of living in Florence and why? 
I stayed in Florence for an additional year after most of my cohort left the city. Florence can be lonely because so many people are short-term residents, so you have to work hard to make local friends. It’s worth the effort though; the friendships I’ve made in Florence will last a lifetime.

What advice would you give to a student considering pursuing their master’s degree at Marist/LdM? 
如果你知道你想在, 例如, 博物馆教育, 内容管理, 或者早期的发展, find ways to incorporate your interest in that area into every research paper or project. Doing this will help you become a subject matter expert, but is also very useful for developing a thesis topic. 越早越好!

Are you currently employed or furthering your education?  
我已被录取为博士.D. candidate at the University of Heidelberg’s Cluster of Excellence for Asia and Europe, 在跨文化研究领域. I’ll be studying the ways Romans collected different types of objects from Egypt or made in Egyptian style during the Imperial period. I hope to work as a curator after completing a Ph.D.

How has the Museum Studies program helped you get where you are today? 
I had an idea of the field in which I wanted to specialize (Egyptology) as a curator, but writing about Egyptological displays and collections from many different points of view helped me find a unique specialization within the field that I will continue to study in my upcoming Ph.D. Without the opportunity to discuss and develop these ideas with my professors, 在我的同龄人面前, and with other professionals in the field my vague general interest would not have been honed enough to pass the rigorous Ph.D. 申请过程.

Do you have any advice for students who are looking into pursuing a career in a Museum? 
This program works really well for people who aren’t sure exactly which field within museum studies they intend to pursue because it exposes you to many different career paths. 但如果像我一样, you do know in advance what you intend to focus on, there are many opportunities to meet people in your field and to really understand how to develop your career path. My advice is this: once you know what you want, don’t be afraid to be aggressive about contacting the people that can help you. In my experience, they are usually very happy to mentor emerging professionals.