Ashley E. Maready '06

My mother always had great things to say about Hood, especially in regards to the faculty and how approachable and involved they were with students’ academic lives; it always sounded to me like a great community to be part of. I would’ve hated to attend a school where I was a nameless face in a giant lecture hall! However, my mother attended Hood as a non-traditional student and commuted. I started at Hood right out of high school and I lived on campus for 7 out of 8 semesters, in Coblentz (and I stayed 2 summers in Shriner, which had just been remodeled!). So our experiences were different in that way.

Not going to lie, Hood’s robust financial aid program definitely helped the decision; I’m a Maryland native and had no money put aside for college, so thanks to the financial aid staff and my mother’s tireless help with all the scholarship and student loan forms, I managed to attend!

I had no idea; I always saw myself more in the mold of academic history. I figured I would end up pursuing a Phd and teaching, but as it turned out, this was not for me. I always loved museums, but had no volunteer experience in them. So my choice of MA program (Shippensburg University, class of 2008) was fortuitous, as it allowed me the opportunity to intern in public history and figure out that I was interested in working for museums.

The work day is varied! On any given day, I might be answering research or image requests from a student, a publisher, or an amateur genealogist. I might be talking to our visitors and explaining that the Erie Canal still exists, it just doesn’t run through Syracuse NY anymore (it’s very confusing to people that we have a maritime museum without water; the Canal was filled and paved through the city about a century ago). I could be applying for grant money to get one of our permanent exhibits refurbished, or to fund a brand new exhibit. Often I’m working on research and writing for an exhibit or for one of my quarterly Curator Talks, which focus on different aspects of New York’s man made waterways (my favorite one is called The History and Science of Mules). The pandemic has seen me working from home most of the time. We closed the museum from March 17-July 30, and I put together a new exhibit, about the history of Syracuse, almost entirely from home, along with some other projects. In the last 6 weeks, I’ve been able to spend more time at the museum, and we are open again and I’m fortunate enough to get to talk to a lot of visitors and welcome them back.

I don’t think I can narrow this down, as I’ve gotten to do so many unique things. When I worked for the Reno County Historical Society in Hutchinson, KS, I was trained as a salt mine hoist operator (one of the museums run by the RCHS is 650’ underground, in an active salt mine). You won’t meet many museum curators who are certified in mine safety! In my current position, I’ve gotten to assemble a volunteer team to wash and wax the bronze mule and driver statue across the street from the museum for 4 years in a row now (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020). This helps to protect the statue from corrosion and the harsh Syracuse winters. In terms of exhibits, I have a soft spot for the first exhibit I did the graphic design for. In January 2018, I put on “Wish You Were Here: Erie Canal Postcards,” at the Erie Canal Museum. After its original run at our museum, it’s been to other institutions, including local libraries, and I also developed a Curator Talk from it. And it even went to the 2018 New York State Fair, to the Witter Agricultural Museum, where it was seen by an estimated 500,000 people!

In terms of my history classes, Dr. Amt was so important to my development as a research historian, and she taught me how to properly cite sources and format a bibliography! These are skills I continually return to.

It’s extremely competitive, so get as much experience as you can, even if it's unpaid. Be prepared to move for positions in the field; I’ve moved almost 5,000 miles so far, between school and jobs. You may find yourself living in places you’ve never considered (Arkansas and Kansas hadn’t been on my radar, but I ended up there; upstate New York was interesting to me, but I had only visited a few times and had never been to Syracuse until my final interview for my current job). Have a sense of humor and BE FLEXIBLE. There are vast differences between what you learn in school and how museums actually function, due to money, time, and staff!