EDUCATION

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2017-2019: Duquesne University, Master of Arts in Public History

2006-2010: University of Puget Sound, Bachelor of Arts in English Literature

 

INTERESTS

• Oral History        

• Audio Editing             

• Digital Humanities

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COURSE HIGHLIGHTS

• Introduction to Archives

• Speaking to the Past: Oral History Methodology & Practice

• Museum Exhibits and Management

• Commemoration & Preservation

• Digital Humanities & the Historian

 

TECHNICAL SKILLS

• Audio Recording (Tascam Recorder)

• Audio Editing (Audacity, Audition)

• Transcription (Express Scribe)

• Website Building (Scalar, Wix, WordPress)

• Cataloging (Archive Space, Past Perfect, Islandora)

 

PUBLIC HISTORY EXPERIENCE

Archivist & Librarian                                                                                                                                                                                                                             December 2019-Present

Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Founation

• Maintain Frank B. Fairbanks Rail Transportation Archive

• Review, organize, and process files relating to PHLF's administrative and project history

• Wrote and recorded two oral history lessons in conjunction with PHLF's Education Department for use in Allegheny Intermediate Unit continuing education course

• In winter 2020, began implementing Historical Archival & Records Care Grant awarded by Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission to rehouse and repair all of PHLF's paper-based records

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Special Collections Team Member                                                                                                                                                                                             September-December 2019

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA                                                                         

• Assessed and reprocessed archival collections; rehoused materials, identified duplicate records and oversize items

• Updated and combined finding aids as needed

• Shifted and reshelved existing collections 

 

Preservation Intake Technician                                                                                                                                                                                                          August-December 2019

Preservation Technologies, L.P., Cranberry Township, PA                         

• Processed incoming shipments of books, newspapers, and manuscripts and prepared for BookKeeper mass deacidification treatment

• Identified and marked damaged items; hand-sprayed fragile books

                                                                                                                                  

Lab Supervisor                                                                                                                                                                                                                                August 2018-December 2019

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh REcollection Studio, Pittsburgh, PA

• Assisted patrons in digitization of photographs, slides, negatives, documents, VHS tapes, and cassettes during weekly shift

• Edited digitized photographs from Pittsburgh Photographic Library Collection using Adobe Photoshop 

• Added digitized photographs and metadata to Islandora cataloging system 

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Archival Intern                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    January-May 2019

Dollar Bank, Pittsburgh, PA​

• Conduct research using archival materials for monthly internal newsletter articles

• Process and describe archival materials and update records in archival records management system Past Perfect

• Act as consultant for corporate oral history project recording interviews with long-tenured Dollar Bank employees

• Transcribe and catalog oral history interviews

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Oral History Volunteer                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      November 7, 2018

​Duquesne Veterans’ Oral History Exhibit Opening, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA

• Assisted Duquesne University Oral Historian Megan DeFries in opening reception for the Veterans’ Oral History Project in Gumberg Library 

• Recorded interview with Duquesne veteran and invited others to share their stories

• Provided reception attendees with information about the project

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Oral History Intern                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    February-August 2018

​South Side Community Council, Pittsburgh, PA

• Collaborated with South Side Community Council and Carnegie Library’s South Side branch in collecting narratives related to the history of the South Side and architecture of Carson Street

• Interviewed and recorded volunteer narrators on two separate collection dates

• Processed each interview using a combination of keyword cataloging and timestamping

• Edited audio interviews using Audacity software into 3-5 minute narrative clips

• Assisted in planning and production of live storytelling event held at a local theater

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Volunteer Transcriptionist & Reviewer                                                                                                                                                         February-June 2015, January-June 2017

​StoryCorpsU

• Reviewed and transcribed audio interviews conducted in high schools across the country as part of a StoryCorps program designed for use in classrooms

• Selected interviews for publication on StoryCorpsU website based on content

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Volunteer Audio Editor                                                                                                                                                                                                                                June 2013-May 2014

​Veteran Voices of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA,

• Edited audio interviews of local veterans for sound quality and story continuity

• Composed brief biographies to be displayed alongside interview video footage and audio clips

• Conducted and edited a lengthy interview with a local veteran and disability rights activist

 

Volunteer Interviewer & Transcriber                                                                                                                                                                                     October 2011-February 2013

​Legacy Washington, Tumwater, WA

• Transcribed interviews of Washington residents involved with local and national government

• Led interviews with two centenarians, both members of the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library

• Composed biographical sketches of both narrators for display on the Legacy Washington website

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ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE

Library Assistant                                                                                                                                                                                                                     November 2012-December 2019​

​Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA

• Assisted patrons in Main library’s Job, Career, and Education Center

• Conducted mock interviews, provided resume assistance to patrons, and led Microsoft office classes

• Addressed technology issues regarding public computers and personal devices

 

Graduate Assistant                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     August 2017-May 2019​

​Duquesne University Department of History, Pittsburgh, PA

• Staff History Department office during weekday hours and field phone calls from university staff, students, and community members

• Prepare materials for professors and current students, proctor exams, manage shipments into and out of department, and produce marketing materials for departmental events

• Regularly update department’s social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) with student accomplishments, faculty publications, local history information, and upcoming events

• Create and maintain department’s various website page

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Graduate Research Assistant                                                                                                                                                                                                                           May-August 2018

Duquesne University Department of Theology, Pittsburgh, PA

• Attended weekly meetings with faculty from the Theology Department and Center for Teaching Excellence to assist in planning day-long Spiritan pedagogy and education focus groups

• Recorded and transcribed two concurrent focus group sessions using TASCAM recorders from the History Department’s Digital History Lab

• Using qualitative research methods, coded focus group participants’ responses to questions

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ACADEMIC PROJECTS

Duquesne University Veterans’ Oral History Project Website                                                                                                                                                                            Fall 2018

http://scalar.usc.edu/works/duq-vets-oral-history/index

• Collaborated with small group to design website for Duquesne University’s Veterans’ Oral History Project for Fall 2018 Digital Humanities and the Historian course

• Created two mapping visualizations to illustrate veteran narrators’ movements during wartime

• Edited audio clips from each veteran narrator for use in interactive timeline element

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“Color Picture Maps of Destiny”: Traveling with Mina Loy through Time and Space                                                                                                                                Fall 2018

https://travelingwithminaloy.weebly.com/

• As final group project for elective English Literature course, Women Writers and the Avant-Garde, created website showcasing the poetry of Mina Loy

• Designed an interactive game using Twine program which incorporates text from Loy’s poetry into a “Choose-Your-Own-Adventure”-type narrative

• Built a biographical timeline of Loy’s life inspired by the Tarot tradition which features prominently in Loy’s work

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Third Alternative Oral History Project                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Fall 2017

http://scalar.usc.edu/works/the-third-alternative

• As part of a class project, interviewed alumna narrator involved in the Third Alternative, a student-led movement to raise funds for Duquesne in the early 1970s

• Transcribed interview and submitted to Megan DeFries, Gumberg Library’s Oral Historian

• Selected relevant portions from all interviews for use in final project and edited into short clips

• Led audio editing training sessions for classmates using Audacity editing software

• Collaborated with fellow classmates to design a multimedia website featuring audio, text, video, maps, and archival images

 

PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS

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• “Making Oral History Accessible using Digital Applications” (Poster Presentation), 2019 Graduate Student Research Symposium, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA (Upcoming March 2019)

• “The South Side Voices Project and Communal Listening” (Blog Post), Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region blog, January 8, 2019: https://ohmar.org/the-south-side-voices-project-and-communal-listening/

• "The Archive, Classroom, and Beyond: The Third Alternative Oral History Project and the Challenges of Capturing the Spirit of 1968" (Panel Presentation), Oral History Association Conference 2018, Concordia University, Montréal, Quebec

• “Student Vulnerabilities Then and Now: The Challenges of Representing a Student-Led Movement as Novice Oral Historians” (Panel Presentation), Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region Conference 2018, American University, Washington D.C.

 

AWARDS AND HONORS

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• Graduate Student Assistantship, Duquesne University, 2017-2019

• Graduate Excellence Award, Duquesne University, 2019                                                                                                           

• Graduate Student Research Symposium Oral History Initiative Award, 2019