Community Collaboration
Community Engagement Associate
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As a community engagement associate, I worked closely with Dr. Silverman on community-focused projects. One of these projects included supporting the creation of The Museum of Broken Relationships Indianapolis Visitor Studies Report. The Museum of Broken Relationships Indianapolis exhibit stems from a connection between the IUI Museum Studies department and the Museum of Broken Relationships in Croatia. Another project focused on trauma-informed museum practices and the healing power of museums. Through an extensive literature review on the topic, I helped provide the background information necessary to support a continued collaboration between the IUI Museum Studies department and museum professionals in Ukraine.
Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways Collaborative project​
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During the Community Collaboration and Curation course, my classmates and I went on a 5-day trip to the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways. During this experience, I worked with two other classmates to clean the top of every exhibit panel, following a specific 6 step glass cleaning process. Through this experience, I learned more about best practices for working with communities.
Indiana Jewish Historical Society Digitization
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As a board member of the Indiana Jewish Historical Society, I have digitized hundreds of documents from the growing collection to make the information accessible online. I have taught other volunteers how to use the scanners and add the necessary information to provide access for community members nationwide.
Strategic Plan Creation
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In the museum administration course, I helped produce a strategic plan for the Koorsen Fire Museum in Indianapolis in a team with four classmates. Through this project, I focused on how the internal strengths and weaknesses of the museum and the benchmarking data from other institutions could be used to support a new strategic plan for 2025-2030. In this plan, we proposed ways for the museum to consider expanding its mission-based activities, increasing its audience, building community trust, and enhancing internal organization.
Exhibit Panel Design​
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Working with two other classmates, I designed an exhibit panel titled “A Community that Works." This panel highlights various community members who lived on Camp St in Indianapolis before IUPUI displaced the near-Westside community. The class exhibit was created in collaboration with stakeholders from the near-Westside community. Click on the photo to see the design.