I’ve worked at AU for 10 years. Before that, I was the digital archivist for manuscript collections at Ball State University. My job is to set priorities for acquisition of new materials; digitize existing materials; process, arrange, and describe our collections; and make them available to community members in our reading room. I also work a lot with our special collections donors on the acquisition of materials.

My favorite collection is the Patrick Fraser Political and Social Movements Collection. It consists of black and white negatives, posters, and flyers of most of the protest events that happened around the National Mall from 1968–1975.

My office, which includes a framed vampire cat picture I bought from a shop in New Orleans, is on the second floor of the Spring Valley Building. My go-to order at Compass Coffee, where I always start my day, is a mocha. It’s nice and heavy—like an adult hot chocolate. My favorite lunch spot is Wagshal’s for matzo ball soup.

My favorite day of the workweek is Friday because it’s the quietest and most productive day. My work-from-home rituals include staying in my pajamas as long as possible and fitting in a little time to work on a jigsaw puzzle. 

Campus is at its prettiest during spring because it really comes alive. My favorite place on campus is in front of the library. It’s a great people-watching spot because everyone converges in that one walkway. I show my AU spirit by being fully committed to my job preserving and sharing AU history. Students, faculty, and staff here crave that history, and that’s something I can provide to people.

I found my community at AU through my library colleagues and working with student employees. Mentoring young archivists is my pride and joy. I also enjoy connecting with the students who come for our instruction. Oftentimes, it’s the first time they’ve worked with archives, and you can see them connecting with it.

My hobbies include cooking for house parties. Cooking is a marriage between creativity and procedure, which really speaks to me as an archivist. The last great book I read was Jane Eyre for the second time. The last great meal I ate was at Lutéce in Georgetown.

When I’m not at work, you can find me at the movies. I started a movie club with my friends during the pandemic that’s still going strong. This year, we’re going to watch all the Howard Hawks movies. If I wasn’t an archivist, I’d be a movie critic. I’d get to pair one of my hobbies with critical thinking.

But my job at AU is best because I feel empowered to take on projects that I’m passionate about.

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