Hi! My name is Sherrell Daley and I am a first year MA Public History student at American University. I am from Brooklyn, New York and I received my bachelor’s degree in History at Allegheny College. I studied a variety of historical topics during my undergraduate career, but the topic that interests me most is Modern U.S. and Urban history. In junior year, I decided that I did not want my work to be only seen in academia, so I decided to take the public history route. Also during my junior year, I was able to curate and archive my own exhibit, which made me gain a passion for curatorial work. And now I am here!
In the MA Public History program, I hope to gain more valuable knowledge of practical history beyond academia. I am excited to get practical experience that I can use throughout my career as a public historian. I hope to learn more about public history and how we as historians can make museums more accessible and enjoyable for everyone, not just the select few. In the future, I hope to get my PhD in history, so I can become a curator in a museum that displays Modern Urban History (particularly the Museum of the City New York, but any cool museum will do.) I would also like to incorporate museum education with my curatorial work to make museums more visitor friendly. Completing this course, I would like to learn more about digital history and how to produce historical exhibits in a digital format. I hope to be able to produce both physical and digital exhibits in the future as well. I can’t wait to learn and work with all of you!! Good luck this semester! Cheers!
