Thursday, February 25, 2016

Staci's Busy Last Semester!

Hey guys!

So it has been one heck of a kickoff for Spring 2016 semester. Not only is this my final semester (as long as everything stays on track that is!) as graduate student in the Masters of Art in Public History program here at Southeast Missouri State University; it is also my final semester as Graduate Assistant to the Special Collections and Archives in Kent Library. It’s been quite the journey over these past few years.

So far this semester the first week consisted of the start of classes complete with two separate winter storm systems. I made it to two of my three classes that week. Needless to say, the second week of classes was my first week. The third week of classes I spent at home because doctor’s orders to not go back to class or work due mycoplasma pneumonia aka “walking pneumonia” and voiceless for two weeks.

This semester I am the graduate assistant for Dr. Hoffman’s HP589 Historic Preservation-Based Economic Revitalization aka Main Street class. In this course students construct a feasibility assessment of a vacant building in downtown Cape Girardeau. This year the building is the Surety building on 320 Broadway. My advanced project for this class is to develop a market analysis for the feasibility assessment and class. I will be looking at the demographics, economic factors, current market trends of downtown Cape Girardeau, business trends and development, and residential trends downtown, and other factors. (Yeah, I get to look at the numbers and math portion of this project.) Not only will I be project manager for this but I will also be advising the groups as a “marketing consultant”. (Word of advice… Be careful of who you let know you can do math and can work with numbers.) I will also be the project manager for additional group projects throughout the semester.

I have worked on three separate exhibits so far. One exhibit is of the Cape Girardeau Jaycees Collection that Dr. Santoro’s HP450/650 class processed as a project for the class last semester. The collection was then donated to the Special Collections and Archives. Over the break, the wooden display case was relocated to the hallway, so our entry is flanked with displays. We now have two large bookcases within our domain that house the books of The Dan Back River History Book Collection. The wooden display case house items promoting new collections we have acquired: The Dan Back River History Book Collection and The Colonel Paul Stanley Bond Diaries Collection. I will be working on an additional exhibit later on in the semester for the Library; that means four exhibits total for the semester.






It has been a whirlwind of a semester so far and it is only the beginning.

I do know but it is going to be fun though!

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