Alexandria Wismer

Alexandria Wismer’s passion for museums stem from a childhood filled with visits to historical places up and down the east coast. She can remember being super excited by all things old and antiquited. After graduating from Penn State with a Bachelors in History she started to picture herself working in one of these places she was so fond of as a child, and so she decided to continue her History studies at Lehigh University.

As a History graduate student in her first year she is interning at LUAG as well as the Moravian Historical Society in order to introduce herself to the museum workplace.  At LUAG her internship is through an A|A|D course which is  overseen by LUAG Chief Curator/Director Ricardo Viera. She also works closely alongside Vasti DeEsch, LUAG’s registrar. While interning in the Open Storage Facility, she has learned to pull and store artwork, create condition reports and enter information into Past Perfect, the museums database.

Alex is fascinated with viewing the collection beyond the gallery walls. She calls herself “detailed and hands – on”. To her, curatorial work seems like a great fit. When asked what type of exhibition she would curate if she was given the choice, she answered that it would focus on local history. She believes local history is often overlooked for the grandeur of large happenings. She wants to show the world that the little details are important too.

Mary Elizabeth Chambliss

Mary Elizabeth Chambliss is a Senior this year. During her last semester at Lehigh, she is dedicating part of her time to the museum collection through an A|A|D class. She enjoys handling the objects and seeing them up-close and personal. Another perk she enjoys is learning about each artworks’ past, as history is her true love. It was her love of history that swayed her to major in Anthropology and minor in Museum Studies, Creative Writing and History.

ME’s mother was a history major and her dad a history buff. The entire family would often visit historical landmarks and prod their own family past for historical facts. Her family has passed down heirlooms from generation to generation as well as stories. In fact, ME proudly shared that she is a descendant of Pocahontas.

Her fascination with the past  has inspired her latest project with LUAG’s collection. She is curating a small exhibit with Ethiopian Crosses, which will replace the Etruscan Bronzes in the Lower Gallery. She was quick to dive into the historical context of the crosses and learn how Ethiopia was one of the oldest Christian countries and the only country in Africa that was not colonized.

Her career choice is about as eclectic as her studies. While working with the Lehigh Liners, the group responsible for phon-a-thons at Lehigh University, she realized she wanted to fund raise for higher education after graduating. She says that her studies have encompassed many passions and though her career choice does not align with her past studies, she will always have many interests that include her love of history.