Hello everyone! My name is Sara Ramirez and I am super excited to be part of the inaugural year of the Public History graduate program at St. Mary’s University. I graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor’s of Science and Arts in Biology and have since spent my professional career in informal education. I’ve worked as an educator at the San Antonio Zoo and the Doseum, the Children’s Museum of San Antonio. Presently, I am a Library Assistant with the San Antonio Public Library. I am also a member of the 2018 class of the Alexander Briseño Leadership Development Program.
I believe the Public History graduate program will help to integrate my different interests and passions including history, environmental science, sustainability, digital inclusion, and allow for community engagement and collaboration. This is a truly unique and amazing program. I am eager to begin working on different projects and get to know my professors and classmates better!
Sara, thank you for sharing and being a part of the program as a colleague! I look forward to you sharing how your various interests in informal education have led you here to pursue the study of public history. It appears to me that you really want to find new ways to share information with others in a deliberate focused way and I feel this program will give you the tools you need to continue to succeed in whatever future path you decide to take.
You mentioned an interest in environmental science and I really wish I knew someone who could explain aqueducts and acequias to me. Understanding the role this played in San Antonio has always been an interest of mine that I have never quite fully understood. We should chat about the San Antonio River, the San Antonio Headwaters, San Pedro Creek and these aqueducts and acequias.
Here is a link about the Headwaters:
https://www.headwaters-iw.org/
Thank you so much! I look forward to working with you in this program as well. I think they did an amazing job restoring the ecosystem with the San Pedro Creek. Let’s definitely chat sometime!
I think that it is great for you to branch out into an entirely different type of field. There is no way I could have majored in any type of science or math, I try to stay as far away as possible! I am so interested in the places that you have worked and would love to chat about those different jobs. My mom used to actually write grants for the Red Enchilada (SA Library) and she started the Little Read Wagon Program.
It is so interesting that you are interested in environmental science and sustainability. One of my anthropology focuses were Environmental studies. I did my capstone on the impacts and affects of resource extraction (oil, natural gas and uranium) in South Texas and have written MANY papers on ideas and solutions for sustainability.
Wow, it is so amazing that your mom started the Little Read Wagon! That is a really amazing program and a wonderful legacy for your mom to leave behind for SAPL. I would be very interested to discuss your capstone project as well!
I am so excited to be working with you this semester and would love to hear your insight about Library work, especially working at one of the largest libraries in San Antonio. Also, it would also be interesting to hear about your work at the San Antonio Zoo. The San Antonio Zoo I feel works with the public and especially children. Their ideas about education are probably very different than museum education.
Thank you Danielle! I am very excited to be working with you this semester as well. I think we can learn a lot from each other since you have such a strong foundation in Public History already. I’d be happy to chat with you anytime about libraries and the zoo 🙂 I would also love to hear about your experiences working at the Alamo!
Welcome! We’re so happy to have you here with us, Sara!