Hello everyone! I am so excited about the first full week of classes coming and being apart of this new program!
A little background information about me, I grew up in San Antonio and then moved to a little town south of it called Floresville, Texas. However, I have been lucky enough to be a well traveled child, teen and adult. I come from an artistic background ranging from playing drums to singer/songwriter. If you were to ask little Shine, I was going to grow up to be a famous singer. I enjoy watching and making references to The Office, Parks and Rec and Game of Thrones. I also love coffee, and no not just basic Starbucks. I wish I could have one of those ridiculous TV shows like on the Travel Channel over different styles of coffee.
MY EDUCATION
I graduated from Southwestern University in 2018 with a BA in Anthropology focusing in archaeology and environmental studies. I was able to study abroad in Greece for two months. I was studying museum collections and archeology, which was SUPER cool!!! I graduated from SU a year early which put me in a position of rushing and trying to figure out what I wanted to do, so to avoid most of the real world responsibilities I traveled for most of summer. UNTIL, I came across the Public History program at St. Mary’s. I soon realized my passion for traveling, culture and even music could be poured into this program and help me shape my experiences and education. My interest in Public History is working with local museums and personal stories of locals to help challenge the public to reconsider what knowledge is and what it means.
Goodness, I can’t imagine all the delicious coffee you’ve gotten to try! With all the traveling you’ve done, I’m really interested in hearing your perspectives on future topics we’ll be discussing in this program. One thing that has also driven my interest in public history is something you touch on in your last sentence, and that is to tell personal stories of those in our communities. Too often real human experiences are overlooked and forgotten. I’m looking forward to hearing the stories you want to tell!
Thanks for sharing your amazing background Shine! I definitely want to hear more about your experience with archaeology and environmental studies. It sounds like you’ve had such an adventurous life! It seems like the Public History program has attracted a really diverse group of students with a wide range of skill sets, which is really amazing. I’m really interested to see how you plan to incorporate your love of music into the program.
I also feel like we are kindred spirits with our shared love of coffee and television shows. I’m looking forward to learning more about your experiences!
Llamas and alpacas are awesome, and worth the trip to Peru alone. I’m looking forward to discussing your experiences in Peru and Greece as well, and I am also a huge fan of all of those shows. I hate to be ‘that guy’ but you definitely should read the GoT books if you’re a fan of the show. I’m looking forward to seeing how your anthropology angle influences your projects!
Welcome! We’re so happy you found our program!