Discovering my Passion

My Academic Journey in History

I began my academic journey at Messiah University, where I earned my BA in History with a concentration in Public History and a minor in Digital Humanities. During my time there, I had the privilege of studying under renowned historians such as Dr. John Fea, Dr. David Pettegrew, Dr. Joseph Huffman, Dr. Norm Wilson, and Dr. Sarah Myers. Their mentorship shaped my vision as a public historian and inspired me to pursue stories not bound to one culture or era, but rather the broader ways history is remembered, retold, and preserved.
 

In 2020, I launched my blog 21st Century Historian as a platform to publish my research and reflections. The blog allowed me to collaborate with peers, strengthen my writing skills, and gain valuable experience in social media management and public outreach. It later expanded into multimedia storytelling with projects such as Quick History, a video series blending history with creative engagement.
 

My professional journey has included formative positions and internships across a variety of historical institutions. At Pennsbury Manor Historic Site, I worked as a museum assistant, leading tours, restoring artifacts, and engaging with the Lenape Tribe during important land repatriation efforts. I later contributed to the Old Barracks Museum in Trenton, NJ, where I researched the untold stories of indentured and enslaved women who resisted their stations during the French & Indian and Revolutionary Wars. That research, later presented at multiple conferences and public forums, remains a project I intend to expand into future exhibits.
 

At the York County Historical Society, I developed a ten-year exhibition plan for the York County Steam Plant Museum, curating concepts ranging from Freedom Seekers and Native American migrations to the York Race Riots of the 1960s. These projects deepened my ability to connect scholarship with public interpretation.
 

My passion for combining research and media has also shaped my filmmaking. In 2023, my short film Behind the Bronze was commissioned by the Dauphin County McCormick Riverfront Library and now plays at the T. Morris Chester Research Center and on Harrisburg Channel 20. That same year, I interned with the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Archives, where I processed new collections, created digital exhibits, and helped preserve the voices of state history.
 

The highlight of my undergraduate career came during the summer of 2023, when I joined Dr. David Pettegrew on an archaeological expedition in Corinth, Greece. Equipped with my camera, I conducted interviews, drone photography, and site research, documenting our team’s remarkable rediscovery of Washingtonia, a long-forgotten 1829 American colony in Greece. This experience gave birth to my ongoing documentary, Finding Washingtonia, which continues to evolve as we uncover new layers of the story. Our work has already been presented at conferences, including the American Institute of Archaeology, with more screenings and publications to come.
 

Today, I serve as the Archivist at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania and am the founder of Ganey Films, my independent production company dedicated to capturing and preserving overlooked histories. Across archives, museums, and film, my mission remains the same: to recover what has been forgotten, amplify marginalized voices, and present history in ways that engage both traditional audiences and new generations.