Traveling Talleys
Talley Your Adventure
Day in the Life – Jennifer Wisniewski, Exhibit Specialist
Welcome back to another Day in the Life! We are nearing the end of my graduate assistance here at the Clinton Library, but before that happens we still have two wonderful people I need to talk about. Today, I interviewed Jennifer, who is the exhibit specialists. What is an exhibit specialists, you ask? Exhibit specialists here in NARA first and foremost work with anything exhibit related, such as exhibit building, maintenance, and exhibit mounting. One of the unique things about the position here at the Clinton Library (relative to other presidential libraries), is the ability to work more with objects and items, or the collection itself. Since the Clinton Library has such a wide range of exhibits, this can be defined as installing Rockwell’s, researching objects, creating floor plans, or even, as Jennifer quotes, “troubleshooting animatronic dinosaurs”! You never know what the day will bring!
Growing up in Pittsburgh during her junior high and high school years, Jennifer loved going to museums. After receiving her undergraduate in International Studies with a French minor, she soon learned that you can earn an advanced degree to help you find work in museums. Jennifer
received her MA in Public History with a focus in Museum Curation from the University of California – Riverside. There, she also worked as an intern at the California Surf Museum and worked (either paid or un-paid, depending on the time!) at the Riverside Metropolitan Museum. Her first full time job out of graduate school was the Curator and Collections Manager at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum. A favorite memory was when the maritime museum was doing an exhibit on surfing. Working with surfers, understanding their lingo and way of life, surfing etiquette, learning about the different surf boards, and in general their local connection to Santa Barbara is all intertwined in the experience!
The future looks great for Jennifer. Her love of museums and working with collections will no doubt propel her into her goal of becoming a Curator for a Presidential Library, or a head curator in the private sector. If you want to see some of her passion in real life, stop by the Clinton Library and see the new Coca Cola Exhibit that she helped to install! It could not have happened without her!
Until next time, bloggers! Have a great week!
Traveling Talleys 
Congratulations on your completion of your Master’s Degree in Public History. You will travel far and be a fantastic success!! Great job on the blog. Love you.