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HISTORY ALUMNA JEN NICHOLS (B.A., 2003) FINDS HOME IN NARA
Two years after graduating from Texas State in August 2003, Jen Nichols, history alumna, now calls Washington, D.C. home and works for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Taking a year off before graduate school to explore her career options, Jen volunteered at two institutions, the National Archives-Southwest Region and the Amon Carter Museum, both in Ft. Worth, to obtain experience in archival work. Subsequently she pursued her masters in Library and Information Science with an emphasis on Archives at the University of Maryland, and secured a job at the National Archives in College Park, working in public programs.
Archivists are specially trained in preserving original documents and materials and helping people access them. They work with paper documents, photographs, maps, film, and electronic records. Possessing broad and deep knowledge about records, archivists are involved in many phases of the records life cycle. Their extensive research skills help in providing records to the general public. NARA is the government agency that preserves and maintains materials that record the federal government's activities and makes them available for research, including the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.
Jen's primary duties at the National Archives include assisting in the creation of exhibitions and publications for the main and regional facilities located throughout the country. Jen recently had a major role in developing a public exhibit for NARA's new Southeast region facility in Atlanta, Georgia. The exhibit, titled "Firsthand History: Documents from the National Archives--Southeast Region", contained over 500 images, divided into nine sections, all representing records in the Atlanta facility's holdings. Jen assisted with the selection of documents, background research, managing digital images, writing, and proofing text and digital outputs, for sections that included "The Tuskegee Study", "Tennessee Valley Authority", and "Federal Courts and Civil Rights." Completion and official opening of the building was in July 2005. You can visit the online version of the exhibit at http://www.archives.gov/southeast/exhibit/index.php.
Jen has also worked on other projects at NARA, including traveling exhibits and general information leaflets (GIL), which are published for each region. The GILs are pamphlets designed to orient visitors, researchers, and the curious with the separate regional facilities. A traveling exhibit for NARA's Pacific Region in San Francisco, which will cover the 100th anniversary of San Francisco Earthquake and Fire in 1906, is being prepared.
After graduating in December 2005 from the University of Maryland, College Park, Jenn will assume a full-time position with the exhibits staff at the National Archives.
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