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Home > People > Alumni Profiles > Spotlight
SI SpotlightLeslie Knoblauch (MSI '05)
"I can't put a value on my experience at SI and being part of the University of Michigan. For me it was one of the best things I've ever done. I spent the first year in shock that I was actually at, and a part of, the University of Michigan. Getting my master's degree was a huge acomplishment for me. I was the first woman in my family to receive a master's degree, and to get it from SI at U-M made it that much more significant."
E-mail Leslie
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Before SI: Leslie earned her bachelor's degree in history and then gained some valuable experience before embarking on her master's degree program.
First, she worked as a part-time document analyst with the Hogan and Hartson law firm in Washington, D.C., while also participating in several internships relating to history; her first was at the Ford's Theatre National Historic Site.
"In my three months there I gave presentations to the public on the assasination of President Lincoln, led visitors through the house where Lincoln died, and created and installed an exhibit on Mary Todd Lincoln in the Ford's Theater museum area," she says.
That was followed by a year-long internship at the Smithsonian American History Museum, where Leslie reconciled accession files and assisted with the de-installation of exhibits (including verifying, photographing, and packaging objects). "These internships led me to pursue my graduate studies in archives and records management."
Like many students, Leslie came to SI with a general idea of what she wanted to do, based on previous experiences, but found new opportunities to explore once here. She had in mind a random mix of teaching, museum work, and historical research. "I had no idea how to mix these interests together into a career," she says.
Courses, internships, and participation in the student chapter of the Society of American Archivists all provided valuable insights for Leslie. "I was able to combine my past interests in teaching, museum work, and historical research with the interests that I discovered while at SI -- archival theory and practice, preservation/conservation, computers, the Internet, Web page design -- all into one ideal career path."
"Without SI I would not been able to define the type of job that I was looking for."
But why SI? "SI appealed to me for several reasons," Leslie says. "The first was that it was a highly reputable program that was recommended to me by several people that I worked with and by several of my college professors. I was also drawn to SI because it was one of the few graduate programs in the country that offered a distinct specialization in archives. Through reading the application material, discussing the program with current SI students and faculty, and looking at the information on the SI Web site, it was obvious that the Archives and Records Management program at SI blended a strong emphasis on digital issues with more traditional archival principles.
"In short, SI sounded like the perfect opportunity to take my love for history to the next level by combining it with archival theory and computer science."
At SI: Learning outside the classroom through internships and/or part-time jobs adds value to your education, as Leslie discovered. "Working with the U-M Preservation/Conservation Department was amazing! Not only did I get to spend two semesters assisting with a project in the Taubman Medical Library Rare Book Room that had gorgeous books from as far back as the 16th century, but I spent one summer being mentored by a conservationist who taught me how to do basic hands-on conservation work with paper materials.
"While doing EAD (encoded archival description), constructing Web pages, and dealing with electronic records is interesting, there is something so rewarding in being able to fix a torn newspaper, flattening a rolled and bent poster, and making paste from scratch."
After SI: After graduation, Leslie accepted a position as assistant records manager at The Catholic University of America, and she is now records management archivist.
"My current position as records management archivist has proved to be the perfect job because it requires me to do basic museum work, archival processing, records surveying and scheduling, educating staff about best practices for E-mail management, and assist with answering reference questions. Thank goodness for SI -- it showed me that there are surprisingly a lot of opportunities for people like me who love history and old things!"
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