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Garst
Museum
Garst
welcomes former teacher as latest intern
The
Garst Museum is pleased to introduce its latest Wright State University
Public
History program intern, Jason Swiatkowski. Jason earned his Bachelor’s
Degree
in Education from Kent State University and is currently pursuing his
Masters
of Arts degree with a concentration of Public History from Wright State
University. Jason will be responsible for creating a new permanent
exhibit that
will introduce and interpret the importance of Darke County’s various
towns and
villages. The planned exhibit will be incorporated into the museum’s
Village
Wing.
Jason
taught social studies for several years in Dayton and Middletown at a
charter
school for children with ADD, ADHD, and similar learning issues. Jason
feels
that “as a former social studies teacher, I know how important it is to
feel
connected to a place and its history. Before moving to Montgomery
County to
teach, I lived in Wooster, Ohio. If you’ve never been up to Wayne
County,
Wooster is a medium sized county seat surrounded by smaller towns and
villages,
fields, and woods, and people proud of their land and history. I am
quickly
finding Darke County to be very similar, filled with friendly citizens
eager to
share their stories of the past and hopes for the future. For the next
several
months, I will be traveling the back roads and gathering those stories,
searching for Darke County’s less-well-known history. It promises to be
a
wonderful search. My work with the Garst Museum promises to combine all
of my
interests and experiences to a productive end. I couldn’t be more
pleased to be
at the museum, in Darke County, learning and sharing this important
aspect of
our history.”
Executive
Director Dr. Clay Johnson stated, “The two-year-old partnership with
Wright
State University’s Public History Program has created a unique
opportunity for
both the museum and the students.” WSU’s History Department offers a
Master of
Arts program for students that are interested in pursuing a career in
the
museum or archives profession. Part of the student’s program of study
includes
hands-on training under the direction of a public history professional.
Garst
Museum provides students with ongoing opportunities for short and
long-term
projects and internships. While working at the museum, students gain
experience
in exhibit research, design, construction, and promotion, historical
research,
curator asset management, collections management, collections care, and
archives, museum, and records management.
Funding
for the new Darke County exhibit is provided by the Lydia E. Schaurer
Memorial
Trust, the Amie McClurkin Community Grant, the Coppock-Hole Trust, Kay
Brown,
the Nealeigh Design Group, and the Darke Rural Electric Trust.
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