My affinity for education and interpretation is something I have had from a young age. From Odyssey of the Mind, where I reimagined historical events and important literature into creative problem-solving skits with a team, to planning programming initiatives through my sorority and Panhellenic, to being the go-to babysitter since I was 12 years old, I have always loved the intricacies of educational planning and content creation. Across my art and history-based roles, I am continually working to develop my interpretive pedagogy.

I have had valuable opportunities to further strengthen these skills through my fellowship at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site and my internship at the North Carolina Museum of Art. As the Education and Interpretation Fellow, I have worked under fabulous mentors who have given me the opportunity to create a range of interpretive content and educational programs for TCNHS. Additionally, through my Digital Learning Internship, I gained experience in digital content creation by adapting curatorial and research material into readable, engaging, and digestible content for the NCMALearn website. This content served teachers seeking lesson plans as well as younger audiences interested in learning more about art history.

Scroll down to see more specific examples of the work I have created.

My Odyssey of the Mind team from high school, featuring my handmade Horse and Rider Sculpture by Leonardo da Vinci and set design. 

I moved more than 500 miles from home to serve as the 2025–26 Education & Interpretation Fellow in Catskill, New York. It has been a wonderful opportunity to gain experience in the museum education sector, and I have had the chance to contribute to a range of projects, including creating a plant guide for the historic gardens, copyediting an accompanying lesson plan, writing original tours, designing a close-looking template for the site, developing various art activities, and writing and voicing an audio walking tour for the TCNHS Bloomberg Connects Guide. Check out my blog to read about even more specifics of my fellowship! By the end of the fellowship I will have worked 800+ hours on-site with visitors, led 20+ tours of various age groups, and given two public lectures.


Scroll down to see the projects I developed!

Dorothy C. Radgowski Learning Through Women’s Achievement in the Arts Grant: Emily Cole Projects

PLANT GUIDE

As part of a grant TCNHS received to support educational development around Emily Cole, I helped create a plant identification guide centered on the flowers and plants connected to her work. Emily Cole, the daughter of Thomas Cole, was a ceramics painter and watercolorist known for depicting botanicals, including many plants that grew in the site’s gardens during the early 20th century. The guide features plants that grow in the gardens at TCNHS today, ties them to Emily Cole’s plant subjects, and also highlights notable historic plantings such as the honey locust and pear trees.

My role in the project included helping select which plants would be featured, shaping the layout of the foldable guide, and developing the idea for a design inspired by 19th-century seed packets. I also wrote guiding VTS questions and plant facts, ensured the content aligned with a K–3 audience, interviewed Lucy Grignon, a Stockbridge-Munsee educator, and produced audio featuring her discussion of the Four Sisters planting tradition practiced by the Indigenous people of this land. In addition, I handled logistical elements such as securing printing quotes, determining sizing, and helping move the guide into production for the site.

With grant support, we were able to print more than 10,000 copies of the guide, which are now available free to visitors and can be used to explore the site’s plants during bloom season.

Another component of this grant was the development of a lesson plan centered on Emily Cole. Our Education Coordinator, Beth Wynne, worked with consulting educators to create a lesson plan aligned with the New York State K–3 science curriculum, designed to connect science and the arts. I contributed to the brainstorming process for portions of the lesson plan and also served as a copyeditor.

Plant Guide for TCNHS. Physical copy is 12 x 18 sheet that is then intentionally folded into a booklet for easy use. Designed by Wynne Creative Group.

HARVEST TOUR

WINTERTIME TOUR

Check out this post by @macfactsnyc about our Valentine’s Day Museum Date, which features me leading the Valentine’s-themed tour!

COMING
SOON!

A key part of my role as the Education & Interpretation Fellow was researching and developing tours of the historic buildings. Many of these tours were created in conjunction with site events such as the Harvest Festival, Winter Social, and Valentine’s Day Couples Event, so I made sure each one had a clear theme that connected back to the occasion. Through leading many tours, I learned how to adapt both my written material and delivery style to visitors’ needs and expectations, balancing foundational information about Thomas Cole and the historic house with event-specific interpretive themes. I am skilled at developing tour content, leading engaging tours through public speaking, adapting material for different age groups, remaining flexible in the moment, and managing crowd flow within a tight historic space. Check out my written tours by clicking the links on this page.

Skills I can bring to the table from TCNHS:

Anne Lemanski, Senkwekwe gorilla beringei beringei (mountain gorilla), 2009. North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC.