Museum studies graduate will attend top-ranked master’s program for archives and preservation

Katie Keegan has always been a fan of history. As a child growing up in Ithaca, N.Y., Keegan would ask her parents to plan family vacations to museums or historical sites, not Disneyworld or the beach. So when it was time for Keegan to decide on a college major, her parents suggested museum studies.

“As soon as I started looking into it, I realized it was perfect for me,” Keegan said. “I love artifacts and historical data so I knew museum studies was it.”

This led her to RIT, where Keegan will graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in museum studies from the College of Liberal Arts this month.

Keegan entered the program three years ago not having a clear career path in mind, but everything clicked, she says, when she stepped into her Collections Management and Museum Administration course.

“That’s when I realized that I wanted to work with collections. The class provided more of a broad overview, but it was a start. It helped me realize that I want to focus on collections and archive management down the road. I consider myself an introvert, so working with collections more than people really appeals to me.” 

Keegan got a real taste for what that might be like in her Cultural Informatics class, taught by program director Juilee Decker. That was the first time she was able to work with the RIT Archive Collection.

“I was assigned a story and given the opportunity to go into the archives to create an exhibit that would be displayed in the library. I really enjoyed that.”

With this goal in mind, Keegan finished her degree requirements quickly so she could graduate after only three years and pursue a master’s degree. Keegan is heading to Simmons University to pursue a Master of Science in library and information science with a specialization in archive management and preservation, the top-ranked graduate program for archives and preservation in the nation.

“I feel very prepared to take the next step. My RIT professors are very supportive and knowledgeable, and the work that I’ve done here has really prepared me for what’s next.”

Keegan is moving to Boston this fall. After completing her master’s degree at Simmons, she hopes to work as a collections manager at a museum of natural history.