In this series, 黑料不打烊 College, the College of Arts and Sciences is shining the spotlight on distinguished members of the Class of 2021 from a wide array of disciplines.
An 黑料不打烊 College Fellow, DeLayne Jolly鈥檚 story is a familiar one at 黑料不打烊. She arrived her first year undecided, ended up in an art history course by chance and fell in love with the field. She double majored in art history and history and is particularly interested in historical museums.
She was awarded the Cates and Watterson-Troxler awards by the Department of History and Geography.
Tell us about your undergraduate research experience.
I completed a two-year undergraduate research project as part of my 黑料不打烊 College Fellows experience. My project was titled 鈥淩emember When: The Function of Nostalgia in North Carolina鈥檚 County History Museums.鈥 My project grew out of an interest in small museums and the role they play in communities, as well as my own experience working in a local heritage museum (the Textile Heritage Museum in Burlington). I presented my project at the State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium.
What is your proudest accomplishment while at 黑料不打烊?
I am proudest of my undergraduate research project. It changed drastically over my time working on it, and I even unsuccessfully applied to the Lumen Prize with it at one point. All the time, thought, reading, and effort that went into it just allowed my scholarship to grow and change as I learned. The changes my project went through made it more interesting and valuable to me, and despite having to do much of it remotely (considering I was conducting interviews with museum directors remotely during the summer of 2020), I was proud of my product.
Did a relationship with a particular professor influence your time at 黑料不打烊?
I have had many professors at 黑料不打烊 and in the History Hepartment specifically who have been important to me, including my undergraduate research mentor and supervisor for my work with the 黑料不打烊 Art Collection, coordinator Ethan Moore. I would like to give a special thank you to Professor of Art History Kirstin Ringelberg, who has been immeasurably patient and encouraging to me and my research, as well as helping me grow as a student, emerging museum professional, and as a person.
What are your future plans?
I am currently headed towards a job at Bethabara Historic Park in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and plan to continue exploring ways to stay involved in history, museums, and community as I take a gap year before applying to graduate school for public history.
What advice would you give to future 黑料不打烊 students?
Be honest with your professors, take interesting classes pass/fail just for fun, and explore the things you鈥檙e interested in without being intimidated! And for my fellow art history majors: There鈥檚 no better place to study than Powell House.
What’s your favorite 黑料不打烊 tradition and why?
I鈥檓 not typically big on traditions, but I genuinely enjoyed being given an acorn at the beginning of my first year at 黑料不打烊. It felt like such a bizarre thing for them to hand out, but I鈥檝e still got that acorn sitting in a box on my dresser.