Spurlock Museum Alum Highlight: Tatiana Niculescu

• Behind the Scenes tag
• Collections tag

• Post Date: 06/30/2018
• Author: Tatiana Niculescu
• Reading Time: 2 minute read

I was both a volunteer and Collections Assistant at the Spurlock for almost 3 years. During this time, I participated in many different projects, including cleaning, condition report writing, reshaping, storing and packing a wide variety of artifact types. Working in Collections was always exciting, varied, and fast paced. On top of learning so much about collections management, I also learned to be flexible and adaptable to changing plans and needs.

The things I learned at Spurlock have been serving me well in my new position of Museum Technician with Alexandria Archaeology (external link). Alexandria Archaeology is part of the Office of Historic Alexandria, which is a department of the City of Alexandria. The City has an archaeological preservation code that requires all development projects and ground disturbing activity within city limits be assessed for archaeological resources.

Though my job title is Museum Technician, I actually have a broad range of responsibilities outside of a museum setting. My typical week involves attending planning and zoning meetings, assessing building permits for archaeological potential, and going out to project sites to monitor findings, as well as doing the more “traditional” archaeology and museum work of excavating sites, handling artifacts, and doing background research. In any given week I can be at City Hall, in our museum, or out in someone’s basement or yard excavating. Our office is currently excavating two wells associated with a structure that George Washington once owned and leased. I’ve also recently taken a more active role in shaping Alexandria Archaeology’s social media presence and helped manage our successful Virginia Association of Museum’s Top Ten Endangered Artifacts bid.

It is an incredibly varied job that keeps me on my toes; challenging me to build upon what I learned working at Spurlock and further develop my skills in other areas.