CCS was pleased to recognize the achievements of graduating senior Joce Dolezal with the Outstanding Senior award for spring 2024 at our awards ceremony last week. Congratulations Joce!
Joce will graduate with a B.A. in CCS with an emphasis in Public Humanities and minors in Art History and Museum Studies. Their dedication to excellence in their education and commitment to career readiness has been evident in their work throughout their time at NAU, which has included winning a competitive department scholarship last year, successful acceptance and presentation at the CUNY Art History Symposium and the NAU Undergraduate Symposium (in 2023 and 2024), pursuing research opportunities such as independent studies, and completing multiple outstanding papers and digital projects in several classes using a variety of digital platforms. In addition to their academic achievements, Joce served as a teaching assistant for multiple humanities and museum studies courses and completed two competitive internships, one with the Museum of Northern Arizona and the other to develop a digital exhibit for the Martin-Springer Institute at NAU. We interviewed Joce about their plans and experiences at NAU.
What are your plans for after graduation?
After graduation, I am planning to continue gaining experience as a Gallery and Events Assistant at the Coconino Center for the Arts and in any other opportunities I can, and later will continue my education in the M.A. in Art History graduate program at the University of Kansas.
What was the best class you took in college, and why?
I loved taking Dr. Pratt’s HUM 395: Digital Humanities class — so much so that I took it twice for credit. Dr. Pratt’s method of allowing students to base our exhibit research on a topic of our choice, as opposed to assigned research topics, inspired so much passion that I felt translated into the creation of my exhibits on the sometimes difficult platforms. As well, the digital exhibit project felt like it directly correlated with my career goals of knowledge production and curation within museums, so I was always greatly inspired to make as much of the class as I could.
What are you most proud of in the last year or two?
I am incredibly proud of the student I have become in the last two years. Through choosing to stop shying away from difficult academic projects and opportunities I have developed a sense of confidence, clarity, and resilience in my academic ventures that I plan to keep with me in graduate school.
What goal have you achieved that felt really far away your first year in college?
Feeling confident in my education seemed lightyears away from me during my first year of college. I was aimless, ungrounded, and fearful of the future. Uncovering my passion for art history and museums opened up a door to a whole new life for me that I never knew was possible within my fearful uncertainty.
What are your career goals?
As of right now, my career goals are to work within museums in positions concerning exhibition curation and preparation, public programming, and education.