Work history
Visitor Host
- Auckland, New ZealandFull Time
My position as a visitor host at the Auckland Museum covered a number of different roles. I most frequently worked in the children’s gallery, Weird and Wonderful, as an educator. I taught classes on Dinosaurs, Under the Sea, and Insects and Arachnids, and assisted with teaching these classes in Te Reo Maori. Outside of scheduled school visits I also taught children in the gallery on a more informal basis, demonstrating objects from our handling collection and answering enquiries. My duties also including working at the tills and information desks, selling entry tickets and add-ons such as the cultural show and guided tours. I patrolled the galleries for the safety and security of our objects, building, and visitors. I volunteered for extra work such as commercial event security in our hireable spaces and working internal events such as ANZAC Day and the Chinese Lantern Festival. I was also selected from my department to wind the large tower clock, a highlight item, on weekends and public holidays when the Display department was not available. My position gave me a chance to interact with most other departments and gave me a good overview of how a museum functions.
Retail assistant
- Auckland, New ZealandFull Time
I worked as a retail assistant at Max for a year. I greeted customers as they entered, engaged with them to build a rapport, uncovered their needs, and fulfilled them to the best of my abilities. I completed my training with the highest score in the stores history and excelled in selling the merchandise. I consistently meet the stores quota for items per sale and personal budget. I was selected to be in charge of the stores stock. Once a week I would receive and process the new stock; sorting the sizes, unpacking, tagging, hanging and steaming the floor stock while sorting the backroom stock. I also changed the nine mannequins and hung the posters in the large front windows, and marked down all the sale stock. All of the stock information was managed on a central database which I helped to monitor for stock inconsistencies. I was selected for this role as I was detail orientated and able to work without supervision.
Skills
- Customer Service
- Security
- Gallery Education
- Object Handling
- Cultural History
- Fashion History
- Academic Research
- Making Presentations
- Report Writing
- First Aider
Education
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Museums and Cultural Heritage
- Auckland, New Zealand
The subject of my dissertation for my honours was the critical and financial success of controversial exhibitions. I discussed current literature on the subject with emphasis on the 2002 study Exhibitions as Contested Sites, conducted by Fiona Cameron, Linda Ferguson, Lynda Kelly and Jennifer Ellison. I then applied their findings to a case study, the 2008 exhibition of Lindow Man: A Body Body Mystery at the Manchester Museum. Referencing a number of other exhibitions, I compared the different approaches taken by the museums and how this affected how the exhibition was received.
Bachelor of Arts Anthropology and Ancient History
- Auckland, New Zealand
My archaeology work was primarily focused on Pacific archaeology in New Zealand and on Rapa Nui, with some focus on Egypt. I participated in the Great Mercury Island project, a ten year study partnering with the Auckland Museum, looking for early landfall sites in New Zealand. I was involved with a dig over the summer season and worked in the archaeology laboratory for the rest of the year, processing the artifacts and studying the data. I produced an individual study on the spatial patterning of the basalt and obsidian tools and flakes. My ancient history work consisted of both Roman and Egyptian history. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to study Egyptian hieroglyphs for two years and work on several translations.