Hello. My name is Nathan Georgitis. I have a strong interest in preserving and providing access to historical collections, which is the focus of my work as a librarian and archivist for the University of Oregon and as executive director of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections. I grew up in Maine in a late-1800s New England farmhouse with a wonderful attached barn. My mother was an antiques dealer for a time and my town was a Shaker settlement that had wonderful examples of Shaker architecture. I suppose all of these things predisposed me to a interest in historic preservation. Recently my family has been concerned with preserving an historic lobster pound on family property on the coast of Maine. I am taking historic preservation courses so that I might advocate for the preservation of this building and related structures.

After growing up on the southern coast of Georgia, I ventured up to Virginia to go to undergrad. I had no idea what I wanted to do, so similar to most undergrads without direction I took classes on everything. I dabbled in environmental science and Middle Eastern studies before finally settling on a major in Art History with a minor in Middle Eastern studies. I had had a silent love affair with Art History since taking an AP Art History course in high school; silent primarily because my parents would mention phrases like “not practical,” “no jobs,” and “not useful” every time I mentioned it. Despite their concerns, I was optimistic I would be able to get a job within the art field. Unfortunately, my optimism was forced to meet a harsher reality when the financial collapse of 2008 occurred the year before I was set to graduate. Not only were the jobs in the field of Art History scarce, but all jobs were scarce.

Like most things go, a bit of luck and a connection landed me an interview at the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton my senior year of college—the spring of 2009. I literally had no idea what this firm did or who they were, but I studied their mission statement and ongoing projects like any eager yet largely unqualified college student looking for their first job. After somehow getting through the interview process, I was hired onto the Global Security team. The government consulting firm was interested in my previous studies of the Middle East and Arabic language classes, not my knowledge of the history of art and architecture. Shocking, I know.

A few months at one project turned into three and half years on three different projects at Booz Allen and one more subsequent year at a boutique consulting firm. I held a lot of positions primarily in support of the Department of Defense. I did policy analysis for the Office for Cyberthreat Analysis, financial terrorism analysis for the Joint Threat Finance Intelligence Office, and strategic communications for the Defense Combatting Terrorism Center. It sounds cool, and to a certain extant it was really amazing. At the end of the day, though, it wasn’t for me. I likely knew this all along, but sometimes it takes years to figure out how to create a new path.

The opportunity to carve out my new path occurred with the convergence of two events. First, after countless searches and many conversations, I finally discovered the incredibly interesting field of Historic Preservation. More in line with my original academic and career ambitions, I knew I wanted to enter the field. Not a fan of student loan debt, I applied to roughly 15 jobs in Washington DC that were loosely related to Historic Preservation. After receiving very few responses and a handful of rejections, I realized I needed a higher degree in order to make myself more qualified for these competitive positions. So, I made the decision to go to grad school. Second, I had met a guy (now my husband) and we both had an itch to travel and experience new places. Knowing that I wanted to start grad school in the fall of 2014, we decided to quit our jobs in September of 2013 and travel for a year. After three months in Argentina, we came back to U.S. and hung out in the mountain town of Asheville, North Carolina, until moving to Oregon over the summer of 2014.

And now I’m in school for Historic Preservation and I feel happier and more confident with this path than I ever thought possible.

Photo: Myself in Tunisia at the Star Wars Site

This year is my first year in the Historic Preservation Master’s Program at the University of Oregon and already have I learned so much! I have a background in Urban Planning, where I got my Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Cincinnati. I have spent time overseas traveling, mostly in my home continent of Africa, but also in Europe (mostly the U.K.) and throughout North America. As a first-generation American I have gone back to my home country of Somaliland and spent time throughout the East African region visiting Kenya and Tanzania primarily.

My focuses in preservation are currently tied to adaptive reuse planning and transportation related issues within the field of HP with a particular interest in warehouses. I am fortunate enough to have had a variety of experiences to observe architecture in foreign countries and throughout the U.S. and I strive to use the opportunities that I have had to prosper in my field as a professional and an individual.

I’ve always been curious about human interactions with the environment – how we define ourselves in relation to our surroundings and with each other. I am fascinated by the challenge of balancing economics, equity and the natural environment. My B.A. degree is in Environmental Studies and History from Bowdoin College; it was there that I realized humans and the environment cannot be separated; they inform each other and influence the course of history. I strongly believe that preservation is the most sustainable form of development. I love the combination of new green technology and the inherent sustainable features of old buildings. Preservation as an environmental practice has the potential to reduce global warming through natural resource conservation. After all, isn’t it all about, “REUSE, Reduce & Recycle”?

The bulk of my experience in preservation is volunteering for non-profits and advocating for reuse of existing buildings in Portland, Oregon. I began to alert people about impending demolitions through Facebook in 2014 after witnessing several demolitions of existing buildings, some of which were considered of historic significance by the City of Portland. I’m excited to learn about survey and inventory because it is such an important part of advocating for intelligent growth that respects the unique historic built environment.

Lastly, I am intrigued and inspired by new trends in historic preservation including changing demographics of preservation professionals and inclusion of diverse racial, class and ethnic groups. I also love good design and quality craftsmanship. The above picture of me was taken at one of my favorite places, The Mount, in Lenox, Massachusetts, which was designed by Edith Wharton. After visiting the amazing site in 2011 I realized I was passionate about preservation and decided to pursue graduate school.

My name is Brian Matuk and I am a first year Historic Preservation Masters candidate at the University of Oregon. I developed an interest in historic preservation when studying in New York City, where I witnessed the preservation battle and ultimate demolition of the last remaining federal style house in a vibrant Manhattan neighborhood. This experience led me to search for a position in historic preservation and test the waters for a potential new career path. I was granted the opportunity to work as Program Coordinator at an historic preservation non-profit in Napa County, California where I worked for two years, while also taking on an intern role in a county-wide Historic Resource Inventory. This field work solidified my desire for Historic Preservation, leading me to take the next step and enroll in graduate school. I am looking forward to a long and fulfilling career, and hope to apply my newfound skills and knowledge to consulting work in dense, urban areas.

My name is Savannah Herrell and I am a first year Historic Preservation Masters candidate at the University of Oregon. I have always been passionate about history, and knew that I wanted to interpret the lives of individuals who resided in the past.  I attended the University of California Santa Cruz to receive a Bachelors in Medieval European history and intended to pursue history in further education.  However, while in college I learned about another passion that turned a summer job into an unforgettable two year experience. I became enamored with my maintenance job, which when I started I would have never believed possible. This led me to think that I might enjoy physical work and perhaps, I did not want to work in the history field. Research led me to Historic Preservation, where I could indulge my love for history and go into a field job if I wished. Once the program began in September 2014, I was introduced to the wide variety of options in the preservation field, and found that I had many other interests that I would be glad to pursue in future employment.