Colleen Ryan Mayrand, Marist '09

Colleen majored in American Studies with a concentration in Public History and minored in History and Public Praxis.

What has your career path been to this point?

After Marist I was an Americorps volunteer, then went on to study theology in Graduate school. Since then I have been working as a campus minister at various colleges and universities. I currently work at Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH.

Can you share a memory from your time at HRVI that stands out as meaningful?

I grew up in the Hudson Valley and have always loved history so most of the projects we worked on during the internship were really interesting to me. It was so neat to learn more about the area I grew up in. It also was one of my first exposures to public history. One of my favorite memories was visiting a local apple orchard to interview the farmer with my grandfather who is also a lover of local history. During the interview we learned so much about why the area was a good place to grow apples and the history of apples in the area.

How has your experience at HRVI helped you advance your education and/or professional pursuits since graduating from Marist?

Since my time at Marist I have gone on to work in higher education. In my work now I spend a lot of time walking with and mentoring college students. My time at HRVI was the first internship I had and looking back it was the first insight I had into the diversity of work that can happen in higher education settings. The internship taught me many other things but some that stand out are about working on a team, managing projects, and the wide range of things you can do with public history.

Do you have any advice for future HRVI interns based on your time at HRVI and your experience in your professional field?

Enjoy the time and try to be present, it goes fast.