Leah Walker, site and events manager at the Doak House Museum on the Tusculum College campus, has been awarded a scholarship to attend a leading regional museum conference.
Walker was selected to receive the 2009 LaPaglia/Historic House Museum Group Scholarship Award to attend the annual meeting of the Southeastern Museum Conference to be held in October. Only one scholarship is awarded in the 12 states that form the Southeast region.
“It is an honor for Leah to be selected to represent the Historic House Museums,” said George Collins, director of the Tusculum College Museum Program and Studies. “This will be a tremendous opportunity for her to network with other museum professionals and learn about the latest developments in the museum profession.”
The scholarship recognizes young museum professionals who have recently undertaken expanded responsibilities and have been identified as a future leader in the profession. The scholarship is named for the late Pete LaPaglia, who was a renowned leader of the museum community.
Walker has also been selected to be the secretary of the organization. She will serve in the position for a two-year term.
A graduate of the Museum Studies program at Tusculum College, Walker earned a master’s degree in storytelling from East Tennessee State University. After completing her graduate degree, she worked for the National Park Service in Death Valley, Calif. She rejoined the Tusculum College community last year as a museum educator at the Doak House Museum. On July 1, she assumed a new and expanded role as site and events manager at the museum.
A second recent graduate from Tusculum’s Museum Studies program also received a scholarship to attend another of the Southeastern Museum Conference’s professional development programs. Julia Jones received a scholarship to attend the Jekyll Island Management Institute in January.