Daniella Snyder (‘20) PRO to Professional: Museum Communications
Interview conducted by Jacqueline Ridberg Larabee VU MA '23 student
Daniella began her Masters in English at Villanova knowing she wouldn’t end up in an typical “English” field. Rather her passion was always art. As an undergraduate she majored in Art History & English, and she knew that “Art history has a huge writing emphasis, but it is a flaw of most art history programs that they do not prioritize writing coursework.” Thus Daniella decided to pursue her MA in English. She talks about two divergent paths she saw herself going down after receiving her Masters: “One was to get a PhD in Art History, not English, and the other path was to pursue communications for an art museum.”
Daniella decided to tangibly explore her post-grad career options by taking advantage of the English Department’s Professional Research Option (PRO), focusing on marketing & communications for Museums. The PRO course, available to second year English Masters students, consists of creating a portfolio for a career in which your degree prepares you. To complete your PRO you must interview several people in your desired field, create a career-specific resume & cover letter, alongside other pre-professional activities. Daniella threw herself fully into her PRO experience, cold-calling & messaging those in the museum sector. “I really wanted to suck the marrow out of the experience so I met with about six or seven people who worked in museums in Philadelphia...I loved that it was exactly what you wanted to make out of it.”
Daniella mentioned that the responses were varied, from a few flat out 'no's to making sustaining connections with those she spoke with. “The woman I had met at Woodmere, I probably spent half a day there. She gave me a full tour of the museum... I had the opportunity to speak with every individual that was there that day.” Months later after Daniella had completed her thesis, she had a message from that same woman, Chrissy, on LinkedIn, asking if she was available to do freelance work for the Woodmere. Daniella jumped at the chance. She started out at the Woodmere focusing solely on their social media; then, when Chrissy stepped down, she suggested Daniella for her role as the Communications Manager.
As the Communications Manager, Daniella has a wide breadth of responsibilities. She is responsible for managing the museum’s public profile in print and online, and handles three to four marketing budgets at any given time. Her favorite thing, however, is doing what she had done as a freelancer, which is to run the social media and engage the public with the museum’s collection in new & exciting ways.
Daniella believes the PRO was invaluable to her experience in entering the professional world, especially when it came to networking. “A lot of people said ‘What you are doing right now is something you should continue to be doing,’ which is not job advice that was presented to me prior.” She continues to do it now, finding people whose careers she is interested in to connect about what they do and how they got there. “If you give someone the opportunity to talk about themselves, they usually respond pretty positively, is what I’ve learned.” She also warmly remembers that Chrissy had the “Thank You” card Daniella sent still on her desk when Daniella came back in to interview with her. “I just don’t think people do that stuff anymore.”
Daniella does acknowledge that the grass is always greener on the other side. “Sometimes I think an office job is not what it’s cracked up to be.” While she got “the wind knocked out of [her]” during her time at school, she does think fondly of the culture of respect and thoughtfulness by both her peers and professors. “I had no idea that workplace culture impacted your job so much.” In interviews she says it’s not just asking about workplace culture but “what you can pick up on.” In paraphrasing a TikTok video she had seen, she advises young job-seekers to bring their big-idea energy to job interviews.
Daniella wanted to take a moment to thank a few of the professors who really made her time at Villanova special, including Dr. Jean Lutes, Dr. Megan Quigley, Dr. Crystal Lucky, and Dr. Adrienne Perry (who Daniella admits she knows not as a professor but one for whom she joyfully plant-sat). She also wants to stress how the education one receives in the MA English program prepares any future jobseeker. “Anyone who comes from Villanova’s Masters program is going to have excellent writing skills.”
Daniella began her Masters in English at Villanova knowing she wouldn’t end up in an typical “English” field. Rather her passion was always art. As an undergraduate she majored in Art History & English, and she knew that “Art history has a huge writing emphasis, but it is a flaw of most art history programs that they do not prioritize writing coursework.” Thus Daniella decided to pursue her MA in English. She talks about two divergent paths she saw herself going down after receiving her Masters: “One was to get a PhD in Art History, not English, and the other path was to pursue communications for an art museum.”
Daniella decided to tangibly explore her post-grad career options by taking advantage of the English Department’s Professional Research Option (PRO), focusing on marketing & communications for Museums. The PRO course, available to second year English Masters students, consists of creating a portfolio for a career in which your degree prepares you. To complete your PRO you must interview several people in your desired field, create a career-specific resume & cover letter, alongside other pre-professional activities. Daniella threw herself fully into her PRO experience, cold-calling & messaging those in the museum sector. “I really wanted to suck the marrow out of the experience so I met with about six or seven people who worked in museums in Philadelphia...I loved that it was exactly what you wanted to make out of it.”
Daniella mentioned that the responses were varied, from a few flat out 'no's to making sustaining connections with those she spoke with. “The woman I had met at Woodmere, I probably spent half a day there. She gave me a full tour of the museum... I had the opportunity to speak with every individual that was there that day.” Months later after Daniella had completed her thesis, she had a message from that same woman, Chrissy, on LinkedIn, asking if she was available to do freelance work for the Woodmere. Daniella jumped at the chance. She started out at the Woodmere focusing solely on their social media; then, when Chrissy stepped down, she suggested Daniella for her role as the Communications Manager.
As the Communications Manager, Daniella has a wide breadth of responsibilities. She is responsible for managing the museum’s public profile in print and online, and handles three to four marketing budgets at any given time. Her favorite thing, however, is doing what she had done as a freelancer, which is to run the social media and engage the public with the museum’s collection in new & exciting ways.
Daniella believes the PRO was invaluable to her experience in entering the professional world, especially when it came to networking. “A lot of people said ‘What you are doing right now is something you should continue to be doing,’ which is not job advice that was presented to me prior.” She continues to do it now, finding people whose careers she is interested in to connect about what they do and how they got there. “If you give someone the opportunity to talk about themselves, they usually respond pretty positively, is what I’ve learned.” She also warmly remembers that Chrissy had the “Thank You” card Daniella sent still on her desk when Daniella came back in to interview with her. “I just don’t think people do that stuff anymore.”
Daniella does acknowledge that the grass is always greener on the other side. “Sometimes I think an office job is not what it’s cracked up to be.” While she got “the wind knocked out of [her]” during her time at school, she does think fondly of the culture of respect and thoughtfulness by both her peers and professors. “I had no idea that workplace culture impacted your job so much.” In interviews she says it’s not just asking about workplace culture but “what you can pick up on.” In paraphrasing a TikTok video she had seen, she advises young job-seekers to bring their big-idea energy to job interviews.
Daniella wanted to take a moment to thank a few of the professors who really made her time at Villanova special, including Dr. Jean Lutes, Dr. Megan Quigley, Dr. Crystal Lucky, and Dr. Adrienne Perry (who Daniella admits she knows not as a professor but one for whom she joyfully plant-sat). She also wants to stress how the education one receives in the MA English program prepares any future jobseeker. “Anyone who comes from Villanova’s Masters program is going to have excellent writing skills.”
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| Daniella Snyder MA '20 |
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