Featured Alumni

Melissa Smith (MA 2007)

Profession: Archival Lead on the Tulane Recovery Project for Library Associates Companies.

Being in my mid-thirties, I worked in a couple of fields before I settled in the archival world when I accepted a position in the Manuscripts Department of Special Collections at Tulane University in 2004. Working for Special Collections was a fascinating and rewarding experience as their holdings are absolutely amazing and their Louisiana Collection and Manuscripts Department rival any in the state. Hurricane Katrina and the damage it caused to Special Collections opened my life professionally to other opportunities.

Katrina’s aftermath brought many researchers to town, working on various documentaries and publications. Thus began my journey to the freelance world. My family and I lost everything in Katrina so that I had to work outside my position at Special Collections to supplement my family’s income as we tried to recoup our losses. During that time, I worked on two documentaries for American Experience: New Orleans and The Great Fever as well as provided research assistance to Charles Lane’s The Day Freedom Died. Providing research assistance on both documentaries was a great experience. I also found working on them rather cathartic as the images and the stories showed me the resiliency and dedication of New Orleanians. Working on Lane’s book offered me a chance to hone in on my research skills and I thoroughly enjoyed working with him.  From there, Michael Mizell-Nelson of UNO’s history department suggested my freelancing skills to a Nashville-based publisher, Turner Publishing. From that introduction, my first book, Historic Photos of New Orleans, came out in late December of 2007.

As my freelancing expanded, I also started looking for a new position that would offer an opportunity to advance and expand my skills in this post-Katrina climate. In early 2008, I took a position as the Archival Lead on the Tulane Recovery Project for Library Associates Companies (LAC). This has been such a rewarding experience as I am aiding the return of collections that I worked on prior to Katrina and working on a restoration of an important library. I have learned a tremendous amount regarding project management and disaster management that I will always be thankful for this experience.

Katrina wrought so much instability into the lives of Louisianians. Yet, for me, the aftermath of the storm and the attention that they city has received has given me opportunities that I may not have had otherwise. It will never take away the pain and financial stress that so many of us dealt with and continue to deal with. Yet, communities such as UNO’s history department who encourage their students to strive and to excel, despite any adversity, and the contacts that I made there have helped my family and I to further recover from the storm.

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