Juliana Harris graduated from Messiah in 2018 with a degree in Education and a PreK-4th grade teaching certification, but instead of pursuing a career in a classroom, she is teaching in a museum! After graduation, Juliana moved back to her home state of Massachusetts and began studying for a Master’s degree in Museum Education at Tufts University. While attending school, Juliana has worked part time at different science centers, ultimately working her way up to interning at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and now serving as staff at New England’s most visited cultural institution!
Juliana currently works as a Program Presenter at the Museum of Science in Boston, Massachusetts. Her primary role is to engage visitors of all ages in hands on activities throughout the Museum’s staffed exhibit spaces. Juliana works mainly in the Engineering Design Workshop, where she helps oversee daily operations in the space. In addition to engaging and educating visitors, Juliana also assists in training and mentoring volunteers and interns. When not at the museum, Juliana enjoys skiing, baking, and traveling!
Juliana feels that Messiah prepared her immensely well for both graduate school and her career. Interestingly, none of the other students in Juliana's Master’s program have undergraduate degrees in education. She has found however, that her experience planning and teaching lessons and managing student behavior, has been a huge asset in both her work and grad classes! Juliana also volunteered at the Oakes Museum and worked on a museum-focused honors project while at Messiah. Beyond academics, Juliana is so thankful for the relationships that she left college with. Despite living in Massachusetts, she still keeps in touch with many of her Messiah friends and professors!
Finally, Juliana’s advice for current and future students is to not be afraid to explore career paths that may not be “traditional” for students in your major. Juliana stumbled upon the field of museum education while working as a summer camp counselor at a science museum, and she says that it was the biggest blessing. Juliana would also like to add that although putting yourself out there may lead to rejection, as it has for her many times, you’ll never know what you can achieve if you don’t try.