Introducing Academic Year Student Assistants

The fall semester has been full of activity at the Museum of Art, and we are delighted to welcome our latest cohort of students for the 2023-2024 Academic Year. Our seven student assistants bring diverse experiences and fresh perspectives to our daily work, and we are thrilled to have them as part of our team.

This year’s three student assistants to the curator are Mei Bock ’24, Alex Spear ’24, and Sabrina Kearney ’26.

Mei Bock ’24 (she/her), an English major and Visual Arts minor from New York City, returns to the Museum to continue her work on the upcoming William T. Williams retrospective with Co-Director Anne Collins Goodyear. An avid artist herself, Mei co-leads the Nightingale Society, which is the poetry club on-campus, and serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Bowdoin’s literary magazine The Quill. This fall, Mei will continue to focus on compiling scholarly sources and contemporaneous accounts about Williams, contextualizing the artist’s prolific career from the 1960s to the present. “As someone who paints and draws, I have also really enjoyed learning about the overlaps and differences between how Williams defines his painting and drawing practice, and the endlessly creative techniques he employs in both,” Mei said.

Alex Spear ’24 (she/her) is an Art History major and Hispanic Studies minor from Concord, New Hampshire. Having previously worked as a Museum Student Ambassador, Alex is excited to assist Anne Goodyear on researching the Walter Pach collection, an extensive collection of visual art and related materials by the modernist artist, scholar, and curator. “I am interested in the intersection of Mexican folk art and western Modernism, with Walter Pach and his contemporaries at the center of it,” Alex shared. “So far, I have been exposed to a wonderful library of art and information, and I can’t wait to dive deeper into 20^th century American (in the broadest sense of the word) art dynamics.”

Sabrina Kearney ’26 (she/her), an Art History and Economics double major from Nashua, New Hampshire, joins the BCMA as the student assistant on the forthcoming exhibition Without Apology: Asian American Selves, Memories, and Futures under the supervision of Curator Casey Braun. Outside the Museum, Sabrina is a resident of Howell House and a participant in the Women of Color Coalition and Smart Women Securities. Jointly curated by five faculty members across campus, Without Apology, which opens in December, examines the vibrancy and diversity of Asian American artistic expressions over the past century. Regarding her internship, Sabrina expresses her enthusiasm to contribute to “collections research and creating student-centered programming to connect the Museum to campus.”

We are also happy to welcome Dailey Raniya ’24 (she/they) to the team as our Student Administrative Assistant. From Waukegan, Illinois, Dailey is pursuing a major in Integrative Biology and a minor in Cinema Studies, with a focus on children’s media. With interests in event production and arts organizations, Dailey also serves as a programming chair for the Bowdoin Film Society. At the Museum, Dailey will contribute to administrative tasks and programming efforts under the supervision of Amanda Skinner, Assistant to the Museum of Art Directors/Membership & Programs Coordinator. “I am currently researching membership structures across art museums and am interested in learning how to make the Museum more accessible,” said Dailey.

The Museum also welcomes two Education Assistants, Quinn Cox ’24 and Sophia Pantzer ’24. They will develop educational resources, family events, and community outreach initiatives in collaboration with Curatorial Assistant and Manager of Student Programs Sabrina Lin. In addition, Sophia and Quinn will also co-lead this year’s group of eight Student Ambassadors, who collectively contribute to student-centered programming and increasing student agency within the BCMA.

Quinn Cox (she/her) is a double major in Asian Studies and Art History from Washington, DC. Growing up in the nation’s capital has instilled a deep love of art museums in Quinn, who is excited to take on a slate of educational projects this fall. Quinn has previously spent summers working as an outdoor educator and looks forward to working with young people and fostering creative learning within museum spaces.

A Psychology major from Indianapolis, Indiana, Sophia Pantzer also holds a strong interest in Education and has completed extensive coursework in the department. On campus, Sophia is part of the equestrian team and involved in the Accessibility Task Force on campus. “I am excited to work at the BCMA to apply what I have learned about K-12 education in a museum setting, and to make the Museum more accessible to the student body and to the larger Midcoast Maine community,” Sophia said. Quinn and Sophia will develop educational resources, family events, and community outreach initiatives in collaboration with Curatorial Assistant and Manager of Student Programs Sabrina Lin. In addition, Sophia and Quinn will also co-lead this year’s group of eight Student Ambassadors, who collectively contribute to student-centered programming and increasing student agency within the BCMA.

Finally, Emily Jacobs ’23 (she/her) returns to the Museum as its inaugural Student Assistant for Campus Engagement.  Emily hails from Los Angeles, CA, and is pursuing a major in Art History and a minor in Anthropology. She began her work at the BCMA this past summer, during which she focused on the upcoming exhibition, The Book of Two Hemispheres: ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ in the United States and Europe. This year, Emily is excited about her ongoing contributions to this exhibition, as well as taking a role in fostering campus engagement and supporting academic initiatives. Working closely with Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow Sean Kramer, Emily is most looking forward to developing programming geared towards her fellow students and assisting Bowdoin classes in their curricular visits to the Museum.

We are excited to work with these seven students and look forward to seeing their projects develop over the next several months!

Sabrina Lin

Curatorial Assistant and Manager of Student Programs