Podcast
We want to welcome our followers to get to know Samantha Weaver, an intern and now a volunteer at the Presidential Library!
Born in Canton, Ohio, Samantha has lived here in Stark County her whole life. Growing up fairly close to downtown Canton, she has many memories of going to the Stark County District Library with her family. She loved reading and writing from a young age, even having a short story she wrote to be published in a book when she was in junior high. As a young girl, she also remembers going to different museums all over Ohio, which helped inspire her when she was growing up as to what she wanted to be when she got older. Her careers growing up changed from teacher to forensic analyst to paleontologist and now to her current goal of pursuing a career in records management/archives in the museum field.
She attended Hope Academy from 1st grade to 5th grade, transferring to Dueber Elementary for 6th grade, and then Lehman Middle School from 7th to 8th grades. She then got accepted to Timken Early College High School, which she went to for all of high school. While in high school, she was also in the Upward Bound Math-Science program at Stark State for all 4 years, where she found her love for museums once again after visiting the Field Museum in Chicago. She then found out about Walsh University’s Museum Studies program and from then, it was set for her. In 2017, Samantha graduated with an Associate of Arts degree from Stark State College and a high school diploma from McKinley Senior High School. She began attending Walsh University in fall of 2017 with a Museum Studies major and Art History minor.
In her free time, she likes to read about art history, write on her blog, learn about different museums and to visit them as well. She likes to draw and keep herself occupied by reading biographies, non-fiction, and mystery books.
Samantha began as an intern at the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum in August 2018 and is now staying on after her internship as a volunteer in the library. She chose this museum for her internship because it is close to where she lives, but it is also her favorite local museum and she has many fond memories from over the years. She loves being a part of a team and talking to the other volunteers because they are so knowledgeable and easy to talk to. Samantha feels like she has finally found a place where she belongs and can be creative in this positive environment. After being here, her love for the archives has grown and she sees herself continuing a career in this field.
Samantha would like to end with one of her favorite quotes:
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Gandhi
We want to thank Samantha for letting us interview her and allow us to share her story on our social media. Our team at the McKinley Presidential Library loves being able to share stories of our volunteers with people outside of the museum and we want you to be apart of that too!
If you would like information on how to become a volunteer, be sure to private message our page or call the museum at: (330) 455-7043
