Curating Culture

Anthropology, Study Abroad Scholarships Help UMW Senior Find Niche

Studying abroad in France gave Emma Greer ’27 insight into French art and architecture, fashion, cinema, and the impact the French Revolution continues to have on daily life centuries later.

“It even dictated which bread can be considered a baguette,” said Emma, an anthropology major and museum studies minor at the University of Mary Washington, who spent three weeks in Aix-en-Provence observing French culture firsthand. “I loved being an outsider while experiencing it for myself.”

Her travels were possible because of the Mikhael ’95 and Katherine Valentine Charnoff ’04 Scholarship and the Donna Cannon Julian ’69 Endowment for International Study.

UMW anthropology major and museum studies minor Emma Greer ’27 visiting the Palace of the Popes in Avignon, France. Receiving the Mikhael ’95 and Katherine Valentine Charnoff ’04 Scholarship and Donna Cannon Julian ’69 Endowment for International Study helped Emma spend three weeks studying abroad in Aix-en-Provence. Photo courtesy of Emma Greer.

Emma Greer ’27 (right) and fellow UMW student Genevieve Smith ’29 enjoy lunch while studying abroad in Aix-en-Provence. Photo courtesy of Emma Greer.

Emma Greer ’27 poses on the beach in Camargue, France, during her three-week study abroad in Aix-en-Provence. Photo courtesy of Emma Greer.

“I’m so thankful for donors who are helping students like me find our niches,” said Emma, who serves as secretary for both Columns, a student-run journal highlighting undergraduate humanities and social science research at Mary Washington, and UMW’s Climbing Club. She also hosts a weekly show, Red Room Radio, inspired by the 1990 mystery-melodrama Twin Peaks, on the WMWC campus station.

Emma has enjoyed learning about cultures across the globe and time with anthropology professors such as Eric Gable, Jason James, and Justin Sisk. Her favorite course, however, has been Museum Laboratory, taught by UMW Galleries Director Tracy Stonestreet.

Her class curated Mark and Method: Prints from the Bowman Collection, which ran in UMW’s Ridderhof Martin Gallery last spring. Each student selected a screenprint produced by art majors at the Art Institute of Chicago in the 1970s to be displayed. They also learned how to frame and hang artwork, decided how viewers should experience and interpret each piece, wrote object labels, and assembled the exhibition catalog. “I even learned how to drywall,” she said.

Emma Greer rock-climbing with the UMW Climbing Club. She currently serves as club secretary. Photo courtesy of Emma Greer.

Emma Greer winds a grandfather clock at the Hunter House Victorian Museum in Norfolk, Virginia, where she’s interned for two summers. Photo courtesy of Emma Greer.

Emma Greer’s favorite course at UMW has been Museum Laboratory, in which she and her classmates had the chance to curate a show in the Ridderhof Martin Gallery called ‘Mark and Method: Prints from the Bowman Collection.” Here, a visitor sits in front of the print (far left) that Emma selected, ‘First Portrait of the Brand New Star,’ 1970, by Karl Wirsum. The color screen print is on off-white woven paper. Photo courtesy of Emma Greer.

Those skills came in handy during her internship for the past two summers at Hunter House Victorian Museum in her hometown of Norfolk, Virginia. At the Gilded Age-era home, Emma has led guided tours, reorganized the docent library, and rebound antique periodicals using best preservation practices.

“Mary Washington has truly prepared me for my career after college,” said Emma, who plans to pursue a master’s degree in library science and information studies. “Knowing that I have the support of the University and its alumni who are helping me fulfill my dreams makes me feel truly grateful.”

For information about supporting student success through scholarships now and through your estate plans, email Executive Director of Gift Planning and Major Gifts Jeremy Vaughn ’08 or call 540-654-2063.

Article written by Assistant Director of Advancement Communications Jill Graziano Laiacona ’04 for the Fall 2026 Gift Planning Connections newsletter.