Hannah Young is a 6th PhD candidate in the Department of Music at the University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Her dissertation research focuses on colorblind casting practices in recent Broadway musicals. She explores how women of color, in productions that do not explicitly address race, have a unique position to subvert racial and gender stereotypes through their performance.
Hannah interned with the UVA Scholars’ Lab and managed the Digital Humanities Certificate Program under the mentorship of Alison Booth.
Q. What are your post-PhD career aspirations?
I hope to work in higher-ed as a professor and researcher. Alternatively, I'm interested in academic publication.
Q. Please summarize your PhD Plus internship
I applied for the PhD Plus internship in program management of the DH Certificate because I was interested in the "behind the scenes" aspect of running a university program. I wanted a better understanding of how committee members reached decisions about the program, how a DH program is designed and sustained, and what goes into course planning for such a program. Alison Booth gave me access to her planning for the Intro to Digital Humanities seminar, which included her syllabus building and choice of materials. She included me in Advisory Committee meetings. I helped organize the semester's events for DH Certificate students, as well as advertising events, opportunities, and other items of interest to them. Being involved in the day-to-day updates on the program and the "big picture" planning gave me a greater appreciation for the collaboration that goes into building, maintaining, and growing a program such as the DH Certificate.
Q. What professional skills did you develop during your internship?
I developed communication skills during this internship. As an intern, my duties included weekly event emails to the DH Certificate students, organizing and hosting monthly meetings for the Advisory Committee, and planning/organizing/promoting the big end of year showcase. I was in regular contact with different groups who each had different goals. I became more competent in digital content creation and promotion, as I updated the DH@UVA site regularly with news items, upcoming event notices, and new student profiles.
Q. How did the internship support your career development?
This internship gave me practical experience in the hands-on aspects of being a program director in an interdisciplinary field. It taught me how to speak across departments to individuals with different backgrounds/knowledge bases.
Q. What advice would you give peers on utilizing PhD Plus internships for career development?
Ask questions of your mentors. Don't be afraid to get involved, to contribute your knowledge to the job. You have valuable perspective as a young scholar/researcher, just as you can learn a lot from shadowing those who have experience in these positions.