March 2026 Member of the Month
Meet Mary Alice Waite (she/her), Visitor Services Coordinator at the University of Iowa Pentacrest Museums in Iowa City!
What’s one thing — either industry/work-related or not — you learned in the past month?
I learned that joy is a choice you have to make everyday, rather than something you seek out externally.
What do you value about your membership with AAMG?
As an emerging professional, AAMG offers experiences, advice, and networking opportunities that have been a valuable part of my learning experience in the museum field.
Coffee or Tea?
Tea
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
It changed all the time! Mermaid, fashion designer, architect, history teacher, graphic designer, consumer data analyst, stay-at-home mom, it goes on!
If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it be?
I think I would want to be Jacob Collier for a day. He is an absolute musical genius and I really want to know what it is like to have his brain and to experience music the way he does.
Book/Author suggestion?
Joan Didion! I love everything she’s written, but The Year of Magical Thinking is my favorite.
What do you enjoy most about being a part of an academic museum?
I love being connected to University students. My main role is supervising student staff and it is such a joy to watch them grow professionally and be a person they can come to for academic or professional advice. One of my favorite qualities in a job is the opportunity to help others grow and learn. But, just as much, I also appreciate everything that my students have taught me. It goes both ways.
What are your hopes for our industry?
I hope that museums and galleries continue to be trusted and relied upon as information keeps moving from third spaces into the digital world. I hope we can continue to provide fun, engaging ways for students of all ages to interact with educational content. The literacy crisis going on in k-12 students is worrying me, and I hope our industry can be a part of the solution.
