Life After Tyler: 2024 Graduates Share Their Plans
Graduating senior Chloe Mordan (Ceramics BFA ’24) first had the opportunity to work at the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works in Doylestown, PA, as a summer intern last year. That experience has landed her a job with the working history museum, which still produces handmade ceramics tiles in the way its founder did in the late 19th century.
“It’s a nice combination for my Ceramics concentration and Art History minor,” Mordan said of her position, which will involve demonstrating how the tiles are made using old equipment in the Arts and Crafts style of the time. She credits a class field trip to the museum with Associate Professor Lauren Sandler with helping her land the internship.
“I will also be starting my own ceramics business, continuing to make my own work to sell,” said Mordan, whose pottery often focuses on imagery from nature and designs that reflect a sense of comfort or home.
Other Tyler graduates are similarly looking forward to applying the skills and knowledge they acquired in their programs in the workforce, as educators, facilities managers, researchers, art conservation interns, and in pursuing advanced degrees and fellowships.
Graduating Graphic & Interactive Design (GAID) MFA student Nghi To has been chosen to receive a prestigious design fellowship with Chronicle Books, a publisher of books for adults and children based in San Francisco.
Seohyun (Sera) Park (BA ’25), receiving dual bachelor’s degrees in art history and economics, is heading to an internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, where she’ll be working in the Asian Art and Paper Conservation Department. She then hopes to obtain her master’s degree and work full time as a conservator in a museum.
Architecture seniors Nicole Stone and Zara Abbasi, both receiving a Bachelor of Science in Facilities Management, have landed positions in different, yet related fields.
“After graduation, I plan on exploring the real estate side of my career with my degree in Facilities Management,” said Stone. She will be working as an analyst with Jones Lang LaSalle, a renowned real estate firm specializing in partnering with major corporations.
“Although I initially pursued architecture, I've found that my design skills are remarkably transferrable to the realm of real estate, where I apply them to the structural aspects of buildings,” said Stone.
Abbasi will be working full time as a technical analyst with Aramark in its facilities management department, focusing on IoT technology and the technical side of her field. “The IoT involves a network of physical devices embedded with sensors and connectivity, enabling data collection and sharing,” she said, adding that many of her new coworkers are Temple alumni.
“I owe this job opportunity to my connections at Tyler. Professor Alana Dunoff recommended me for the position, and they personally reached out to set up an interview,” she shared. “My education at Temple University, particularly in the Facilities Management department, has opened numerous career opportunities for me.”
Horticulture major Trinity Flores will be pursuing a master’s degree in biology at Villanova University and working closely with mangroves as a research interest. The research site is in St. Augustine, FL, and Flores will be exploring the mangroves’ ability to sequester carbon as well as how climate change impacts their existence.
Kalila J. Jones, graduating with a BFA in Fibers & Material Studies with a concentration in Art Education, will be part of the apprentice cohort for the Summer 2024 Screenprinting program at Philadelphia's Fabric Workshop and Museum. They also plan to have a few gallery exhibitions coming up in the summer.
Timothy Carr, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a BFA in Ceramics, will be attending the Master of Fine Arts program at the University of Delaware on a full ride, where he plans to focus on his studio practice. “I hope to become a ceramics professor and teach at a university in the future,” said Carr, adding that he will be teaching classes while he also attends his own graduate program, which he hopes will broaden his skill set.
“Tyler showed me the benefits of having a good work ethic. Professors like Michael Dela Dika and Rob Lugo really helped me find my voice and believe in myself, and truly inspired me and pushed me to challenge myself,” said Carr, adding that being at Tyler taught him the important of an accepting and tight-knit community.
Megan Reddicks Pignataro, graduating with a PhD in Art History, was hired as the full time Research Associate of European Art at the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo. OH. She will be working with the museum’s collection of European art in various ways, including exhibition development, gallery changes, collections research, label and publication writing, and on a major reinstallation of the entire museum in 2027.
“My time at Tyler has prepared me for this kind of position through my experience in teaching global art history with a goal toward decolonizing the canon, critical research and writing skills, and public speaking and engagement with art,” Reddicks Pignataro shared.
Another Art History PhD graduate, Kedra Kearis, has joined Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library in Newcastle County, DE as the Associate Curator of Art and Visual Culture. She also holds an appointment as Affiliated Assistant Professor in the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture at the University of Delaware.
Since joining Winterthur, Kearis has overseen the purchase of art objects that expand the museum’s histories of global exchange, race representation, and disability.
"In addition to curating a paintings installation spotlighting the global perspectives of the Peale family of artists, I am leading a loan exhibition for 2027 that explores the impact of Modernism on the vision of Winterthur founder Henry Francis du Pont," she shared.
As Kearis noted, her years at Tyler prepared her for the rigorous research, writing, and presentation required for her work as a curator.
“I am grateful to my dissertation advisor, Dr. Erin Pauwels, who modeled a high degree of professionalism in the field of art history, while also encouraging my imagination as a writer," she said.