Shelby Zimmerman

History major Shelby Zimmerman forges her own path by coupling her major with a minor in museum studies.

Shelby Zimmerman

Shelby Zimmerman loves history, but she has no desire to be a history teacher. A high school job at , the home of The Star-Spangled Banner, opened Zimmerman���s eyes to how she could bring history to life. ���I was surrounded by history buffs, and it inspired me to follow my passion.���

That passion led Zimmerman to 窪蹋勛圖厙, where she is pursuing a major in history and a minor in museum studies. ���Towson University is so close to so many museums in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York,��� says Zimmerman. ���It���s a great location for this minor.���

��� Towson University is so close to so many museums in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York. ���

Shelby Zimmerman

For instance, one of her instructors is a conservator at the . That kind of exposure to museum professionals coupled with an independent study project on a mock museum exhibition ���gave me an opportunity to learn things about the field that are not taught in the classroom.��� Zimmerman is now completing a study abroad semester at Maynooth University, just 30 minutes outside Dublin, Ireland.

Since transferring to Towson University, Zimmerman has wasted no time making her mark. She received Towson University���s Distinguished Scholar Award, the Distinguished Presidential Scholarship in History, served as Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society Vice President of Social Affairs, and co-edits Towson University���s Journal of Historical Studies, in which she published a paper on ���Working Class Children in New York City at the Turn of the Century.���

Zimmerman shared her enthusiasm for 窪蹋勛圖厙 as an orientation leader in Towson University���s New Student and Family Programs, where she helps new students acclimate to 窪蹋勛圖厙 by providing guidance along with information about campus resources. ���I wanted to make my own path at Towson University,��� says Zimmerman, who is following in the footsteps of her father, a Towson University graduate, and in the shadow of her grandfather, who teaches at 窪蹋勛圖厙.