Undergraduate Student Spotlight

Tara Bell, public history

Public history major Tara Bell came to Western Michigan University because it is one of the few universities in the country to offer an undergraduate major in public history.

Although she has enjoyed her classes, Tara has especially loved her internship experiences. During the summers following her first two years at WMU, Tara worked for Mackinaw State Parks as a guide and interpreter. “It gave me a great opportunity to work directly with the public,” she says.

Tara expanded her skill set even further, working as part of the historic preservation team for the Moses Cone historic mansion in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. “It was great because it was so outside my comfort zone,” says Bell. “I had never worked with power tools in my whole life! But I would recommend that to all students—to try something completely different from what they’ve ever done.”

Tara worked at the WMU Archives and Regional History Collections, housed on historic East Campus, where she assisted Dr. Sharon Carlson with a number of projects and researching a recently donated batch of letters written by local Vietnam War veterans. After graduation, Bell plans to begin graduate work in public history, either in historic preservation or in museum studies. “I love preservation, and I love museums, she says, “so I just need to find the program with the right fit and the right opportunities.”