Who is Elio?
...GLAD YOU ASKED!
Hello, readers! My name is Elio Singer (He/they), and I'm a 20-year-old junior at UCF, studying history and anthropology with a focus on public history, archival studies, and museum studies. I currently live in the outskirts of Winter Garden, Florida. Outside of my academic career, I spend my days reading many books, drawing digitally, making jewelry, learning languages, researching historical figures, and...well, doing more reading.
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I am grateful to have worked in museums since the age of 14. My first in-field job was at the George Chamberlain House in New Jersey, a small Victorian museum difficult to miss on the winding roads of Oak Ridge, Jefferson Township. Constructed in 1874 by Amos Chamberlain, this charming abode was presented to his son, George Chamberlain, and his wife, Ruth Elizabeth Chamberlain, née Speaker, as a wedding present. At the museum, I trained for three months to become the first junior docent under the museum director. There, I would learn how to guide tours, answer historical questions curious patrons had, assist the curator in exhibit planning and design, and eventually try my hand at organizing a rudimentary archive alongside the director- all in period attire. I worked at the George Chamberlain house from 2018 to 2020.
After relocating to Central Florida, I found myself in my next job as an Archival Assistant, Social Media, and Web Design intern at the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, located in picturesque Downtown Winter Garden. I worked there from 2023 to 2024, training under the director, Jim Crescitelli, and the durator, Will McCoy. There, I assisted the curator with processing tasks, trained in using the PastPerfect archival system, helped set up and gather materials for exhibits, managed WGHF's Facebook and Instagram, and designed and managed their website. WGHF was my first, overwhelming introduction to modern archival methods and systems; my curiosity prevailed through my learning process, and it ultimately solidified my interests in the field and its multitude of individual complexities.
