Whitney Evans
Director of Programs & Events, SC Chamber of Commerce, Columbia SC
AB, 2004 – Art History
How has being an AAHVS graduate from Duke helped shape your professional success?
If you can analyze and write about art, you can pretty much do that for anything. I don't work in an art-related field, but I constantly used those analytical skills in law school and I continue to use them today. I did two independent studies that looked at the intersection of art censorship and economics, and the thinking, primary-source research, and analysis required were an excellent "coaching" time for problem solving later in life. It taught me how to attack a question when the answer can't be found on google.
What advice would you give students in AAHVS?
I do think that if you aren't planning to pursue a career in art or art-related fields, you need to push yourself to think about how this major can apply to all areas of your intellectual development. There are myriad ways your intellectual development here can apply to other fields. Also, you always have things to talk about at cocktail parties and when you're networking.
