A UD student’s grant-writing journey at the Cooch Homestead
UD students envision a new future for Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site
Students from the University of Delaware learning what it takes to develop plans for a historic site will be sharing their thoughts with the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs (HCA), its supporters, and its newsletter subscribers through a series of articles the students penned about their time spent proposing ideas for the Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site near Newark.
The student authors are from a class taught in Spring 2024 by HCA’s Historic Sites Team Manager Daniel Citron and Engagement and Collections Manager Meg Hutchins.
Check out the second student article by Samantha Hertel below.
Beginning my (hopefully long) grant-writing journey
By Samantha Hertel
I began my first year of the master’s in history program at the University of Delaware knowing I wanted to go into public history work, but was unsure of what I wanted to specialize in. There are so many different subfields to choose from that I knew I would have to dip my toe in each to find what felt right. The second week of a parks and site management course focused on funding sources and grant writing, and I was hooked from that moment on: from the excitement of knowing my efforts could make such a large impact to the ever-changing research illuminating new information to the opportunity to collaborate across diverse disciplines.
I had some previous experience with grant writing in the past; I did some data compilation work for a nonprofit during an internship I held the summer before I graduated with my bachelor’s degree. What I did during that internship, however, was nothing compared to what I learned about in that class period. My teachers, Dan Citron and Meg Hutchins, taught me about some of the many funding opportunities available to an institution, and gave many helpful insights into how to become a competent and successful grant writer. They also demonstrated how instrumental grants can be in supplementing an institution’s mission by creating new and engaging programming that allows for greater community engagement and accessibility.
I left that class understanding how salient grants and other funding sources are for fostering an institution’s mission, and I knew that was what I wanted to do long term. Within the weeks following that class period, I was able to secure a summer internship where I began my fundraising and grant-writing journey. I hope to bring what I have learned about grant writing and historic preservation to this new role, as well as a seasonal position with HCA transcribing historical primary-source documents, in a way that could benefit visitors to the Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site for generations to come.
Samantha Hertel (she/her/hers) recently joined the HCA team as a seasonal employee at the Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site and will soon start her second year in the MA history project and museum studies certificate program at the University of Delaware. She is particularly interested in museum field finances, and hopes to pursue a career in grant writing.