1. I had a strong desire for a career in
the museum field and the arts that
was fueled by my studies in art histo-
ry and college experiences interning
at Franklin & Marshall College’s
Phillips Museum of Art and the Phila-
delphia Museum of Art. I was looking
at a couple of graduate schools, and
the UArts Museum Communication
program really stood out because I
saw it provided opportunities to do
professional-level work while going
to school. The breadth of the Philly
art scene compared to the size of the
city was a real plus too. Though it’s a
big city and a big art scene, Philly is a
place where you can still connect with
people in the arts community and
feel like you can make a difference.
The MCOM program did just that, it
allowed me to have professional expe-
riences while working on my degree.
The training I received has been very
relevant in my career. For example,
at Ballinger, a Philadelphia-based
award-winning architecture firm,
where I’m a marketing coordinator/
designer, I work 95 percent of the
time with InDesign and Photoshop
to create communications materials.
This was an area I didn’t have compe-
tency in before grad school, and the
courses were designed to provide a
Rob Hassler MA ‘13
Museum Communication
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
The University of the Arts
baseline proficiency to enable us to
work with other design specialists, to
speak their language and understand
the process. I really enjoyed it and
saw how important this could be for
my career and really focused in on
learning and doing design, and it has
been a huge asset for me in my work.
Having these digital design skills has
also been important given the im-
portance of technology today in the
workplace. The program provided
an understanding of how graphic
technologies are put to use in muse-
um and professional arts settings. In
terms of what I learned and products
at work, the biggest things have been
to use my understanding of design
principles, branding, communication
strategies and functionality for devel-
oping marketing materials, project
proposals and website materials.
Though I’m not working in a museum
at the moment, I still get to the many
museums and galleries around the
city, and I am still connected with
one through my work as a producer
for the Philadelphia Geek Awards.
This is an annual red-carpet event
honoring outstanding achievements
in Philadelphia’s vibrant geek com-
munity, hosted by the Academy of
Natural Sciences and Geekadelphia.
This work arose from my contact at
the Museum Studies department’s
Museum Match Night with the Acad-
emy’s manager of Adult & Strategic
Programs for a summer internship
to assist with adult programming.
While there, I was exposed to the
Geek Awards and was given a chance
to help coordinate the event. I used
this opportunity to “grab the bull by
the horns” and contribute as much as
I could, and my role grew into being
one of the lead producers for the
event. It’s been such a great experi-
ence and opportunity to meet and
collaborate with amazing people who
are doing great things in the city’s
art and tech community and who are
striving to make Philadelphia a better
place.
I’m really appreciative of my experi-
ence at UArts. I had an overarching
understanding that going into grad
school and falling into a job was an
ideal situation, so it was up to me to
figure out what skills would best serve
me, and focus on those. Being in the
school while in a professional envi-
ronment allowed me better under-
stand that, and to observe in person
that you’ll need a degree and that
you’ll need to work hard to succeed
in the arts. I tell people who want to
go to graduate school and work in a
museum that you have to be passion-
ate about it. It’s fulfilling, too, to know
that what you are doing for a museum
can have a real impact on the arts in
Philadelphia.
Rob Hassler MA ‘13
Marketing Coordinator / Designer
Ballinger Architects
Marketing Coordinator / Designer
Ballinger Architects