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Karintha Lowe ’16
Karintha Lowe ’16 smiles while leaning against a large tree trunk on a sunny day. She is wearing a dark teal sweater, with blurred buildings visible in the background.
Karintha Lowe ’16 smiles while leaning against a large tree trunk on a sunny day. She is wearing a dark teal sweater, with blurred buildings visible in the background.
I love the liberal arts model because it makes it possible to go in different directions simultaneously until you finally decide the path you want.
Karintha Lowe ’16

English Major
Assistant Curator of the Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library
Archives • Teaching • Study Away • Mellon Mays

My first job at Mac was work-study in Special Collections, so mine feels a little bit like a first-job-to-dream-job story. I went on to get a PhD in American Studies, and then had a two-year postdoc in public humanities work. My current role is multiple. I help bring new objects into one of the world’s oldest and largest collections of performing arts materials—which includes photographs, print materials, and ephemera not just about 19th– and 20th-century Anglophone theater, but also about pop entertainments like the circus. I teach with the collection, working with faculty within and beyond Harvard to bring objects to their classes and helping researchers find their way around the collection. And I get to propose and curate special exhibitions.

I was a Mellon Mays fellow in college, which meant I could take advantage of opportunities that otherwise might be unpaid. I did my study abroad in China, and because of the mentoring and connections of Mac faculty, I was able to get a research fellowship to extend my time in China, traveling with and working for a Yale professor. It was the first time I thought about everyday objects as precious scholarly holders of knowledge, and it helped me see paths that might branch out from academic work.

My Mac experiences led me to a graduate program that granted me the opportunity to explore multiple avenues of interest. I chose my PhD field because it had tracks to both faculty positions and work in cultural institutions. I had two resumés going for years, one for teaching and one for curatorial work. My postdoc combined those two, teaching in the Sarah Lawrence history department and working in curatorial at the Hudson River Museum. Now I am in a job that is primarily curatorial, but where I also get to draw on my teaching experience. Having Mac faculty who took a chance on me, and helped me figure out how to make things work well for myself, was so important for getting here.

Last updated: October 2025