Welcome back to our ongoing series featuring the staff members who work here at the CHC! This post introduces our graduate research assistant, Grace Woodward. Grace comes to us from Northeastern, and is working on researching and documenting the history of enslaved and free Blacks in Cambridge during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Takoma Park, Maryland, a crunchy little city just northeast of Washington, DC.
Fun fact about Takoma Park: We love our town rooster! Roscoe the Rooster lived in and wandered around the city for a decade from 1989-1999. He became a kind of mascot for the city and is now remembered fondly in the center of town.
Where did you go to school? What was your degree?
I recently received my undergraduate degree in History from Northeastern University. I also graduated with minors in Art History and Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies. In my senior year at Northeastern, I started my Master’s in Public History as I was finishing up my undergrad. If everything goes as planned, I’ll finish my Master’s in the spring of 2020!
What are your interests or hobbies?
I play Ultimate Frisbee in most of my spare time! Generally, if I’m not at a museum or doing nerdy history things, I can be found tossing a disc and running around with my team (the Northeastern Valkyries – check us out https://express.northeastern.edu/valksultimate/)!!
Name some fun facts about you.
I do a lot of biking and hiking, I think astrology is super interesting, and I love the Washington Mystics.
When did you start working at the CHC?
I started working at CHC in September 2019.
What do you like best about working at the CHC?
I’ve loved the opportunity to focus on and prioritize research at CHC. I’ve always loved doing research, but in a lot of my previous jobs I’ve gotten bogged down in what feels like everything but historical research. It’s been really interesting to wade in to and try to piece together early histories of black communities in Cambridge while I’ve been here. It’s been important and rewarding to learn more about Cambridge’s difficult histories.
Do you have other professional pursuits?
Right now, I am also working at Northern Light Productions, a production company in Allston that creates all kinds of cool interactives and films for various museums and historical sites. I am also a writing tutor at Northeastern, mainly working with multilingual learners!
Give us a glimpse into your daily work or a current project.
At CHC, I’m researching and documenting the history of enslaved and free Blacks in Cambridge during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. I’m hoping to compile a narrative of this history that I can pair with a useful collection of various resources and documentation on the topic.
What do you like best about living or working in Cambridge?
I love my commute! That’s something not everyone can say, but I live in Roxbury Crossing and I love biking across the Mass Ave bridge on my way to and from Cambridge. Another Cambridge favorite of mine is Punjabi Dhaba in Inman Square, I think it’s the best Indian food in Boston and I can not get enough.
Thank you, Grace!
