In 2013, when Dorian Nash’s husband was laid off and she had to close down her real estate firm, she knew it was time for reinvention. While taking a refresher course in job-search skills, she was captivated by a speaker from the Odyssey Project — a free, one- or two-year course in the humanities offered by the Illinois Humanities Council and supported by UChicago’s Civic Knowledge Project — and enrolled while continuing her job hunt.
From the first class meeting at the AKArama Center in Woodlawn, Nash was hooked. “I had been a business owner and worked in corporate America, but I didn’t finish college,” she says; “the critical thinking and close reading that Odyssey emphasizes really engaged me.” She completed two years of the program and spoke at both years’ graduation ceremonies.
“I had always aspired to work at the University of Chicago. At the Smart Museum, I’m able to bring my experiences to the table to inform some of what we do in terms of meeting the needs of our community as well as the needs of the academic institution.”
Inspired by her studies, she began volunteering as an assistant with the project. That led to a part-time job as a docent at the Smart Museum of Art, where Nash felt a deep connection with students on field trips from neighboring schools. “When I was a kid and came to a museum,” she says, “I didn’t see anyone there who looked like me or could relate to me. I loved seeing kids’ eyes light up when I was their docent.” She made such an impression at the museum that the team there created a position for her: Nash is the Smart’s first full-time project coordinator for public practice. She’s also a University student, completing the Basic Program of Liberal Education at the Graham School.
