Karina Chiu ‘14

Karina recently returned from Mito, Japan where she taught English for three years to students ranging from 4 years old to 16 years old as part of the Mito Assistant English Teacher  (“AET”) program. She is currently a part-time math and English tutor and activity guide for a company that hosts international students; connecting students with host families and providing them with classes to improve their English as well as activities that expose them to Southern California culture. Karina recently obtained her substitute teaching permit and is studying for the GRE before applying to teaching credential programs.

Karen Cody J.D. ‘14

Karen graduated from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles May 2017 and sat for the July 2018 California Bar Exam. Karen participated in both the Young Lawyers Program and the Dorsey High School Teen Court, during which she mentored high school students to prepare them for a mock trial competition during her final year at Loyola Law School . Karen wrote for the Loyola International and Comparative Law Review, as part of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights Project (“IACHR”). Karen’s summaries of decisions from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights have been published on the IACHR database.

Since graduating, Karen has completed the Loyola Law School Resident Associate Program, where she was able to sharpen her legal skills prior to beginning her legal career.  Karen is looking forward to starting her legal career and marrying her fiancé, a doctor and recent graduate of the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara, next summer.

One of Karen’s favorite memories of her time at UCI was interning in the Department of Art History. Karen writes, “this internship was my first real job, and it allowed me to work with the professors whose classes I had taken. This memory is one of my favorites because it made me feel as though I was able to contribute to the department, and I got to interact with other students and professors that I may not have otherwise met. Working in the art history department helped me to develop a strong work ethic and allowed me to work on projects that I really enjoyed. I am so proud to have been an art history major at UCI, and I can credit the art history classes that I took at UCI for developing my life-long love and passion for art.”

Jennifer Condas ‘14

Jennifer sent her twin daughters off to college this fall and is now continuing work on a book she’s writing about Abby Aldrich Rockefeller and MoMA. David Rockefeller, Mrs. Rockefeller's last surviving child, learned of Jennifer’s project about his mother a couple of years ago; after his death recently, some of his papers were sent to the Rockefeller Archive Center, where Jennifer will return to conduct further research with hopes of finding something new and unpublished between Abby and David.

Jennifer argues in her work that David was a posthumous partner to Abby in her quest to promote MoMA and hopes to find material to support her theory in his papers.  Some of Jennifer’s work has been read by the curators at Kykuit, the Rockefeller's historic estate in the Pocantico Hills of the Hudson Valley in New York, from whom she received positive feedback. She was able to view the Peggy and David Rockefeller Collection at Christie’s Auction House a few months ago before this marvelous collection went to auction and saw some breathtaking pieces including Picasso's Young Girl with a Flower Basket, which fetched $115 million!

Jennifer is co-chair for the Visionaries Lecture Series at the Orange County Museum of Art as well as docent, both of which she ‘absolutely loves.’ Jennifer wishes all of her professors and friends in the department the best!

Michelle Maasz Brouwer '14

Michelle landed a position at Irvine Barclay Theatre in Audience Development and Social Media following her return from eighteen months in Wiesbaden, Germany with her new husband, teaching dance at the Frankfurt International School and Dance Academy Wiesbaden. Michelle worked in development for the UCI School of Humanities prior to her time abroad.

Michelle is the Entertainment Chair for the newly formed Orange County Chapter of the UC Irvine Alumni Association, and is involved with Emerging Arts Leaders OC. She was invited to speak at the recent 2018 commencement weekend Arts Awards Ceremony.

Michelle enjoys “travel, attempting to speak German, and (finally) learning how to cook.” “Having a degree in Art History was invaluable while living in Europe," she notes. You can keep up with Michelle on Instagram - @michellembrouwer

Alex Garcia ‘15

Alex works full-time at The Broad museum in downtown LA, as Visitor Services Associate Manager. Alex works directly with the Associate Director of Visitor Services, focusing on short and long term goals and development of multiple positions in the Visitor Services Department; she also works closely with with the curatorial team on research, development, and implementation of exhibition training content.

Christine Hoffmark ‘15

Christine graduated from Claremont Graduate University with an MA in History with an emphasis in Museum Studies Spring 2018 and left shortly thereafter for New York City for an internship at the 9/11 Museum and Memorial for a conservation internship working under the head conservator and registrar.

She worked on “Lady Liberty”, a 10’ tall fiberglass Statue of Liberty, left outside of Fire Station 54 near Times Square. Fire Station 54 lost fifteen men during the first few hours of 9/11 and Lady Liberty spontaneously popped up in front of the fire department as a memorial. People gradually began to add items to her like notes and fire department patches until she was completely covered from head to toe in objects. Christine catalogued the loose ephemera and tribute material decorating the pedestal base and helped cleaning. Christine returned to California late August to look for either conservation or collections management positions.

Chelsea Ngoc-Khuyen Trinh ‘15

Chelsea works full time as a Visitor Services Associate at The Broad Museum in Downtown LA. Chelsea reports to Alex, focusing primarily on managing museum floor staff (Visitor Services Associates “VSAs”) and other daily operations logistics; she also works on developing and improving material to make the museum and its art further accessible for visitors of all backgrounds.

Leilani Yamanishi ‘15

Leilani is Visitor Services (“VS”) Manager at Laguna Art Museum. She supervises and works with five VS Associates with museum admission to current events, exhibitions, and programs. Leilani also manages the museum store and maintains inventory for almost 50 consignment artists, book vendors, and museum merchandise including limited edition collaborations with brands like Quiksilver and Vissla in celebration of 100 years!

Laguna Art Museum is celebrating its centennial year with a variety of events and the “Art Colony: The Laguna Beach Art Association, 1918-1935” exhibition that FOAH will view on January 5th during a private tour led by executive director, Malcolm Warner. The Laguna Beach Art Association (LBAA) was founded by a group of artists, whose hard work and ambition led to the transition from LBAA to Laguna Beach Museum of Art to the Laguna Art Museum, as it stands today.