Books are where it starts for most of us in the Rare Books and Digital Humanities program. Like my classmates, I always had a passion for reading and an interest in history.
Hi, my name is Amanda Hemmons. My family is Brazilian, but I’ve spent most of my life in Seattle, on the West coast of the USA. I studied art at the University of Washington and received a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Visual Art. Originally, I wanted to design book covers. Then I spent a few years working in a bookstore and I became fascinated with the selection of antiquarian books we had in special glass cases. I actually spent many years away from school. I taught art to children; I worked in bookstores; I repaired video game consoles; I managed inventory; I procured R&D parts and supplies. I learned a lot of technical skills in my time away from academia, but I never lost my love for learning, and my love for books.
When the pandemic struck, it was a disaster for the whole world. However, it gave me the time and opportunity to reevaluate what I wanted out of my life and to consider going back to school. I was pleased to be accepted into the RBDH program and it’s been quite the experience! Moving to the other side of the world wasn’t easy, but the people in Besançon have been very friendly and patient with my attempts at French. Funny enough, though it’s 5,000 miles away the weather here is just like my home in the Puget Sound!
