{"id":18900,"date":"2015-04-30T09:47:54","date_gmt":"2015-04-30T13:47:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/?p=18900"},"modified":"2015-04-30T09:47:54","modified_gmt":"2015-04-30T13:47:54","slug":"hands-on-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2015\/04\/30\/hands-on-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Hands-On History"},"content":{"rendered":"

It almost sounds like a Nike commercial \u2013 if you want to do it, just do it.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s exactly how five University of Mary Washington students ended up conducting preservation work on Frank Lloyd Wright\u2019s Pope-Leighey House<\/a> in Alexandria, under the supervision of alumna Audra Medve.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can learn terminology in the classroom,\u201d said Medve. \u201cBut if you want to learn how to take care of buildings, then you need to actually take care of buildings.\u201d<\/p>\n

This slideshow requires JavaScript.<\/p>

<\/div>\n

As the preservation manager for the Pope-Leighey House, Medve invited Michael Spencer, director of UMW\u2019s Center for Historic Preservation<\/a>, and his students to help with the first part of a three-step process that would remove buildup from the exterior walls of the house and protect and stain the wood.<\/p>\n

Dressed head-to-toe in white chemical protection suits, UMW students spent two days preserving the wood by first spraying it with a biological chemical cleaner to remove the debris and then rinsing it down.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not every day students can say they\u2019ve worked on a Frank Lloyd Wright building,\u201d said Spencer. \u201cHands-on experiences lead to a better understanding of the structures and materials that the preservationist seeks to conserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Medve, environmental elements like pollen, pollutants and dirt from watershed adhere to the wood like cake. The last effort to rid the wood of this buildup was in the 1990\u2019s and Medve is now leading the two-week process to get the house clean again.<\/p>\n

A 2012 graduate of UMW, Medve began her career as a teacher before becoming a stay-at-home mother and finally transitioning into her second career as a \u2018preservation enthusiast.\u2019 Her move into historic preservation was inspired by her daughter, Taylor.<\/p>\n

Medve and Taylor had just spent the day in Washington, D.C., touring the monuments as the alumna shared the history of the city with her daughter. On the metro ride home, Medve asked Taylor,\u00a0just nine years old at the time, what she should study if she decided to go back to school.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should learn how to take care of history,\u201d said Taylor. \u201cYou\u2019re really good at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Medve later did an Internet search for \u201cwho takes care of historic buildings,\u201d the University of Mary Washington\u2019s historic preservation program came up. And the rest, you might say, is history.<\/p>\n

A few short years later, Medve has worked for George Washington\u2019s Mount Vernon and Oatlands Historic House and Garden before moving into her position at the Woodlawn and Pope-Leighey House. And she credits her education with UMW\u2019s historic preservation department, and specifically Center Director Michael Spencer, for her success.<\/p>\n

\u201cI received instruction at UMW that most of my colleagues receive in graduate level programs,\u201d said Medve. \u201cThe department as a whole is truly wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, Medve is still thrilled with her second career.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis doesn\u2019t feel like work,\u201d said Medve. \u201cIt feels like getting paid to do the best hobby in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alumna Audra Medve makes a career by taking care of history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":18906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[74,51],"class_list":{"0":"post-18900","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-show","8":"tag-alumni2012","9":"tag-historic-preservation","10":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHands-On History - Great Minds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2015\/04\/30\/hands-on-history\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erika Bush\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/30\\\/hands-on-history\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/30\\\/hands-on-history\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Erika Bush\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cf05e77f0eb1cc4d79b5d18070f58332\"},\"headline\":\"Hands-On History\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-04-30T13:47:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/30\\\/hands-on-history\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":498,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/30\\\/hands-on-history\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/20\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/Historic-Preservation-12_hp.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"alumni2012\",\"historic preservation\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Show on Great Minds\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/30\\\/hands-on-history\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/30\\\/hands-on-history\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/30\\\/hands-on-history\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hands-On History - 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