{"id":19304,"date":"2016-10-11T09:55:41","date_gmt":"2016-10-11T13:55:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/?p=19304"},"modified":"2017-01-11T14:48:24","modified_gmt":"2017-01-11T19:48:24","slug":"back-to-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2016\/10\/11\/back-to-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Back to the Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Laura Gilchrist\u2019s sense of style unfolds on Facebook, where the UMW senior sports an Eagles sweatshirt and jeans, a leather jacket and shades, a black and white dress with heels.<\/p>\n

But this 21st-century student feels just as tres<\/em> chic when she pulls on a corset and a pair of starched stockings.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of a sudden you walk a little straighter,\u201d said Gilchrist, who\u2019s donned period garb and done historic re-enacting for years. \u201cYou\u2019re a whole different person. It transports you to another time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"UMW <\/a>
Laura alongside students at Sherwood Forest. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Historic <\/a>
Laura works on cleaning the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Pope Leighey house. <\/div> <\/div>
\"Laura <\/a>
Laura posing in period costume. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Laura <\/a>
Laura at Sherwood Forest. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Laura <\/a>
Laura posing in period costume. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Historic <\/a>
Laura works on cleaning the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Pope Leighey house. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

She hopes her dream job as a museum curator will, too, pushing her into the past and feeding her passion for sharing it. A hotshot in UMW\u2019s prestigious historic preservation program, she\u2019s as dynamic as the degree she is working to earn.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaura is simply outstanding,\u201d said Assistant Dean for Student Involvement Melissa Jones. \u201cShe\u2019s taken her Mary Washington experience and capitalized on every bit of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Commuter Student Association president, Class Council vice president, student orientation coordinator, historic preservation student aide and Washington Guide, Gilchrist blazes like wildfire through the campus she loved at first sight. A postcard memento from that middle school visit a decade ago still graces her desk.<\/p>\n

Born in Panama, Gilchrist was nudged by her aunt, a Central American Supreme Court justice, toward a career in the law. But when her military family moved to Dahlgren, Virginia \u2013 and the historic Fredericksburg area \u2013 she found something new … and something old.<\/p>\n

They joined the Rappahannock Colonial Heritage Society, where Gilchrist delved into 18th-century drama and dance. As her love of heirlooms and relics took on a life of its own, so did her wardrobe, brimming with petticoats and parasols, bloomers and ball gowns.<\/p>\n

Then, in high school, a second jaunt down Double Drive \u2013 this one for Discovery Day \u2013showed Gilchrist how her love of the past could help shape her future. She sat in on a historic preservation class, talked in depth with former department chair Gary Stanton and made a decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love history. I love historic re-enactments. I didn\u2019t know you could do something with that,\u201d said Gilchrist, who set her sights on UMW\u2019s historic preservation program, one of the best of its kind in the country. \u201cThis is exactly what I want to do with my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, as she nears graduation, she\u2019s working to wrestle her resume onto one page. She\u2019s helped refurbish the Frank Lloyd Wright House, attended Colonial Williamsburg conferences, spent Spring Break at the Craik-Patton House. And that\u2019s just for starters.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t watch PowerPoints,\u201d Gilchrist said of UMW\u2019s unique and highly hands-on program. \u201cWe learn by touching and holding, so you can actually understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winner of Mary Washington\u2019s Bowley and Annie Fleming scholarships, she\u2019s planned exhibits and led lessons at famous Fredericksburg sites like James Monroe Museum, Kenmore Plantation and Mary Washington House. Online, she blogs about English Regency-era styles.<\/p>\n

And on campus? Gilchrist will welcome her brother, Michael, to UMW\u2019s Class of 2020 in August and finish her own degree in December. But she plans to stick around for one more semester to wrap up her responsibilities with Class Council and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I\u2019m going, you can\u2019t stop me,\u201d she said. \u201cI put myself into everything I do. I feel that\u2019s the only way to live life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Find your purpose and watch your future take flight. Apply for admission to UMW today. Visit\u00a0https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/admissions\/undergraduate\/<\/a> to learn more.<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Historic preservation major eyes museum career<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":19305,"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":[150,4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19304","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brand-stories","8":"category-show","9":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBack to the Future - 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\/2016\/10\/11\/back-to-the-future\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lisa Chinn Marvashti\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/11\\\/back-to-the-future\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/11\\\/back-to-the-future\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lisa Chinn Marvashti\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eab3b9dd084c2488474792f0c391b8e7\"},\"headline\":\"Back to the Future\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-10-11T13:55:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-11T19:48:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/11\\\/back-to-the-future\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":593,\"commentCount\":4,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/11\\\/back-to-the-future\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/20\\\/2016\\\/07\\\/Laura_HP.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Brand Stories\",\"Show on Great Minds\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/11\\\/back-to-the-future\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/11\\\/back-to-the-future\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/11\\\/back-to-the-future\\\/\",\"name\":\"Back to the Future - 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