Liberal Arts Alumna Embraces Public History, Family History

The Fort Collins, Colorado, native graduated from college in 2020 and worked as a paralegal for a criminal defense and civil litigation firm in Arizona. She considered applying to law school throughout her two-year tenure at that job, but ultimately, she realized her passions were elsewhere. 
 
As Dalena pondered her options, she kept reverting to her love of history, and when she officially decided to pursue a new path, she leaned on her family’s history—and Duquesne’s reputation—to make a change.
 
Two of Dalena’s cousins are Duquesne alumni, as was her grandfather Pete Iole, who served as Duquesne's mascot during the men’s basketball team’s NIT tournament championship run in 1955.  
 

“My grandfather graduated from Duquesne in 1956 with his bachelor's in education and again in 1958 with his master's in education,” said Dalena. “When we were growing up, he always spoke about how important school was and how formative that time was for him.”
 
According to Dalena, Pete described education as “the building blocks of his life” and encouraged his grandchildren to pursue higher education.  
 
“He imparted to us that you get more opportunities when you have the kind of education he received at Duquesne,” said Dalena. “I wanted to explore history in the place where he did.”
 
Dalena applied for the graduate history program with intentions of becoming a history teacher. Her plans progressed quickly, and she had just weeks to accept her seat in the program and move to Pittsburgh. 
 
“It's scary to move across the country. I got my acceptance on December 13 and the semester started January 12,” said Dalena. “I took the leap of faith, drove 30 hours and started in January.”
 
Once Dalena settled in Pittsburgh, her goals and interests came into greater focus as she discovered new possibilities and honed her academic ambitions. Thanks to faculty who walked alongside her to realize her strengths and the breadth of programs offered at Duquesne, she transitioned from the history program to public history. 
 
“I found my calling,” said Dalena. “Before Duquesne, I had no knowledge that public history existed and now I can't imagine doing anything else for the rest of my life.”
 
Dalena secured a job in her field prior to graduating in May 2024 at The Frick Pittsburgh, a complex of museums and historical buildings in Pittsburgh’s East End that allows guests to experience art, history and nature. 
 
“I was lucky to make a lot of connections through Duquesne, particularly through my museum education and public programming class,” said Dalena. “Through that class I applied to The Frick Pittsburgh to be a tour guide for their historic house. A full-time position later opened for an interpretive coordinator, and I became full-time in January.”
 
Dalena has a good sense of what she wants to achieve as she pursues a professional path with purpose. She works with the museum’s education team to coordinate logistics for school field trips and group tours. She also contributes to writing projects, trainings and tour development—all in an effort to make the museum’s historical content accessible to all. 
 
Just as Dalena shares Pittsburgh history at The Frick Pittsburgh each day, she takes pride in telling her family’s story, namely highlighting her grandfather and his ability to inspire and connect with others. In his memory, she wore a special piece of family history during her commencement ceremony—Pete’s Duquesne class ring.