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Frame of Reference | Midlife, Master’s Degree, and Meaning: Semester One Lessons

Midlife, Master’s Degree, and Meaning: Semester One Lessons

As I wrap up finals week in my first semester of NYU Steinhardt’s Visual Arts Administration master’s program, I find myself emotional—in all the best ways.

First, I want to acknowledge the people who made this semester not just possible, but transformative: Elizabeth Pergam, Mark Loiacono, Adam Thabo, Nora Rodrigues, and Scott Drevnig. And, of course, my ultimate partners on this journey: Sejin Park and Emily Long.

I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone. The old adage is true—the older you get, the faster the days speed by. Compared to my MBA years, this semester felt like a flash. But it was a flash packed with meaning. And the biggest surprise? The most valuable lessons weren’t just academic—they were human.

My Biggest Lesson: it’s okay to be a geek.
Or, more accurately, I’m finally giving myself permission to embrace it. One thing midlife grants you—if you let it—is the freedom to be exactly who you’ve always been. For me, that’s a forever-curious Montessori kid who never grew out of asking “why?” Returning to grad school has only amplified that.

I ask questions. A lot of them.
Part of me always worried that made me annoying, and maybe it still does (!). But this semester my classmates told me something I’ll never forget—they appreciated that I asked the things they wanted to know but didn’t always feel ready to voice. I credit Corporate America for this superpower: in those rooms, no one waits for your raised hand. You learn to speak up. And yes, that may make me a semi-annoying classmate—but it also makes me an intentional, engaged one. I wouldn’t trade it.

So what did I learn in semester one? Honestly, the lessons are simple—beautifully simple.

1. Be Yourself.
As I wrote in my MBA essays years ago, my long-term plan was always to leave Corporate America and return to the world of arts and purpose-driven work. Now, studying visual arts administration through the lens of real-world experience, I feel more “me” than I have in a long time.

2. Age Is Just a Number (aka Be Yourself, Part II).
I wondered how it would feel to re-enter school at this stage in my life. What I discovered is that passion erases any imagined age gap. My classmates and professors welcomed me fully because they saw how much I wanted to be here. Showing up wholeheartedly dissolves barriers we often create in our own minds.

3. Be Open to Learning Everything.
This semester, I intentionally pushed myself into areas that were not my comfort zones—Exhibition Design (way outside my technical skill set!) and Art Collecting (deeply academic). Both classes stretched me, and both reminded me of a familiar truth: people are brilliant in ways we don’t always see coming.

My classmates don’t just love art—they live it. They’re fluent in artists, exhibitions, practices, histories, and ideas. Their generosity in sharing their knowledge, passion, and creativity blew me away. It took me right back to my days at The Boston Beer Company when I realized how many forms brilliance can take.

I end this semester feeling grateful, energized, humbled, and—most importantly—aligned. Surrounded by talented, curious, big-hearted people, I feel like I’ve returned to a version of myself I’ve been trying to get back to for years.

Here’s to Semester One!!
To learning without ego, to embracing who we are, to being brave enough to ask the questions, and to the art—always the art—that keeps calling us forward.




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