Samantha O'Neal, Gift Administrator at the Smithsonian
Samantha O'Neal, W&M CLST and ANTH '14, talks about her career, from W&M to law school to becoming a Gift Administrator at the Smithsonian.
What is your graduation year, and did you have a double major?
I double majored in Anthropology and Classical Civilizations (2014)!
Can you tell us a little bit about your experience at William & Mary? What drew you to Classical Studies?
I loved my time at W&M and my friends from college remain some of my closest to date. I was active in Res Life, Hall Council and the Residence Hall Association and the on-campus tap group- Rhythm and Taps. I remember starting school only intending to major in Anthropology because of my love of archaeology and the intersection of museums and the law. I had gone through the course catalogue circling all the classes I wanted to take and I think most of them were with the Classical Studies department so I figured I'd better check it out. I loved how it combined my interests in history, language, art and archaeology. I was completely sold when the first class I had was Prof. Hutton and started by showing us a hedgehog floating on its back in a bathtub and then recited the opening of the Odyssey in Ancient Greek. Other fond memories include Latin with Prof. Panoussi, my study abroad trip in the summer to Italy with Prof. Spaeth and learning how to design homes in Pompeii with Prof. Swetnam-Burland.
What are you doing now and what is your favorite thing about your job?
After school I was deciding between teaching and law school. After two years doing Teach for America, I realized teaching was not for me and headed off to law school at Boston Col
lege. Because I had taken an academic interest in cultural heritage law and arts-nonprofits and worked at the BC museum during school, after practicing for several years as a trust and estate attorney in Boston, I decided I wanted to get back to the non-profit and museum world. During the Covid lockdown I made the transition to being an Estate Administrator, in which capacity I essentially work with the families of deceased donors, who have made bequests of assets, money or items to a nonprofit, to realize those gifts. I worked in this capacity at the National Geographic Society for two years before joining the Smithsonian in April. I love that my job allows me to work for an organization with a mission I care about, help families create a legacy for themselves, not work in a law firm, and have access to and support museums that I love. I also really love my colleagues.
How has studying the ancient world helped you in your career?
While I don't have much occasion to apply my specific classics knowledge on a day to day basis (although I do love lecturing my friends on Attic black figure techniques when we go to certain museums, shout out to Prof. Oakley!), the most valuable thing my education in Classical Studies gave me was the ability to write and think. Law school and practicing law both require a lot of communicating ideas – whether it's for a journal article or talking to colleagues or clients. Also the greater understanding of language that came from studying Latin has been invaluable especially when I was teaching Language Arts. It also adds to the the narrative of my career. Several of my internships I got because I could show a long standing passion for museums and cultural heritage and I could talk about the importance of those things to the modern world.
More broadly, how has that experience shaped you as a person?
One of the best things about the Classical Studies Department at William & Mary is its size- pretty much everyone knows everyone and you can develop close relationships with your peers and professors. That experience was truly invaluable. Unlink my friends, I never fretted over who I could get to write a letter of recommendation that wouldn't come from a stranger. I never had anxiety about showing up to office hours just to chat or get help on a paper. I felt empowered to speak up in class and form relationships with my classmates that last to this date. I was able to translate this confidence to teaching but especially to law school and networking which is how I ended up in my current role. Also studying Classical Studies has made me a great asset to trivia teams!
What advice would you give a student who is interested in your field?
The wonderful thing about the law is that it intersects with almost every interest you can have. So if you want to work in a museum or non-profit space I encourage you to think of helping those organizations in a legal capacity. If you want to go into law, I encourage you to think about a nontraditional career path. Many people don't realize all the things you can do with a JD beyond working for a firm and law schools aren't particularly good about telling you that either. In general it's hard to grasp how many career possibilities are out there. That's why it's great to talk to people. Ask them for coffee and just listen to their stories. That's how I ended up in a role that I love at an institution I've always dreamed of working for.
