Portraits of Impact

Katie Strand BS’23 loves when people ask her – a former mechanical engineering undergraduate turned art history graduate student – what she’s doing around Pompeii, Italy. To Strand, it makes perfect sense why she would travel abroad and help discover ancient secrets outside the famed city.

“Art has always been a hobby for me,” she said. “And now, my interests lie in looking at art history, but through an engineering perspective. I get to use modern technologies to study ancient technology.”

Strand first got the opportunity to visit Italy in summer 2023 with one of her professors, Dr. Michael Thomas, associate provost and the Richard R. Brettell Distinguished University Chair in the Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology.

“He understood my engineering background and was immediately interested in having me join the Oplontis Project, which studies two ancient archeological sites (a luxurious seaside villa and a nearby distribution center) outside the city of Pompeii,” Strand said. “I worked on art historical research with accomplished archeologists, historians, architects and scientists. I ended up choosing to research suspended ceilings at Oplontis Villa A for my thesis, which involves civil engineering and architecture, to investigate how the ceilings looked before Mount Vesuvius destroyed them.”

She credits a two-year internship at the Crow Museum of Asian Art for the professional experience that helped her toward this role. Working closely with the museum’s development team allowed her to observe the significance of philanthropy in the art world. During her internship, the museum was preparing for a significant expansion into the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Jr. Athenaeum, located on UTD’s main campus in Richardson.

“I was so happy I was able to see the O’Donnell Athenaeum open at UTD,” Strand said. “During my internship, I planned events to get students interested in the museum. We were also focused on how we could further develop the Crow Museum to craft future programs and exhibits to better fit with our student population.”

Her experiences around Pompeii and at the Crow Museum were financially supported by the University. As an undergraduate student, Strand was awarded a Eugene McDermott Scholarship. The full-ride, merit-based scholarship program is only granted to about 20 students each year and can assist students with tuition, studying abroad, housing costs and a variety of other student needs.

“Being accepted into the McDermott Scholars program is what cemented my decision to come to UT Dallas,” Strand said. “It was one of the best opportunities I could have asked for. I was able to do a lot of great things and gain valuable hands-on experience through the scholarship program.”

Strand believes the value of philanthropic giving and investing in students like her cannot be measured.

“Investing in the arts is one of those things in life that can’t have a value placed on it,” Strand said. “We are naturally drawn to the humanities. There are so many people that are eager for the arts here at UTD, even if they aren’t in the Bass School. The arts prevent us from being overwhelmed in labs or typical nine-to-five jobs. They give our lives meaning and expand our horizons. The arts connect us to the greater world out there.”

With one more Italy trip on her resume during summer 2024, Strand is hopeful she will graduate in fall 2024.

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