August 15, 2018
Just two days after her graduation, arts management alumna Cecilia Wright ’16 began
work as an institutional advancement associate at EcoTarium, a science and nature
museum in Worcester, Mass. This past spring, she moved up to a new position as a development
associate at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA).
The fifth largest museum in the United States, the MFA contains more than 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas.
“I love the art. It is amazing to work in a building where you are surrounded by incredible pieces and have the opportunity to appreciate them on a daily basis,” Wright said. As an undergraduate at MCLA, she served an internship at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass., which later evolved into a part-time job while she completed her bachelor’s degree.
Her position at the MFA is exactly the job she dreamed of having when she was a student at MCLA. “Visual art is one of my passions. Being able to have that connection in my work motivates me.”
At the MFA, Wright serves two different sections of development – leadership gifts, which focus on individual donors; and institutional relations, where she works with corporations and foundations. “My job entails a lot of correspondences, mailings, as well donor tracking, budgets, and updating the donor database.”
Her understanding of this type of database was crucial. It was through field work for a class on grants and fundraising at MCLA that led Wright to the Clark, where she first gained experience with databases.
“I love meeting new people and all of the challenges that development provides,” Wright said. “It allows me to think outside of the box and use creative problem-solving skills.”
