Alyssa Dreliszak recalls sitting in Assistant Professor Maureen Kochanek’s art history class, studying the works of famous painters. 

Majoring in art history at Seton Hill, today she examines some of those works up close in her job as registrar at the Hudson River Museum. 

“What I like most is that I get to be one-on-one with the artwork. I get to look at things more closely than most visitors to a museum,” she says. 

“It really is a romanticized dream. Sometimes I have to pinch myself.” 

Dreliszak maintains the museum’s 80,000-piece collection – artwork loans, logistics, installations, handling and storage. She credits 13 internships and low-level jobs at museums, galleries and historical societies with getting her there. “It’s a very competitive field. You need to stay in the loop and always make yourself a standout applicant,” she says. She continued to pursue work in the art field while earning a master’s in Museum Studies at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.

“I never felt that anything was beneath me, even after grad school,” she says. “You can’t turn up your nose to opportunity.” Kochanek was a key to everything, she says. “Because of Maureen, I started to focus on museums so I could be close to art all my life. I am where I am today because of her.” 

Seton Hill’s young alumni are making their mark on the world through their work in science and healthcare, finance and business, industry, entertainment and service to those in need. The Fall/Winter 2019 edition of Seton Hill’s Forward magazine featured 30 of these alumni, all under the age of 30. You can find all of their stories here on Seton Hill’s site (just look for the “30 Under 30” icon).