Meet Mason, Provenance Detective and Renaissance Man Mason Koelm chose to attend the University of Iowa for its promise of a cross-disciplinary experience. As he puts it, “Nowhere else offered the diversity of programs that I wanted to explore.” For Koelm, the most interesting aspect of academia is the opportunity to connect various fields, an ethos reflected in the broad range of extracurricular activities he’s engaged with over his lifetime. He has expertise— though he admits to being Photo by Elizabeth Wallace out of practice—in six musical instruments, not counting a voice refined by classical training in opera. Add to that fencing club, mock trial, academic decathlon and quiz bowl, as well as several event hosting duties at the UI. Koelm is a bona fide Renaissance man. It would come as no surprise if he were one day said to be preparing for space travel. Until then, Koelm continues to amaze in his earthly endeavors. This year, his cross-disciplinary undergraduate journey at the University of Iowa came to a fitting close: a BA in International Relations, a BS in Criminology, Law, and Justice, and a minor in Anthropology. There’s also a certificate in museum studies to account for, a course of study that culminated in his eight-month tenure as Curatorial Assistant for Provenance Research at the Stanley Museum of Art.
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Koelm’s passion for museums traces back to his childhood. “I grew up in Cedar Rapids, but I’m originally from St. Louis and visited the latter frequently growing up,” he says. “Visiting the St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri History Museum, and especially the St. Louis Zoo gave me a huge appreciation of these institutions and their educational mission. Whenever I go on vacation, visiting museums, especially of local history, is a priority for me.” Students pursuing museum studies certificates at the UI are encouraged to intern at a museum or other cultural institution with significant collections. During Koelm’s first internship he worked with a team putting together a tribal summit funded by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Grant. His duties included investigating over 30,000 unassociated funerary objects found at over 100 archaeological sites across the state of Iowa. “I determined whether such sites contained mortuary features and whether the objects may have been found near or in these features,” he elaborates. His work is currently featured in the Office of the Vice President for Research’s Dare to Discover Campaign. At the Stanley, Koelm worked closely with Curator of African Arts Cory Gundlach to identify the origins of objects in the African Art collection. It could be S TANLEY M U S E U M O F A RT
