Growing up in a college town in Granville, Ohio, Susannah Montgomery ’15 is no stranger to liberal arts colleges. She had always been interested in attending a small liberal arts college outside of Ohio. But after touring school after school, Montgomery began to realize how comfortable she already felt at Wooster.
Intrigued by the Independent Study program, she was excited to join a community of like-minded students passionate about learning, collaborating, and challenging themselves. “I loved the idea of being in charge of my own project at the end,” Montgomery said. “That was the environment I really wanted to be in, to be surrounded by people who are also really curious-minded.”
Initially unsure of what she wanted to study, Montgomery took a religious studies course during her first semester and was hooked. “I loved studying how religion affects the way in which society interacts and how we reflect on that through our own cultural memory,” she said. Montgomery emphasized the support she felt from her academic advisor Mark Graham, Lincoln chair of religion and associate professor of South Asian studies and East Asian studies: “He is such a good listener. It was so great to both learn from him and have a space where I could unpack what we were doing, our discussions, and what I wanted out of life.”
Nearing the end of her junior year, Montgomery decided to complete a second major in sociology. Supported by Thomas Tierney, professor emeritus in sociology and anthropology, Montgomery highlighted the impact he continues to have on her own teaching style and work as an educator.
Montgomery credits these close faculty relationships with immersing her in interdisciplinary studies, guiding her curiosity, and shaping a career path based in arts, culture, and media. “There are so many lenses to tell you why culture is important. Culture drives the economy, culture makes people healthier, and culture is the champion of democracy. Studying at a place like Wooster, you're used to thinking in these different lenses.”
On campus at Wooster, Montgomery worked in the admissions office and religious studies department, managed events for the Wooster Activities Crew, and participated in the Wooster Chorus. She also worked as an intern at the Ohio Light Opera in Wooster for three summers as house manager. Montgomery credits this eye-opening experience with inspiring her to attend graduate school. “That’s where I realized you can love the arts and don’t have to be on stage. It was so important to me to stay active in a musical community, but I didn’t necessarily want to make a career out of being the performer,” she said. “I’ve found a root towards enabling the cultural and creative community.”
After graduating from Wooster in 2015, Montgomery earned a master’s degree in arts policy and administration from The Ohio State University. Montgomery spent several years working in events and fundraising at the Columbus Museum of Art and working at the university level managing a media lab, but she was eager to start creating change on a larger, global scale. Montgomery made the decision to move to the Netherlands in 2017, where she was offered a job teaching in a media management program.
Never having expected to take on a role as an educator, Montgomery drew on the teaching styles of her former Wooster professors: “I remember deeply channeling some of my old professors because I hadn’t planned to be a teacher,” she said.
At EIT Culture & Creativity, or the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, Montgomery manages partnerships around media, technology, and culture. “So much of the interdisciplinary way of working and thinking at Wooster keeps coming back in what I'm doing,” she said. Working for an international company with offices across eight different countries, Montgomery balances a unified mission, with smaller, regional goals across interpersonal communication.
Montgomery credits Wooster with preparing her to navigate a constantly changing world through an interdisciplinary perspective, in addition to fostering her curiosity and adaptability: “The world is changing so fast, and you always have to learn new things. The more you can work with a principled, empathetic, and curious mindset that’s not afraid to be a continuous agile leaner, the more prepared you are for a world that’s constantly in flux.”