10 YEARS OF TAKING PART: Joe's Story

Hi pawb, my name is Joe Lewis and I am a Learning Officer at St Fagans National Museum of History. I have been working for Amgueddfa Cymry - National Museum Wales for 10 years this year.

This year is also 10 years since the volunteering department was set up in National Museum Wales.

I began my career in Amgueddfa Cymru as a volunteer in the summer of 2009. I volunteered at the National Roman Legion Museum in Caerleon where I spent the summer dressed as a Roman and engaging with the public. After this experience I was asked to join the pool staff to help facilitate school sessions and public events.  

Between 2009 – 2011 I did a part-time Masters in Archaeology and volunteered for the Portable Antiquities Scheme, based at National Museum Cardiff. This volunteering role gave me experience in object photography and identification. It was through this experience that I was given the opportunity to catalogue an assemblage of Roman artefacts from Brecon Gaer Roman Fort. This gave me my dissertation topic and later the opportunity to publish 2 papers on Brecon Gaer.

Before I started volunteering at National Museum Wales I had been unemployed for several months and was suffering with depression. Volunteering helped to give me vital work and academic experience that helped me get a job and out of depression.

I owe a great deal to the volunteering department for giving me the opportunities I’ve had to lead me to where I am today. A massive thanks to them and a Happy 10^th Anniversary!