From Colleges to Galleries

In the world of art and culture, few paths are as remarkable as that of Gina Caprari, an alumna of PCC. Today, Gina stands proudly as Registrar and Faculty Lecturer at The Global Museum of San Francisco State University where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Collections Stewardship and Archives Management.

While Gina’s academic journey did not begin at PCC, it is where she first discovered her passion for library studies. She recalls, “I had graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a degree in English and was working as a curatorial fellow at a gallery in LA called the Institute of Cultural Inquiry. I ended up taking a class at PCC called Library Technical Services because I was growing interested in archival studies, and it completely changed my life.”

After transferring to San Francisco State University to study English Literature in 2011, and then to San José State University and earning her master’s in Library Information Science in 2017, Gina landed her position at The Global Museum.

“The Global Museum is San Francisco State University’s university museum, stewarding a collection of global cultural heritage from around the world,” Gina says. “It serves as a teaching lab for the Museum Studies academic program on campus, helping students train in collections care, exhibit development, educational programming design, fundraising, marketing, outreach, and research.”

To this day, Gina credits PCC with much of her success.

“I only took that one class,” she says, “but I’ll never forget it. It made a huge impression on me and showed me how I could find success in the field.”

“That’s the great thing about community colleges,” she adds. “They’re about empowering people. PCC empowered me; it inspired me to take that next step into a graduate program.”

Indeed, Gina’s story is a testament to the transformative power of community colleges—of PCC. Her journey from student to archivist is a reminder that one’s passion can be discovered and cultivated from just one class.

The Global Museum is free and open to the public. It is currently promoting its “In the Fields of the North/En los campos del norte” exhibit, which explores the lived experiences of seasonal migrant farmworkers, reflects on where and how our food comes to us, and investigates what it means to create community away from home.