The last month has been quite exciting for me in regards to genealogy! The first exciting news is that I was fortunate to have been chosen for a genealogical scholarship via the APG (Association of Professional Genealogists) and the second exciting news is that I will publish my first genealogical piece with the SPG (Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Genealogía).
I will talk a bit more about these two exciting opportunities!
APG Scholarship
I have previously talked about the APG (Association of Professional Genealogists) before on this blog when I talked about hiring a professional genealogist. I myself hired a genealogist in France in order to complete on the ground research in French Archives two summers ago using the APG’s website to find him. I definitely recommend you check out their site both as a genealogist and if you are interested in hiring someone for their expertise.
The APG has a Young Professional Scholarship which they usually award every year (besides between 2020-2022, likely given the pandemic) to a young genealogist between the ages of 18-35 “who has a significant interest in genealogy and has a strong interest in developing a professional career” (APG). The scholarship application deadlines closes on June 1 and a part of the application is to answer a few short-answered questions about your background and interest in genealogy. Check out the APG page for more information!
The scholarship includes one registration to the APG Professional Management Conference and reimbursement of up to $500 for hotel and travel expenses. Check out the PMC (Professional Management Conference) details for 2023 – it seems like a very cool and interesting conference for professional genealogists looking for the next step!
Since I will be out of this country this October, my goal is to use my scholarship for next year’s conference in October 2024. I am very excited to be able to attend this conference and use this opportunity to network with other genealogists, gather more knowledge about the professional side of genealogy, and just soak up being around others also interested in genealogy.
SPG Publication
While taking ProGen back in 2021-2022, one of our assignments was to create an Educational Plan for genealogy. In this plan we had to assess our skills and traits and to give an overview of our genealogical goals. I divided my goals into three sections: Education, Publication, and Certification. The first part was filled with different workshops, webinars, and programs I wanted to look into in order to continue bettering my genealogical skills. Then, under publications I included potential opportunities to write and/or present on genealogy, and finally under certification I listed new genealogical groups to join and my goal to ultimately become certified via the BCG (Board of Certified Genealogists).
One of my goals for 2021 was to write an article which I could publish with the SPG (Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Genealogía), a Puerto Rican Genealogical Society I have been a member of since 2019.
So in November 2021 I began writing an article about my Charles family from Salinas, Puerto Rico who originally came from Martinique and Guadeloupe. After a few versions I sent the article over to the SPG in late 2022 and waited to see if it would be selected to be printed in Hereditas a publication that is printed biannually by the society. Membership includes free copies to this publication, but non-members can buy them individually if they are interested in an article.
Earlier this year I heard back that my article was chosen for publication and that I needed to include some changes/edits and then it would be ready for Hereditas. I fixed the article quickly and sent it back and got the green light that it would be included!
I am so excited to be able to publish something about my family and in Spanish as well! I am definitely very proud of myself and the strides I have made genealogically! 14 year old me would definitely be very proud.
Below is a list of the articles being published for this Hereditas publication (2023, Vol. 24, No. 1)- I am article #2! As you can see I decided to publish using both my paternal and maternal surnames.
What the
future holds...
I am hoping that this will open up more opportunities for me. I still want and plan to turn a portion of my life into a genealogical career, but whether that is part-time or full-time I will have to wait to find out.
I am also excited at the possibility of publishing more articles both in Spanish and in English. I do miss academia so this is a perfect way to continue with research and writing in a field I enjoy. A dream come true will be to publish with the NGS (National Genealogical Society), a bigger genealogical society.
I also want to flesh out some more possible presentations I can give in regards to Puerto Rican genealogy and I have already been working on both a presentation and article list with ideas.
I am super excited and pumped because I would have never dreamed this was possible when I first began researching as a teenager.
Here’s to more professional genealogical progress!
Cover Image Source: “APG Announces 2023 Scholarship Recipients,” APG eNews (https://silkstart.s3.amazonaws.com/e3e2df80-8cee-4a0a-9aba-26618daf62b4.pdf : accessed 13 September 2023).