How history alum Poppie Gullett became a National Historic Landmarks Historian
Poppie Gullett (B.A. ’15, M.A. ’17) has a penchant for practicality. It could be a quality instilled by her father, a CSU accounting alum, as she weighed options on choosing a major and a college: in-state or out-of-state, career prospects versus passions, balancing debt and income after graduating. Or it could be her temperaments of practicality, determination, and attentiveness toward others. Ultimately, Gullett’s love for Colorado, her family ties to CSU, and the university’s reputation for providing a quality and affordable education neatly aligned to confirm her decision to join the incoming undergraduate class of 2012.
“I really wanted a school where I knew there was going to be an applied practical mindset of education,” Gullett says. “I've always liked land-grant institutions that have a really practical mindset towards finding you a job, and that education is not the last thing you're going to do.”
Choosing History
Growing up in Colorado, Gullett explored national parks with her family each summer, and each trip grew her appreciation of historical sights, the outdoors, and the work of the NPS in historic preservation. When it came time to enroll for college, there was no question, she would be a history major.
“I like parks, I like being outside, I like old stuff,” says Gullett. “I just liked the idea that you didn't need to teach, that you could interpret history for the public.”
Though history was her clear choice of study, and CSU was her preferred school, the route to her goal of working for the NPS as a history major, was not discernable until she met with Associate Professor of History, Sarah Payne.
“I think she saw me immediately as a kindred spirit who was interested in environmental history and going outside and bridging the gap between the public experience and the academic source work,” Gullett says.
“Too often people think the only thing they can do with a history degree is to teach history or social studies. While teaching is one of the most important jobs out there, a history degree opens doors to so many more possibilities. There are jobs out there for history students in historic preservation, heritage management, archives, museums, interpretation, community planning, tourism, and more,” says Payne. “So the question isn’t what can you do with a history degree, it’s what can’t you do!”
Bolstered by her conversations with Payne, Gullett began to carve out a career path toward the NPS that included graduate school and strategic job choices — ticking off each bullet of relevant job experience she would need to become a national historic landmarks historian.
"A history degree opens doors to so many more possibilities. There are jobs out there for history students in historic preservation, heritage management, archives, museums, interpretation, community planning, tourism, and more."
Experience that included historic surveying and assessment projects for Pinyon Environmental and serving as the National and State Register Historian for the Colorado State Historic Preservation Office (History Colorado).
As a national historic landmarks historian, in the National Historic Landmarks Program under the National Parks Service, Gullett identifies and researches landmarks for potential designations as national historical sites, often travelling and collaborating with private landowners, state, and local governments to designate and preserve historic properties.
In her hometown of Lakewood, Colorado, Gullett works at NPS headquarters with a small team of archeologists and architects who are responsible for the research and designations of the program’s western region, which includes Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Montana, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
“As someone who likes to travel the West it’s the best. If you want to head to Paris, this is not the job for you. But if you want to wander around the backcountry of Montana, this is the gig,” Gullett says.
Though she has worked as the National Historic Landmarks Historian for less than two years, Gullett has offered support for projects such as the designation of the Rio Vista center in South Texas as a historic landmark. She attributes her work with locals in the areas she visits among the most valued aspects of her job.
“The best part is when you walk up to a site, and the people come out and they're so excited to talk to you and just gush to you about their history, the history of this place, and share themselves with you,” says Gullett. “You meet many people you would never run into otherwise.”
Building empathy is a trait Gullett considers crucial to collaborating and presenting information to the public, something current and aspiring public historians should pair with humility in all projects, allowing space for nuanced perspectives to exist alongside the rigidity of facts.
“Working with communities, they're going to have strong opinions and their own direction that might not actually square with the facts that you find in the archive sources you're using or online databases,” says Gullett. “It’s important not to make people feel like they don't understand their own history. When you're working with them, you need to leave space for a little gray area.”
“I hope to retire in this job. Truly, I love it very much.”