Since graduating in 2022, Olivia has worked for two prestigious UK heritage sector bodies. The skills and knowledge she gained through student activities – both academic and extracurricular – helped her secure her first role with English Heritage, and she now works at the British Museum as Assistant Collection Manager: Storage and Moves.
A passion for prehistory
At the British Museum, Olivia works on projects to process, store and transport artefacts. One example is the recent major ‘decant’ of the museum’s vast collection at the Blythe House storage facility to other locations, including the new British Museum Archaeological Research Collection near Reading.
“I really enjoy it because no two days are the same. Sometimes I’m packing archaeological or ethnographic objects for transport and storage, sometimes I’m doing object photography, sometimes I’m doing documentation.”
Originally interested in medieval archaeology, during her studies Olivia discovered a new passion for prehistory. “A highlight of the course was being able to learn about our species’ journey from our earliest origins in Africa, alongside the analytical scientific methods used to understand the past.”
So, among the thousands of items she processed as part of the Blythe House project, she was particularly pleased to handle objects such as neolithic bone tools from a collection of prehistoric small finds. “Being able to look at an object made 6,000 years ago, intricately carved and decorated, and knowing it was part of someone’s worldly goods, was really great.”
As a child I’d ask questions about why people do things and I’ve always been inquisitive about what makes us human – at Southampton that translated into the study of human evolution.
Olivia Keegan Carr, MSci Archaeology, 2022; Assistant Collection Manager: Storage and Moves, British
Developing professional skills
Before joining the British Museum, Olivia secured a role with English Heritage as Community Engagement Coordinator at Marble Hill, a historic house near Twickenham, London.
She credits her Southampton experience as the key to her success. “I was involved in lots of society committees, such as the Archaeology Society, LGBTQ+ Society, and the student choir. Through these I gained experience in running events, managing finances, publicity and social media.”
This rich set of transferable skills made her an ideal match for the English Heritage role. “One of my responsibilities at Marble Hill was taking the lead on social media. Events were also a big part of the job – during my time there I helped run a Diwali event, which attracted more than 2,000 people.”
Olivia was also able to bring her academic experience to the role, incorporating archaeological outreach days into the Marble Hill events calendar.
Above all, her time at Southampton equipped Olivia with the communications skills and confidence that are essential in any career.
“When I first went to Southampton, I wasn’t the most confident public speaker, and I didn’t like talking in front of people. But I became a student ambassador for Archaeology, so I had to talk to open day visitors about the course and my path to Southampton. That really helped prepare me for interviews and presentations to come.”
Achievements and ambitions
Although her career journey began relatively recently, Olivia already holds longer-term ambitions in the field of palaeolithic archaeology, either as a researcher or in a curatorial capacity looking after prehistoric collections.
In the meantime, she’s proud to be one of the guardians of the British Museum’s treasures. “It’s really rewarding to know I’m helping to safeguard its world-class collections for the future.”
