New Professional Development Certificate Program from The National Institute for Genealogical Studies

From The National Institute for Genealogical Studies:

To help their students meet the expectations of a growing genealogical consumer community, The National Institute for Genealogical Studies announced today their new certificate program in Professional Development.
"This certificate fills an important niche for the genealogy community" says Louise St Denis, Managing Director of the National Institute. Louise adds, "After 15 years of providing genealogical education we felt it was time to expand our offerings to include an eleventh certificate especially designed for those working in the field of genealogy."
Of the certificate program, National Institute instructor and professional genealogist Melanie D. Holtz, CG stated "Having a solid foundation in professional genealogy is key to your success, whether you are just beginning your business or seeking ways to expand your knowledge and experience.  The National Institute for Genealogical Studies' new Professional Development Certificate is unique in that you reap the benefits of the knowledge and experiences of multiple genealogists who have walked this road before you.  The new Professional Development certificate with numerous in-depth skill-building courses, will bring strength to the learning experience."
Professional Development Certificate
The National Institute for Genealogical Studies offers eleven Certificate Programs including the Professional Development Program.  Courses in this new program include, Transcribing, Abstracting, & Extracting - Career Development: Choosing a Niche - Creating Programs for Adults & the Younger Generation - Organizing a One Name Study - Lecturing - Forensic Genealogy - Genealogy and Copyright - Palaeography - Document Analysis - DNA - Marketing - House and Farm Histories - One Place Studies - Analysis and Skills Mentoring - Methodology
To learn more about The National Institute's Certificate Programs, see their website at http://www.genealogicalstudies.com.

The director of this new program is Gena Philibert-Ortega, who holds two Master's degrees in Interdisciplinary Studies and Religion. She has made presentations in person and online on various subjects including genealogy, women's studies and social history. She is also the author of hundreds of articles in genealogy newsletters and magazines, as well as the blogs Gena's Genealogy and Food.Family.Ephemera. 

St Denis commented "We are excited to have Gena Philibert-Ortega's involvement in our Professional Development program.  Gena has had a successful full-time  genealogy career for over 12 years and her experience will assist others as they transition to professional work or continue in their careers."
Gena said "I'm excited about this opportunity to bring courses designed for those interested in professional genealogy. I'm looking forward to continuing to grow the program to meet the needs of the genealogy community."

She is the author of the books, From The Family Kitchen (F + W Media, 2012),  Cemeteries of the Eastern Sierra (Arcadia Publishing, 2007) and Putting the Pieces Together.  Gena is currently the editor of the Utah Genealogical Association's journal Crossroads. An instructor for the The National Institute for Genealogical Studies, Gena has written courses about social media and Google. She serves as President for the Southern California Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists and is a board member of the Utah Genealogical Association. Her current research interests include women's social history, community cookbooks, signature quilts and researching women's lives using material artifacts.
Everyone at The National Institute welcomes Gena Philibert-Ortega to her new position and looks forward to the growth of the Professional Development Certificate.
Enroll Now for a Special Offer
Enroll now in the Professional Development Certificate and receive 10% off your course package. Use code FGS2013 or call 1-800-580-0165.

I plan to complete my General Methodology Certificate by the end of this year or early next year, and I will definitely look into this program after that. It seems like a good opportunity to learn more about how to build a career in genealogy, which is my long-term goal. Congrats to Gena Philibert-Ortega on her new position!

Stop by Sewickley Public Library for How-To Day

Hi everyone! Tomorrow I'll be doing one of the many short presentations (around 15 minutes) at How-To Day, which is going on at libraries throughout the North Region of Allegheny County, PA.

My presentation will be on how to start your genealogy, including how to complete a pedigree chart.

Here's more information about How-To Day: http://howtoatyourlibrary.com. Hope to see you there!

Setting Some New Goals

My year on the BCG clock has expired, and I have decided not to get an extension. I definitely intend to seek certification in the future, but the more work I have put into my portfolio, the more I have realized that I'm just not ready yet. I'm at a point where I need to step back and reevaluate my goals.

I also think that I need to engage more with the genealogy community (online and locally). I have gained a lot of knowledge and experience over the last few years, but I still have a lot to learn. Hopefully, I can find more experienced genealogists to mentor me, or at least become more active in local genealogy societies. I plan to focus more on posting on this blog and working on Geneajobs.net more often as well.

It would also be a good idea for me to complete more research projects and take more classes at the National Institute of Genealogical Studies and elsewhere before I continue work on my BCG portfolio. I need to slow down and enjoy the experience of learning more about genealogical research.

I think I'm pretty good at this, and I look forward to getting better. I just can't be in too much of a hurry to do so.

Fearless Females - Family Documents

I haven't written on the blog in almost a year. It's been mostly a pretty hard year for me, but I would really like to jump back into the community and start participating more regularly.

I would like to one day specialize in researching female ancestors, particular in southwestern Pennsylvania. So, what better way for me to start blogging again than with a Fearless Females post? Thanks to Lisa Alzo at The Accidental Genealogist for the great daily prompts.

Today's prompt from The Accidental Genealogist: "March 9 — Take a family document (baptismal certificate, passenger list, naturalization petition, etc.) and write a brief narrative using the information."

This the state death certificate of Charlotte "Lottie" Templin, my husband's maternal great-grandfather. Lottie had a tough, short life. For years, my husband's family didn't know much about her - and we still don't know a lot, really. She lived all around the South growing up and had at least 10 brothers and sisters. She lived in "Indian Territory" (now part of Oklahoma) when she married Will Tamplin (some members of the family spell it "Tamplin," some "Templin").

She and her husband had 2 children in Oklahoma before moving to western Pennsylvania and having 2 more children. As you can see, she died when she was only 34 years old of pneumonia complicated by infection and "exhaustion psychosis." She died at St. Francis Hospital in Pittsburgh, which closed 11 years ago.

Poor Lottie. The more I learn about her life, the more thankful I am for my own.