A La Porte County Life in the Spotlight: Savannah Jackson

Savannah Jackson earned her undergraduate degree in history at Saint Mary’s College in South Bend. Today she is putting her history degree to work as the Assistant Director of the La Porte County Historical Society Museum.

“This is really strange when I tell people this, but even though I was a history major, I never pictured myself working at a museum of any capacity,” Jackson said. “When this opportunity arose in 2022, I gave it a shot and I’ve been here ever since.”

Jackson has held the role for four years. In it, she oversees the museum’s front desk, collaborates with museum volunteers, assists with research, creates social media content, writes content for the museum’s newsletter, and so much more.

“Being the jack of all trades is how I label myself,” Jackson said. “I really love my job as well.”

In her role as Assistant Director of La Porte County Historical Society Museum, witnessing child patrons’ enthusiasm for history takes her back to her childhood.

“It’s always great to see younger kids get into history,” she said. “It reminds me of what I did when I was younger. I loved going to museums and learning about so many different things.”

This historical learning offered by the museum is an asset to the local area.

“The Museum’s goal is to preserve and promote the amazing history of La Porte County. We have a variety of events and programs every month to peak everyone’s interest in local history,” she said.

Jackson was born and raised in La Porte. She graduated from La Porte High School in 2016. 

“I’m actually the first in my family to go to La Porte,” she said. “My parents are originally from Michigan City, so I’m actually the first La Portean.”

Jackson was well prepared to fill her role in part due to her degree from Saint Mary’s College.

“I think they prepared me really well,” she said. “I have some great mentors and professors at SMC, and I did some wonderful internships.”

One of her internships was at the IUSB in South Bend.

“I interned at the IUSB to do an exhibit at the South Bend History Museum. It was to celebrate 100 years of the 20th amendment for women’s right to vote,” Jackson said. “It was a really neat experience.”

Outside of work, Jackson loves animals and fosters them. Currently, she is fostering a kitten named Baby Hank.

“Baby Hank is actually my first foster kitten and I received her when she was around a week old. Her eyes were closed and I had to bottle feed her every two hours. The animal shelter  was overwhelmed with animals, and they were running out of fosters so I volunteered to be a foster,” Jackson said.

Jackson additionally enjoys traveling and studied abroad in undergrad. She also lived in Scotland.

“I love traveling,” she said. “I’ve been to Europe many times. I first studied abroad over there, and then I actually lived in Scotland for a year. It is a wonderful experience and I encourage everyone to experience it at least once in their life.”

Jackson is certainly a part of this work in her role and has a lot to offer.