Amanda Goodheart Parks ’08 featured on the History Channel
Joining modern-day CEOs, historians and entrepreneurs on the History Channel’s “Titans that Built America,” Amanda Goodheart Parks ’08 served as a commentator throughout the series, sharing her historical insights on the early days of aviation and those who helped define the era and industry.
History Channel producers reached out to Goodheart Parks in March 2021 after finding her name through the New England Air Museum, where she serves as the director of education. Following a quick check of her credentials, they asked if she would be willing to be interviewed on various topics relating to aviation between WWI and WWII.
The filming was done over the course of several hours at the museum with a crew brought in from New York City. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the producer interviewed Goodheart Parks via Zoom. “Titans that Built America” premiered on the History Channel in 2021.
“I was hoping that at least one clip from my interview would make the final cut, so you can imagine how delighted I was when I was featured multiple times in all three episodes,” she said. “It was surreal seeing my name and hearing my voice alongside celebrities like Mark Cuban as well as incredible historians like Douglas Brinkley.”
A fascination with the past
Goodheart Parks’ fascination with the past began when she was a child and so Salve Regina and Newport itself, both rich with history, provided the perfect backdrop for her undergraduate studies. A double major in history and secondary education, she initially thought that she would become a teacher.
“I was always sort of a history nerd, so I knew as early as my freshman year what I wanted to study,” said Goodheart Parks. “When I said that I wanted to study history, my friends and family said, ‘What will you do with it? Will you pursue law or teaching?’ And I said that I loved people, so I assume that I would become a high school history teacher.”
Plans changed in her junior year, however, when Goodheart Parks enrolled in Introduction to Public History, a course that introduces students to museum studies, archival studies, oral history, historic site interpretation and historic preservation. That semester, she discovered a love for museum studies and a new career path opened for her.
Immediately following her junior year, Goodheart Parks interned at the Preservation Society of Newport County and the Mystic Seaport Museum. While at Mystic, she was involved with the children’s theater program and also gave tours of the Charles W. Morgan whaling ship, one of America’s oldest commercial whaling vessels. She also interned at Strawbery Banke Museum and Historic Deerfield and worked part-time at the Newport Historical Society and the Newport Restoration Foundation.
Wrapping up her senior year at Salve Regina, Goodheart Parks was awarded the Department of History’s Florence K. Murray Award for her undergraduate thesis, which explored the role of whaling captains’ wives in the 19th century. Her first full-time job in the museum field was in the education department at the Springfield Museums in Massacheusetts.
“It was the history department that was responsible for so much of my personal and professional growth while at Salve,” said Goodheart Parks. “Dr. Tim Neary, in particular, has continued to support me to this day. He helped me get into graduate school, served as a professional reference, and welcomed me back to campus to join the Salve history department as an adjunct.”
Inspired by her internships, Goodheart Parks submitted her senior thesis as a graduate admissions writing sample and went on to earn her master’s degree in history with a concentration in public history from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2010.
Furthering her research on the subject, she successfully defended her doctoral dissertation, titled “No Seas Can Divide Us: Captains’ Wives, Sister Sailors, and the New England Whalefishery 1840-1870” in 2018, earning her Ph.D. in History. Her focus was on whaling captains’ wives who defied social and industrial norms by going to sea together with their husbands aboard whaleships in the mid-19th century.
Moving from the seas to the skies, Goodheart Parks has been with the New England Air Museum, the largest aerospace museum in the region, since 2015. One of her K-12 school programs was awarded the American Alliance of Museums EdComm Award for Excellence and Innovation in Museum Education in 2021. She also serves as a board member of the New England Museum Association, which is the region’s professional development, advocacy and affinity group for museum professionals.
Goodheart Parks at the New England Air Museum.
Knowing that the field is highly competitive, Goodheart Parks advises new graduates to be flexible and be involved.
“Breaking into the New England museum field is often challenging … so having internships, part-time jobs, or volunteering on your resumé, along with a network of faculty and museum professionals to support you, is vital to standing out,” said Goodheart Parks. “Volunteer and internship opportunities are particularly helpful, because they allow you to explore different areas of the field.”
Returning to Salve Regina
Goodheart Parks met her husband Michael Parks Jr. ’08 on move-in day in Miley Café during their first year at Salve Regina. He, too, majored in secondary education and history. The two started dating shortly thereafter and were married at Ochre Court in 2014. Now a school administrator, Parks graduated from Salve Regina and became a high school history teacher, earning the Harold Grinspoon Foundation Excellence in Teaching Award in 2016.
“Mike has been my rock since our time together as students at Salve and has supported me in every aspect of my career,” said Goodheart Parks. “I would not be the person I am today without him.”
She returned to Salve Regina in September 2022 to offer a workshop through the Department of History about careers in the museum field. The weekend seminar covered all aspects of the museum studies field, along with a tour of the Tennis Hall of Fame, where students participated in a scavenger hunt to familiarize themselves with the museum — including the exhibits, facilities and gift shop.
Amanda Goodheart Parks ’08 and her husband Michael Parks Jr. ’08.
“Amanda’s success is a result of talent but also hard work,” said Dr. Tim Neary, chair of the Department of History. “Throughout her time at Salve, in graduate school, and during her career in museum education, she continually has sought out opportunities for self-improvement and professional development. She personifies the concept of lifelong learning. We in the Department of History are so proud of Amanda.”
As Goodheart Parks is proud of everything she’s been able to accomplish, and she is excited to be back on campus teaching students.
“I am often asked by students when I realized I wanted to become a historian,” she reflected. “The story I share involves a 10-year-old girl who, after her family got the History Channel in the mid-90s, watched a documentary and pointed to the screen when a woman was being interviewed with the title of historian under her name. According to my family, I looked at them and said, ‘That’s going to be me someday.’ I have been telling that story for years — and now I can only hope that a new generation of girls is watching the History Channel and pointing at me saying they will be historians someday, too.”
This story originally appeared in the Report From Newport Spring/Summer 2023 edition. It has been slightly changed from its original formatting.
Salve Spotlights is a series of people-centered stories periodically featured on SALVEtoday. Check out the tag Salve Spotlights for more stories.
