Amy Echo-Hawk, right, and Elizabeth Weatherford, head of the Film and Video Center of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. (Photo by Katherine Fogden)

Amy Echo-Hawk (MA '03) wanted to improve and extend the media systems of indigenous communities. Associate Professor Polly McLean told her to get a government job. It turned out to be pretty good advice.

"I looked on usjobs.gov and found a media position with the soon-to-open National Museum of the American Indian that seemed tailor-made for my interests, education and background," Echo-Hawk said. "To apply, I endured the torture of preparing a CV for a government position. My one-page resume ended up being nearly 15 pages long, and it took me a day and a half to prepare."

Quantity and quality turned out to be the ideal combination, and she was hired as the screenings coordinator for the Film and Video Center of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

"Working in a federal position and constructively within a bureaucracy is something completely new to me," Echo-Hawk said, but the payoffs include interviewing Native American filmmakers about their work and being there when an Indian-made film clicks with a general audience.

She said her experiences at the School have helped her.

"Everything I learned up to my last semester of my master's degree helped me professionally and even personally in many ways. For example, many of the print writing courses I took were taught by really demanding professors. Training in journalism encourages one to crave constructive feedback and criticism of your work. It helped me develop a thicker skin and made me less sensitive about making revisions or changes to my work," Echo-Hawk said.

Echo-Hawk lives in Arlington, Va., with her daughter, Anaya LaMarr, 9. echohawka@yahoo.com