Tanvi Dhariwal

Majors: Art History and Italian (Comprehensive Honors)
Certificates: Classical Studies, European Studies, and Studio Art
Year of Graduation: 2020

I graduated from UW-Madison in December 2020 and spent the following year working at art galleries in Dubai. I am now a second year law student in the JD Program at Melbourne Law School. I also work as the Marketing Coordinator for Currie Communications, a sustainability consulting firm in Melbourne. In my free time, I enjoy painting, reading and watching historical dramas.

What motivated you to study Classics in college?

As a child, I was always deeply fascinated with history and was severely disappointed when I realized I could not build a time machine.  Studying Art History and Classics seemed like the more realistic option. The Art and Archeology of Ancient Greece with Nick Cahill was my first class at UW and I remember feeling so alive during that hour long 8 AM lecture. I knew at that moment I had to take more classics courses to fuel my love for ancient life.

How did your Classical Humanities major impact what you did after college, and are doing now?

I graduated in the middle of the pandemic, confused about what I wanted to do in the future. I moved to Dubai, where my family lives, and began working at an art advisory firm as their Research Assistant. I then became the Gallery Assistant at Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde. While working at the gallery, I began to get more interested in the repatriation of artifacts looted during the colonial era. I began to read more about museums and their practices and realized how much work needs to be done in the field. This motivated me to apply for law school.

What do you remember about your major or classes in Classics? What were the highlights?

During my time at the Classics department, I loved studying gender with Prof. McClure, myth with Prof. Beneker and archeology with Prof. Cahill. The highlight of my time in the department, and possibly my entire degree, was working as a Welton Sophomore Summer Research Apprentice with Prof. Aylward at the Valley of Temples in Agrigento Sicily. The two week archeological expedition was one of the most fruitful experiences of my undergraduate career: I got to work with a team of French and Russian archeologists at the Sanctuary of Chthonian Deities, explore the archaeological site and eat gelato for breakfast every day.