grandchildren on holiday to interesting places in Europe and Scandinavia. ‘They loved museums and heritage,’ she recalls.

From being little, I just knew we were going to interesting places, and as a museum professional now, I recognise that they were open-air museums.

Rhiannon knew she'd found her genre when she began volunteering at Beamish.

‘We went to Beamish as part of the course to look at how they had converted interiors back to the Georgian period and what they were doing from an architectural perspective,’ she said.

‘I loved it and thought, “could you imagine if you worked here? It would be brilliant!”’ As a student, Rhiannon also volunteered at the Oriental Museum in Durham, at Discovery, what was then known as the Hancock, now the Great Museum of the North, and the Laing Gallery. However, it was at Beamish where she

However, it was at Beamish where she found her niche.

'It was just so different there,' she said.

It was just so different there, she said. The fact you could use the objects in your engagement, you could hold them or you were standing inside a building or a vehicle as part of the collections, for me, was so powerful compared to looking at objects behind a cabinet, which is incredibly valuable in a more traditional museum setting.

Working in open-air museum spaces with communities helping to shape the stories inspires me and motivates me more so than the traditional museum space.

'I was very influenced by the experiences I had at the more traditional museum spaces, and I'm very grateful for the experiences I had, but I did decide I was more of a social history open-air museum curator.'

It also has the same ‘wow factor’ Rhiannor experienced on her first visit, as families return again and again to learn from the experienced and passionate staff working under Rhiannon’s strong leadership. Rhiannon vividly remembers the excitement she felt when walking into Miss Smith the music teacher's house, an exhibit at Beamish, for the first time. ‘It was very Victorian and well curated,’ she said.

'I talk about that when I'm training staff. I will say, "take your mind back to when you first visited – which exhibit made you go, 'Wow!'?'" Rhiannon studied on the History of Architecture and Design and the Built Environment course at the University from 1991 to 1994 – but the people she met and the things she learned here more than 30 years ago have shaped the professional she is today.

Rhiannon studied on the History of Architecture and Design and the Built Environment course at the University from 1991 to 1994 – but the people she met and the things she learned here more than 30 years ago have shaped the professional she is today.

She is still in touch with senior lecturer Linda Polley and remembers many interesting and intriguing lectures from the likes of Stephen Hayward and Nicholas Oddie.

‘These are the people I think about when I’m in my job now, and I remember what they taught me,’ she says. ‘I can’t convey enough the value I got from listening to those course tutors and being part of their world.

‘I can’t convey enough the value I got from listening to those course tutors and being part of their world.

'Their knowledge is what shaped my ability and my knowledge.'

She added: ‘I was inspired by the course and meeting people who were passionate about what they did.

‘People who are vital in your learning and your development throughout your life stay with you.’

Growing up, Rhiannon's grandparents also helped to shape the career she enjoys

today, as they would take their

Rhiannon's sister Bronwen heard Rhiannor 'rave on so much' about her fantastic Teesside course that she gave up her own course at Loughborough to join Rhiannon at Teesside.

Both Rhiannon and Bronwen still reflect on the “brilliant times” they had at Teesside University.

‘We had such good opportunities and did fantastic things and had great lecturers,’ she said.

'To be in the Waterhouse building while studying, where we were near to the Linthorpe Pottery and Dorman Museum, was special.

'I would like to think the tutors now look at the roles me, Bronwen and others have gone on to do and feel quite proud – I hope so anyway.'