Genealogy Gal
Activating the Uninterested: How Storytelling and Digital Media Made Genealogy Feel Alive
How It Started
Not many 11-year-olds spend road trips transcribing 19th-century census records in French, English, and Spanish (can you tell I was homeschooled?). But that’s how my love of genealogy began. What started as competitive curiosity turned into a lifelong pursuit: showing others that family history isn’t about old paper; it’s about self-discovery and connection.
Making Genealogy Feel Alive
I knew people thought genealogy was boring, and I was confident I could change that perception. Through my blog and social channels, I focused on how to make family history meaningful, rather than why it mattered. Using tools like Google Earth, generative visuals, and storytelling resources, I helped my audience learn to see family history into exciting discovery.
The message that stuck: “You learn about yourself by learning where you came from.”
Building a Movement
What began as a passion project grew into a broader movement for youth engagement in genealogy:
My content was shared on the mainstage of RootsTech, the largest family history conference in the world.
The circulation of my work resulted in an invitation to be a Media Ambassador for RootsTech, where I interviewed celebrity guests about like Derek Hough, Patricia Heaton, and Martin Luther King III.
I spoke at events across the state on engaging younger audiences in family history
I was featured on outlets like Bloomberg’s podcast and Deseret News
My work centered on making genealogy come alive in ways teenagers actually cared about - not just the ways adults wished they did.
The Family Connections Experiment
During the pandemic, I helped develop The Family Connections Experiment, a global initiative to help people make family connections and track its impact on mental health.
Within the first 30 days:
- 60,000 website visitors from 77 countries
- 5,000 global experiment participants
-68% reported improved mood during participation
As the Media Relations Specialist, I led industry interviews and live-streamed conversations that reached thousands - turning a time of isolation into new connections.