By Carol Wu
At the mere age of 5, Tammy Krygier fell in love with the mysterious wonders of the forgotten pharaoh Tutankhamun from the enchanting tales of a children’s book. Since then, her life would forever be linked to the sandy terrain and fertile river banks of Egypt.
Krygier’s thirst to learn about the Egyptian culture was insatiable. She absorbed every drop of information from the books she read, but soon, even that wasn’t enough. She had to see these stories come to life at museum exhibits. Still, children’s books and museum exhibits were just the foundation to the beginning of her education.
Krygier began her higher education in her hometown Buffalo, New York, where she attended SUNY Buffalo. Later, she studied at Johns Hopkins for her Master’s and PhD. While her general interest is in Egyptology, she specializes in Egyptian art and archeology.
While studying at Johns Hopkins, Krygier began teaching. Originally, she had hoped to work in museums. However, she enjoyed teaching so much that she decided to pursue a career in education.
Krygier is a lecturer at NYU DC, teaching Cultural Foundations I. Krygier has previously taught at Hood College, McDaniel College, and her alma mater Johns Hopkins.
Krygier has gone on study abroad trips with her students, exploring Europe and Egypt. She finds it refreshing to see the looks on her students’ faces when they experience a place or object that they’ve only seen in a textbook.
“Their whole faces light up,” Krygier smiles.
One fond memory Krygier has is from a study abroad trip to Alexandria, Egypt. When her students learned that her birthday was coming up, they surprised Krygier with a birthday cake, and upon the cake stood a stylized statue of the goddess Sekhmet, looking on with intense eyes and daring lioness prowess. Krygier views Sekhmet, along with the cat goddess Bastet, as her alter ego.
When she isn’t reading historical fiction, Krygier pursues artistic endeavors, such as sketching or jewelry-making.
Although Krygier isn’t lecturing at NYU DC for the spring semester, she has some words of encouragement for her former Cultural Foundations students.
“I see my role, not so much as feeding you information, but helping you to realize how much you already know and how much more you can learn.”
Krygier lives in Baltimore with her husband, daughter, and five cats – Danny Blue, Bastet, Krinkle, Guinness, and Herbert.
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