From Midwest to North East: Meet the Minnesota-born graduate celebrating the region’s history as Head of Collections at Beamish Museum
American alumnus Dan Hudachek (MA Museum Studies, 2010) arrived on campus over 15 years ago planning for a whirlwind adventure in Newcastle. But he quickly made roots in our region and has now adopted the region as his home.
23 March 2026
In need of a “big change” and having missed the deadline to apply for further study in the US, Dan Hudachek bought a one-way flight to the UK to embark on a MA Museum Studies course at Newcastle University in 2009. Little did he know, the experiences gained, and friendships forged, during his year on campus would see him adopt the region as his home and grow a career championing the North East’s heritage at Beamish Museum!
15 years after graduating, we caught up with Dan to hear about his memories of playing ultimate frisbee for the University, how a 6-week student placement at Beamish Museum led to him becoming Head of Collections at the North East institution, and the importance of leaving the future open-ended.
Let’s have an adventure
I’ve always been quite adventurous. I spent a summer studying abroad as a teenager and did a fair amount of travelling during my undergrad at McPherson College in Kansas (which itself was 600-odd miles away from where I grew up in Minnesota!).
Having graduated and begun my career in Kansas, I reached a stage where I needed a big change. I’d always wanted to live abroad again and continue my education, and I realised that I could do both at the same time. At that point, I’d already missed the deadline to apply to US universities. There was still a month to apply for European universities though, so I pulled an application together and was accepted at Newcastle University. I had never been to England before, never mind Newcastle, so it was a leap of faith. I bought a one-way ticket, and two days after I landed in the UK, I was in my first lecture!
I remember feeling a bit doubtful of my decision when I jumped in the taxi at Newcastle airport, exhausted, and couldn’t understand a thing the driver said to me. Thankfully my ear for Geordie has improved since then!
Finding my feet
My journey from Kansas to Newcastle was such a whirlwind. I remember feeling a bit doubtful of my decision when I jumped in the taxi at Newcastle airport, exhausted, and couldn’t understand a thing the driver said to me. Thankfully my ear for Geordie has improved since then!
Because I had applied so late in the year, I hadn’t had a chance to arrange accommodation before I flew over and actually spent my first few weeks as a student living in a hostel while I tried to secure a flat share. The next few years were spent hopping from house share to house share across South Gosforth, Heaton and Jesmond.
I quickly made friends on campus – thanks in no short part to my experience playing ultimate frisbee – and it is these friendships that have stood the test of time. We recently gathered for a Christmas catch up at the coast, hiring a church hall to accommodate us all and the 20+ children that are now part of the gang!
I’d played ultimate frisbee back in the States, and it was nice to continue the hobby in Newcastle. It’s such an inclusive sport – so, thankfully, it wasn’t just me (a mature student) and a bunch of 18-year-olds playing for the uni! Many of us students also played for the city club as well, so I was able to keep involved with the uni team through coaching and training their players. I continue to play ultimate frisbee today, and this past year represented TeamGB in the Grandmasters division of the World Beach Ultimate Champions.
Living out in the country in Kansas, Newcastle was a nice balance of big and small. Newcastle is a big city, but it’s a small big city: it’s friendly and personable and not overwhelming. You have so much on your doorstep – the sea, Hadrian’s Wall, the stunning walks of Northumberland, York and Edinburgh just a short train ride away, and then (as a museum fan) all the culture too!
A serendipitous student placement
Newcastle’s Museum Studies course offered a broad holistic education of how museums operate and run. Being a generalist – knowing a little bit about a lot – suits me better than being a specialist or curator, and I got to try lots of different things during the year-long programme.
As part of my studies, I spent six weeks at Beamish Museum in County Durham – which I quickly discovered was a legendary institution in the region! It’s a living museum, with staff in costumes, period vehicles on the road – even the office staff wear costumes when going from one building to another. Everyone I speak to who grew up here has memories of visiting as a child and of the sweet shop (the sweet shop is always mentioned!). I’m not from here originally, but I’ve adopted the North East as my home and it’s adopted me too.
Funnily enough, during my undergrad in Kansas I’d actually studied classic car restoration and theatre. An odd mix, right? But they worked perfectly together in the setting of Beamish. I loved my placement at the museum and even used the setting as the main case study for my dissertation too. The day after I got my results from Newcastle University, I was hired by Beamish on a fixed term contract to help with relocating some of the 2.5 million objects they have in their stores. 15 years later, I now head up the entire Collections department!
A treasure trove of North East history
As Head of Collections at Beamish, I’m responsible for over 2.5 million objects we hold in our stores – and there are some ridiculously weird things in there! The one that immediately comes to mind is a severed human toe, which was taken home by a local police officer in the 1950s as a souvenir from a case. After he died, his family donated it to us and it’s now part of our police history collection.
There’s also some amazingly significant local items, like an Armstrong Whitworth car, made in Newcastle and only one in four left in existence! We actually just got it running again too, so visitors can see it driving round the museum.
You never know where things are going to lead, so don’t plan for an end. I’m really glad I left my one-year adventure open-ended: it’s been the making of me.
As a largely social history museum, a lot of our collection is based on everyday people, and they often have the most incredible stories.
For example, we were left the entire contents of a 102-year-old local woman’s house (down to the light switches!). She had lived alone in that house for 70 years, as her husband passed away in a mining accident shortly after they were married. Despite this tragic start to her adult life, she lived a good life and was an accomplished photographer.
There are now parts of her life and story documented in almost all the exhibits at Beamish, from the early 1900s to the new 1950s village, and her photographs were used to identify objects from her donation and to see them in the context of her home.
Fond memories
As an American coming to England, the depth of history you guys have here is astounding. It reminds me of my time on campus: my department was based in the ornate Bruce Building, the former Newcastle Breweries office – a fact that made organising the theme for our Christmas parties in the building an easy one!
For any prospective students reading, I would encourage you to throw yourself in and get involved. You never know where things are going to lead, so don’t plan for an end. I’m really glad I left my one-year adventure open-ended: it’s been the making of me.
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