Since 2016, Michelle Schabowski has been contributing to the PA profession as the senior archivist for the PA History Society (PAHx), a supporting organization of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). As the senior archivist, Schabowski manages the Society’s archival collections, fulfills researcher requests and lectures on PA History, the Society, and on preservation techniques. She also develops, updates, and oversees the PAHx’s website and social media platforms. Schabowski was instrumental in the development of the Society’s online educational modules and continues to update and administer them.
Early Years:
Michelle Schabowski was born in Clarksville, Tennessee, and lived in Athens, Greece, from age 2 until age 6. The United States Air Force (USAF) base in Athens, Ft. Hellinikon, provided administrative and logistical support to United States units in Greece, the Middle East, the Eastern Mediterranean, and parts of Africa. Although a USAF base, they had the occasional army personnel stationed there. Much to her mother’s disappointment, they moved back to Clarksville, TN, after a few years, and the United States closed this facility in 1993.
Schabowski states “…being active-duty army, we lived on a military base for most of my childhood. The area around Fort Campbell Army base at the time, was still very small town and rural. It was a big deal when we drove the hour to Nashville to go to the “fancy” malls or saw a theater performance…” Michelle Schabowski grew up with cats and has always adored them. In elementary school, she wanted to be a veterinarian, but then learned you had to do “…yucky stuff like crop dogs’ ears and tails and declaw cats…” and decided to change careers. Schabowski’s family also owned two horses while she was in middle school and she competed in barrel racing for a few years.
In high school, Schabowski discovered a love for languages and excelled in Latin, becoming an avid participant in competitions. During high school, she also became interested in Japan and started teaching herself the language through Japanese manga (comic books).
Early Career:
After high school, Schabowski attended the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio, where she majored in Japanese and minored in teaching English as a second language. After graduating from college, Schabowski moved to Japan through the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) program where she worked with the Aichi Prefecture Board of Education and was placed at three Sr. high schools around Handa City. As a shy, introverted new college graduate, Schabowski found herself having to wrangle 40 students, with one of her first schools being an all-boys school. These experiences quickly turned this introvert into an extrovert. After four years with the JET program, she spent five more years in Japan at various private and public schools and cram school companies throughout the country teaching age groups ranging from pre-k to adult.
Career in Archives:
After living and working in Japan for nine years, Schabowski realized it wasn’t her forever place. A friend who had also been involved in the JET program had gone home to pursue a library science degree and recommended that Schabowski would do well in that field. Because of her love of reading and teaching, Schabowski decided it would be a good fit. Though she entered the University of Tennessee’s Master of Science in Information Science degree with an interest in health informatics and health librarianship, she soon fell in love with archives and special collections.
While at the University of Tennessee, Schabowski worked as a teaching assistant within the Information Science Department and as a student worker at the Howard Baker Congressional Archives. She also took part in a practicum with the Great Smoky Mountains Regional Collection. After graduating from the University of Tennessee, Schabowski worked as an intern with the South Florida Collection Management Center.
The South Florida Collections Management Center (SFCMC) is the archival repository for the five national parks in South Florida: Big Cypress National Preserve, De Soto National Memorial, Biscayne, Dry Tortugas, and the Everglades. The center coordinates the acquisition and preservation of museum and archive collections, which support research and park interpretive needs. Schabowski was responsible for processing, sorting, and cataloging new materials to the archives, answering researcher requests, writing grant proposals for internship opportunities, and supervising and mentoring new intern staff.
For the past ten years, Schabowski has managed the PAHx archival collections, which include library materials, historical papers (both personal and organizational), photographs, videos, and museum items. She is responsible for acquisition, appraising, processing, cataloging, preserving, and sharing to the public the valuable, historic materials of the PA profession.
Personal Information:
Michelle Schabowski is the proud mother of two sons (cats). In her spare time, she loves to hike, play video games, watch horror movies, and flex her artistic muscles through a series of crafty hobbies like embroidery and crochet.
Acknowledgements:
This biography was prepared by Bruna Varalli-Claypool and submitted to the Society in March of 2026. The photographs are courtesy of Michelle Schabowski.
Second photo on right is Michelle Schabowski with Kenneth Ferrell, one of the first three PAs.
Third photo on right is Michelle Schabowski with Reginald Carter, co-founder of the PA History Society.
When using information from this biography, please provide the proper citation as described within the PA History Society Terms of Use.
To request the use of the photographs that accompany this biography, please contact the PA History Society to request permission as some photographs might have restrictions on their use.
