After growing up in Saint Louis County, Aleksandra Kinlen moved to Springfield in 2007 where she completed her bachelor’s degree in secondary social studies education and her master’s degree in history from Missouri State University. She then moved to Columbia where she completed a master’s degree in library and information science with an emphasis in archival studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Kinlen first joined SHSMO as a practicum student before becoming an archivist in April 2021.