My Story
For the past three years, I have devoted my academic and professional journey to digitizing and preserving history. As a Master of Arts student in Human Rights with a Bachelor of Arts in History, I have witnessed firsthand the critical role that digital history and archiving play in making history accessible, preserving fragile artifacts, and ensuring we remember and learn from past atrocities, such as genocides. Achieving this in such a short time has been a dream come true.
As a former homeschooler, my educational interests were diverse, but history always stood out. My mother encouraged my sister and me to explore beyond our textbooks, borrowing books from the local library and watching documentaries on various historical topics. Growing up in Central Massachusetts, frequent visits to Old Sturbridge Village ignited my passion for history. As I approached college, I knew I wanted to major in history, but I also pursued psychology. Despite excelling academically, my passion for psychology waned, while my interest in history deepened. I struggled with how I could help people with a history degree.
During spring semester of my sophomore year, I interned at the Vernon Historical Society, where I learned valuable skills such as collation, data entry, archival research, phone etiquette, file archiving, archival preservation, nonprofit organization operations, and time management. This experience provided me with purpose and direction. When I transferred to Eastern Connecticut State University from Nichols College, I was determined to contribute to something larger than myself.
In my last semester at Eastern Connecticut State University, I worked on the Digital Windham project under Dr. Jamel Ostwald’s direction. This project involved studying the social and cultural groups of Willimantic in 1910 and digitizing historical records to provide a comprehensive view of the town’s past. I curated an Omeka exhibit and presented my work to the university, showcasing how digital tools can bring community history to life.
Currently, I am expanding my digital history and archiving skills further in my M.A. program. In Catherine Masud’s Human Rights Archives class, I crafted a script for a short documentary on the Bosnian Genocide, focusing on Ron Haviv, a prominent photojournalist who shared his oral history with the class and the early days of the war in Bijeljina. I am also collaborating on the ICTY Digital Archives at the University of Connecticut, curating a collection for Dr. Andras Riedlmayer. This practicum has been transformative, allowing me to develop new skills, including using the Connecticut Digital Archive (CTDA) website, managing spreadsheet ingests, and enhancing my research capabilities. Additionally, I have gained web design experience, broadening my understanding of how digital tools can enhance archival work. This practicum has reignited my passion for archiving and digital history, inspiring me to pursue this as my dream career.
