PAST ARCHIE MOTLEY ARCHIVAL INTERNS (2021 & 2022)

CAMERON DRAKE
As a summer 2022 AMAIP intern, Cameron was a rising junior at the University of Chicago majoring in History and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies with a minor in Theater Performance. He worked on the Documenting Black History, a partnership project between Northern Illinois University and the Dekalb County History Center., a joint effort of BMRC member institution, Northern Illinois University.
Cameron shared "America is currently in a transition period within its history. I firmly believe that the best way to analyze and accurately portray history is through studying the archive."

DAIAN RODRIGUEZ
An anthropology and Latin American/Carribean Studies major, Daian was a rising sophomore at the University of Chicago when she interned at the Cook County Historic Archives & Records Office (CARO) and worked with the team there on the establishment of an oral history project. Daian shared "... I would like to focus on cultural Anthropology and be able to work on research projects regarding regions like Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. I’m interested in this internship because I would like to have some exposure to a working environment where preserving cultural heritage is important."

SYDNIE MARTIN
In the summer of 2022 Sydnie was a recent graduate of DePaul University where she received her B.A. in African and Black Diaspora Studies with a minor in History. The Oral Histories of the Black Student Union project in Special Collections and University Archives at DePaul University was her assigned project. Sydnie landed a position with the University of Chicago Library's Special Collections Research Center staff in January of 2023.Sydnie shared "Professionally, I would like to have a career in archives. I hope to pursue a graduate degree in library science or museum studies...I have a passion for studying Black history and think it is incredibly important for Black archivists to preserve it before it is lost completely, or completely misunderstood."

Callie Smith
In 2021 Callie was a rising sophomore at The University of Chicago and interned at the Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies at Northwestern University, collecting and transcribing oral histories of students from the 1960s and 70s decades for the Black Alumni Collection.

Jordan Wright |
Jordan worked on further enhancing metadata for and access to the Raeburn Flerlage Photograph Collection at the Chicago History Museum. He was a recent (2021) graduate of DePaul University with an BA degree in Art, Media & Design, The Art School at DePaul University. While there he worked as a student assistant in Special Collections and University Archives. Update: In the fall of 2021, Jordan joined the University of Chicago Library's Special Collections Research Center staff and is plans to pursue graduate studies in library and information science.

Malik Pitchford
Malik was a DePaul University student majoring in political science with a minor in African and Black Diaspora studies when he interned at the Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies at Northwestern University. There he learned to collect and transcribe oral histories of students from the 1960s and 70s decades for Northwestern's the Black Alumni Collection. Update: Malik returned to DePaul in fall of 2021 and was hired as a student assistant in their Special Collections & University Archives unit of the Library. He graduated in 2022 and is now a graduate student in the Department of Africology & African American Studies at Eastern Michigan University. He also works as an AAAS Graduate Assistant and teaches at a local middle school.

Rebekah Otto
While an AMAIP intern, Rebekah was a graduate student at DePaul University pursuing a master's degree in Critical Ethnic Studies. Rebekah interned at the Chicago History Museum where she worked alongside the team preparing for and collecting oral histories to add to the African American Police League Collection. Update: In the winter of 2021, Rebekah joined the staff of DePaul University Library's Special Collections and University Archives. In the spring of 2022, she earned a master's degree with distinction. Rebekah is now a doctoral student in the Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies program at the University of Maryland at College Park. Her predoctoral research focuses on gender-based violence, Blackness, and Being in Anchorage, Alaska.