In May, we said congratulations(!!!) to two awesome student employees, Alice McCoy and Caroline Urove, who graduated from Mary Washington and ventured off for their next adventure. During their time as aides with Special Collections & University Archives, Alice and Caroline led important projects for the department. They got us started on the Mutual Assurance Society Policies digital collection in the fall semester by reviewing the policies to see what might be possible. Alice continued this project in the Spring with the help of Haley (another awesome Special Collections student employee, class of 2025!), and Caroline took on the inventory of a newly accessioned collection, the records of Irene Piscopo Rodgers ’59. All of the hard work completed by Alice and Caroline laid the foundation for making these collections more accessible to researchers, and we are so appreciative of everything they accomplished! During their last week of work, we asked them to answer the same set of questions posed to our 2023 graduates – check out their responses below!
Bottom left image : Caroline Urove ’24 works on an inventory of the Irene Piscopo Rodgers ’59 collection.
Bottom right image : Alice McCoy ’24 and Haley Cotton ’25 work together on the Mutual Assurance Society Policies digital collection project.
What brought you to work in Special Collections & University Archives?
AM: I was interested in working in Special Collections and University Archives after completing a digitization project for Dr. Turdean’s HISP 315 (Museum Collections Management) course during the Spring 2022 semester. This course initially introduced me to using the digitization equipment in the Digital Archiving Lab, and when the time was right, I applied for the position and was lucky enough to get the opportunity to work here. In addition to this, I knew that working in Special Collections would equip me with specialized skills that were relevant to my Historic Preservation major.
CU: What brought me to work in Special Collections & University Archives was my interest in you guessed it – archives! I am a Historic Preservation major with a Museum Studies minor and have the career goal of working within an archives after I graduate. My first experience within the Digital Archiving Lab was for a Collections Management project and loved the space. I eventually came back to assist with photographing artwork for a class exhibition. Right away I knew I wanted to work here as an official aide.
What was your favorite project that you worked on during your time as a Special Collections & University Archives Student Aide?
AM: My favorite project I worked on during my time as a student aide was the ongoing Mutual Assurance Policy project. In completing this project, I acquired skills in using microfiche, transcribing documents, creating transcriptions, and organizing data into Microsoft excel. I had the ability to sort through thousands of late 18th, early 19th century insurance policies and find out more about buildings from the region in their earliest years. This project has overall heightened my interest in historic documents and archival records.
CU: My favorite thing that I worked on during my time as a Student Aide was my semester assignment of inventorying Irene Piscopo Rodgers’ collection. I got to know Irene pretty well by sorting through her collection of science magazines and published works, her high school yearbooks, and even her MWC yearbooks and senior scrapbook! She seemed like such a sweet lady, and I am so honored I was able to care for her collection that was donated to the Special Collections & University Archives.
What is your favorite item (or collection of items) in UMW Archives and why?
AM: My favorite collection of items in the UMW Archives are the Mary Washington yearbooks. I have always been fascinated in viewing student life here throughout the years, and looking through these allowed me to learn so much about the history of the university and the students here.
CU: My favorite collection of items in the UMW Archives have to be the student scrapbooks. Scrapbooks are such a real, unfiltered look at student life from the 1950s and earlier all the way to the present day. One of the more obscure finds I love in scrapbooks are images of inside students’ dorms. I love seeing how dorm decor and the dorm itself has changed over time! Another thing I love about these scrapbooks is that sometimes old course catalogs, when students would have to pick classes by hand, are taped in there. Definitely some cool finds in scrapbooks!
What is your favorite rare book from the rare book collection and why?
AM: My favorite item from the rare book collection is The Little Review magazine collection. Early in the fall semester, I had the opportunity to explore and research these magazines in relation to the rare book collections’ various copies of Ulysses, and read about reviews of the book from the early 20th century.
CU: My favorite book from the rare book collection isn’t your typical “book.” I love all of the old magazines within the collection. In the Fall, I was able to look through some of the old magazines and the vintage advertisements are definitely my favorite part! One of my favorite advertisements was a back-to-school campaign for Campbell’s soup from the 1950s!
What are your post-Mary Washington plans?
AM: My current post-Mary Washington plans are to attend Virginia Commonwealth University beginning in Fall 2024 to work towards a master’s degree in Art History, and afterwards I plan to begin a Library and Information Studies program to work towards a second master’s degree.
CU: My post Mary Washington plan is finding a job! I am hoping to work in the museum field, either as a curator or within a Special Collections.
What kinds of archival resources do you think researchers will use in the future when looking back at what Mary Washington was like in 2024?
AM: I believe that researchers will use the school newspapers in the future when looking back on what Mary Washington was like in 2024. In addition to this, there is a heightened growth in digital archival resources which would also likely be referenced such as social media and newsletters.
CU: The archival resources I believe researchers will use in the future when looking back at Mary Washington during this year would definitely be the Archives’ online resources such as photographs, newspapers, and even maps to get a sense of layout and recognize what’s missing.
Do you have any favorite Mary Washington memories?
AM: While I do not have any specific memories at Mary Washington that stand out as my favorite, I have had the opportunity to experience a multitude of activities through my Historic Preservation and Art History majors. From getting to conduct hands-on archival research, complete a museum cataloging project, and explore Kenmore’s attic and the basement of the Mary Washington House, to studying abroad in England and Italy, these experiences are those that could be considered once in a lifetime, and I will cherish them forever.
CU: My favorite Mary Washington memory was going on a study abroad trip to London during Spring Break of 2023! My study abroad trip was called “Exploring British Museums” and my museum loving heart was so ecstatic!! A week definitely was not enough; however, I plan on going back soon to see even more!
Special Collections & University Archives staff are so appreciative of all the excellent work Alice and Caroline accomplished this year, and we can’t wait to see what they do next!
