During the 2025-2026 academic year, SCUA served as an internship site for the College of Arts and Sciences Humanities at Work program. Five undergraduate humanities majors were assigned to work on a variety of projects related to student engagement and the history of student life at UNCG. The 2025-2026 SCUA H@W cohort were:

• AJ Bly, a senior majoring in English
• Peittr Codr, a sophomore majoring in Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Archaeology
• Austin Collum, a senior majoring in Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Archaeology
• Rylie Millea, a junior majoring in English
• Mriya Ralda, a junior majoring in History

We asked some of the students to provide information about their time in SCUA and reflect on their experience.

An experience summary by Rylie Millea:

In the second year of the Humanities at Work (H@W) paid internship program, five students were welcomed into the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives for the 2025-26 school year. Guided by University Archivist and Student Engagement Coordinator Erin Lawrimore, the students were given the opportunity to gain invaluable experience and knowledge throughout their time working at the university archives. 

Starting in August, much of their Fall semester revolved around learning about the archives and how to introduce others to its history. Their two big projects of the semester, Founder’s Day and the 75th anniversary of the library, were public-facing, exhibit-curated events. With prizes and games mixed alongside historic artifacts and documents, the turnouts were great, with many students congregating for the chance to learn more about their institution’s history.

In the Spring, the interns took a pivot to more individual projects. Some worked to digitize collections within the archives to make them more accessible; others curated a refresh of the previous Humanities at Work interns’ exhibit found right outside the Hodges Reading Room in Jackson Library. To finish the year, a collection of research posters has been created to hang in the Spartan Study Spot in Jackson Library, featuring key figures and places within UNCG’s history, giving voice to those who may have slipped through the cracks of campus memory. The 2025-26 SCUA cohort, following in the footsteps of their Spring 2025 predecessors, focused on student life at UNCG, weaving the current student population with those who walked these grounds before. 

A personal reflection from AJ Bly:

During the 2025-2026 school year, we gained invaluable experience working in Special Collections and University Archives. Two of the most important skills we have had to use while working here are research and organization. We started our humanities experience by learning about the best ways for us to utilize the archives in order to be more successful in our research for projects. For our first two big projects of the fall semester, Founders’ Day and the 75th anniversary of the Jackson Library, we all spent many hours in the archival spaces going through historical documents and pictures, learning about the stories behind them, and choosing which ones best represent the rich history of UNCG. 

Not long after, we were given the chance to learn directly from the mouths of former alumni and faculty members about not just their personal experiences, but the wider world of the university, during time periods ranging from the 1940s all the way to a few years ago. Dozens of oral histories are available on the university’s digital archive website, Digital Greensboro, and we got to go through each of them and document them.

At the start of the second semester, research and organization were the skills we most needed to use. To start with, Humanities at Work cohort members Rylie Millea, Peittr Codr, and I were tasked with curating the exhibits that exist across from the Hodges Reading Room. Rylie and I spent a great deal of time going through history relating to current and former university clubs and organizations, while Peittr gathered information about UNCG’s WUAG radio station. To top off the end of the semester, we used the information we gained throughout our time here to write research posters on various historical figures. These figures we wrote about serve as great examples of the enriching diversity of the university and played vital roles in “what became what” today. 

Final thoughts from Peittr Codr:

I have only been at SCUA for a year, but I absolutely adore it. I love helping to plan events, the data entry was boring but even then, it felt meaningful, and I can’t stress how much I loved making my exhibit case. I’ve had a job before, and I’ve done a lot of community service or outward facing work with others, but they usually leave me feeling drained or more upset. When we’ve done events here, it would be tiring, but they still felt just good to do. 

The internship has been deeply useful for me, as I have gotten to practice my public speaking, my event management skills, and the use of my own creative skills.