During the spring 2020 transition to remote learning necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Oral History: the Art of the Interview classes were forced to abandon the planned interview projects During the three week interruption before classes resumed online, Associate Professor Erin McCarthy and Archives staff created Capturing Quarantine, a digital oral history project designed to document the student experience during the global pandemic.
The collection documents a frequently overlooked voice, that of the undergraduate student, and will be a valuable source for future study by those interested in learning about daily life during the pandemic from the student perspective.
Students interviewed each other, created biographical and interview abstract statements, and authored reflection pieces on the experience of the abrupt mid-semester switch and overall thoughts about the process and the pandemic.
This project resumed during the Fall 2020 semester, with additional interviews collected, as the college offered both remote and hybrid courses. As with the spring 2020 interviews, these fall interviews continue to capture the undergraduate student voice narrating their experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Other oral history projects conducted by Dr. McCarthy's students in support of archival holdings:
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Interview with Amelia Wilson
Christen Weeden
Amelia Wilson was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and grew up in Indianapolis with her mother, father, and sister Emily. Amelia attended Perry Meridian High School in Indianapolis, Indiana where she graduated in 2018. After high school, Amelia took a gap year. Amelia works at Target. She has worked for Target since 2017 at various locations in Illinois and Indiana. Amelia began attending Columbia College Chicago in the Fall of 2019. This is also when she moved to Whiting, Indiana. Amelia is a Creative Writing major who is also minoring in marketing. Amelia is in her first year at Columbia College Chicago but is a college sophomore due to credits she earned throughout high school where her many AP classes pushed her forward a grade in college. Her hobbies include reading, writing, poetry, and music. Amelia Wilson is a published author and her poetry book The Lights are on but Nobody’s Home was published April 9th, 2019.
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Interview with Chan Woo Kim
Claire Belhumeur
Chan Woo Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea. After a move in 2002 to the Philippines, a 2005 move took him and his parents to Cook County, Illinois, where they settled up to the present day. His high school education at John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois proved to be filled with academic, personal, and career-focused success - after realizing his passion for movies, he became a member of his school’s film club, and went on to create his own production company (Kim, Chan Woo Productions) and his own films. At the same time, he worked on projects in collaboration with John Hersey High School. He rounded out his education and graduated as part of the National Honor Society in 2018. During high school, he also participated in summer film programs, at the University of Southern California and Columbia College Chicago, and began his internship for producing, assistant directing, and production assistance with Warner Bros (2017 to present). His interest in film led him to study filmmaking with a focus in directing at Columbia College Chicago, where he’s set to graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2022. His goal as a professional filmmaker is to use the films he creates to deliver his message and voice to the audience, and inspire them.
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Interview with Christen Weeden
LA-Sheba Williams
Christen Weeden was born in Lansing Illinois. As a young girl Christen enjoyed doing arts and crafts with her mom, Cindi, whose her overall inspiration. Christen knew at a young age she would attend Columbia College Chicago. Since the age of 3 Christen was a dancer, competing in dance competitions, and her dance instructors urged her to attend Columbia. In high school she volunteered as a cheerleading coach at St. Ann School and was also a dance coach for her high school Bishop Noel Institute after graduation. Christen was diagnosed with POTS auto immune disease in 2016. Even though dance is her passion she decided to attend Columbia College for fashion merchandising after working at American Eagle and meeting her manager and career mentor Lindsay Palmateer. Christen started as a sales associate and quickly became a Merchandise Manager for the brand in 2019 and still holds this position. Expected year of graduation from Columbia College Chicago is 2021.
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Interview with Claire Belhumeur
Rachel McCumber
Claire Belhumeur was born in Southhampton, New York and was raised in East Hampton, New York. As an only child, Claire’s household consisted of herself, her parents, and their family dog. She attended high school at East Hampton High School where she graduated in 2018. With both parents working in the film industry and through various school productions, she discovered her love of acting that lead her to pursue a BFA in Acting at Columbia College-Chicago in the fall of 2018. During her time at Columbia, Claire became involved with the school’s modeling organization, the Picture Perfect Modeling Troupe, as well as several student films. In 2020 during her sophomore, spring semester, the Coronavirus caused Columbia College to shut down along with the rest of the world. Since Claire could no longer continue living on campus, she returned to her hometown of East Hampton, just outside of New York City where the virus was most prevalent in the nation. Claire and her family currently remain in their East Hampton home, attempting to avoid the New York City residents that flooded the Hamptons to escape the growing infection rates in the city.