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 LA-Sheba Williams
Jayce Lewis
La-Sheba (Goldie) Williams (she/her/hers) was raised in Miami, Florida. She attended Dr. Michael Krop high school and is a recent graduate of Columbia College Chicago where she majored in acting. In her high school years, Williams travelled back and forth from Jamaica with her parents. Between 2008-2013 she volunteered with her church’s (The Friendship Holiness Church) outreach program to travel and distribute food and clothes to less fortunate people. From age 16-18 she worked at her mother’s beauty salon, while also starting her own freelance hair, makeup, and styling business, Goldy Mane, in 2016. She pursued theatre heavily in high school, participating in thespian competitions. In 2017, she started working towards a brand titled Lioness Unleashed, which centers around female empowerment, mindfulness, and connectivity. Since coming to Columbia College Chicago, he has been very active in the Theatre Department, being cast in several shows since 2016. In the show “Young, Gifted, and Black” she met and worked with her mentor Don Renee, who quickly became a major influence and role model in her life.
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Interview with Lawson McGrain
Makeda Duncan
Lawson McGrain was born Topeka, Kansas and spent the first 5 years of life there with his mother and father, as he is an only child. His parents moved to Olathe, Kansas, where he grew up. Lawson attended Olathe Northwest High School, where he participated in athletics and was active in the performing arts. He feels as though his discovery of theatre and film helped shaped him to be who he is today. He is proud of his accomplishment of creating of a feature-length film he worked on with friends in the summer of 2018. In his first year at Columbia College, Lawson majored in Acting, to later realize that Film was his passion. He has since changed his major accordingly. Lawson is passionate about collaborating with other creatives and works with a production company to set up lights, sound, and tech for live events.
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Interview with Makeda Duncan
Jay'La Sims
Makeda Duncan was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in the Wrigleyville neighborhood. Makeda has five siblings and currently resides with them in the Galewood neighborhood. Makeda is a commuter and her schedule on campus revolved around her commuting schedule. Makeda went to Lane Technical College Prep High School, which she describes it as a unique school with plenty of diversity in people and the classes. Makeda estimates her graduating class size was 900. She knew she would attend Columbia College Chicago because she has always wanted to attend for her major, ASL interpretation. She chose Columbia because of its creative people and to work with the deaf community. This is her sophomore year, with plans to graduate in 2022. Makeda is employed at the Student Center of Columbia. She sets up rooms and meeting spaces to ensure that students/teachers had all the right resources for their meetings.
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Interview with Moises Camacho
Paige Barnes
Moises Camacho was born in Chicago, Illinois. Growing up, he lived in various locations such as Long Beach, California; Chicago, Illinois; and Arizona before finally settling in Brownsburg, Indiana. Camacho lived with his dad and five other siblings while his mother lived outside of Indianapolis, Indiana. In high school, he participated in Distributive Education Clubs of America, National Art Honor Society, and yearbook club. It was in yearbook club that his teacher let him to borrow a camera and test out his passion for film making. After graduating from Brownsburg High School, Camacho went on to continue his education at Columbia College Chicago majoring in film making. The summer before he started college, Camacho filmed and edited a documentary about his adventures with his friend. As a freshman in college, Camacho was a part of Columbia College Chicago’s honors program and ran a podcast called, “Enter Sandman” with another Columbia student where the two talked about Adam Sandler movies. In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic caused his college to close its campus and move to online learning. Camacho moved from his grandmother’s home close to the city back to his hometown of Brownsburg, Indiana to be with his father and siblings. He is continuing his education digitally while continuing work as an essential worker as a at Walmart.