Finding Family History and a Career in the Archives by Amanda Portillo

Family histories can help us understand the past, connect with a place or time, or maybe relate with historical events. My mother and I attended an Archives and Preservation workshop in 2015 looking to learn more about our own family. We received gray file boxes with helpful tools inside; including a blank family tree page and resource guide with tips on how to search for names and how to collect family photos and oral histories. Nancy Godoy led the workshop, discussing her own family history and the importance of preserving community history. At a time when I was thinking about what my future might look like, Nancy’s presentation planted the idea of a career that combined continual learning opportunities with community service- archives and librarianship! Graduate school was already on my mind, and Nancy solidified my decision. I started searching for programs. I found that the University of Arizona Online offered a Master of Arts in Library and Information Science. I applied to the program and started graduate school in the fall of 2016, a little less than a year after attending the workshop. This past August I finished school and now hold my MLIS.

The MLIS program requires students to complete internships in the field. Of course, I reached out to Nancy to see if there were any openings to work alongside her- and there were! I spent the summer with her and Alana Varner assisting with digitization projects as part of their Mellon Grant to develop community driven archives. I also assisted with community workshops, helping others learn how to digitize their family photos. Interning with Nancy and Alana gave me hands-on archive experience and the opportunity to work with community members.

The focus of the workshops has shifted from family trees to preservation techniques, but the information is still incredibly helpful and interesting for those who attend (and the awesome gray boxes are still provided). It was somewhat surreal to be helping at the workshops that initially led me on a new career path. What’s more is, the workshops have taught me how dig deeper and find family stories and photographs. I also know how to properly preserve photos and record information.

I love sharing this information when I am assisting at workshops. It becomes a type of bonding experience to meet people who are interested in their family’s past and the history they lived through. It is also exciting for me to hear the wide variety of stories shared by people who attend the workshops. In fact, while working alongside Nancy and sharing my family stories with her, she was able to find in the Chicano Research Collection, photographs of my grandmother during her time at ASU in the 1950s. My grandmother was a member of Los Conquistadores, a Mexican American student organization on campus from the 1930s to 1960s. After finding these photos, I was able to learn more about my grandmother’s time in college- stories which I had not previously heard. This is why community driven archives are important. We are all keeping diverse histories alive by sharing them with our families each other.