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Thanks to the Betty Beland Greater Lawrence Summer Fund (GLSF), students from the Greater Lawrence Technical High School and YouthBuild are currently participating in the Lawrence History Center summer program, History Alive for Lawrence Youth!
Led by LHC archivist Jennifer Williams with assistance from Lesley University intern Andy Scott, the summer program supports LHC's efforts to link the rich history of Lawrence to current local, regional, and nationally themes in order to create more fulfilling lives for students and residents; to propel them forward toward greater accomplishment.
Students are being supported in documenting their life stories as they relate to the broader history of Lawrence. Their stories will be expressed not only through text, but also artwork. They will do this by writing a timeline of their lives, conducting interviews with family members and research using primary source materials in our archive. They will have the opportunity to take photographs of important people and places in their lives, and create original artwork that they feel represents their story. The result will be a poster detailing their history, as well as a presentation of that poster in front of their families and friends.
Through this program students are gaining valuable knowledge about themselves, their families, their culture, and the city in which they live. As they progress students will analyze this knowledge and integrate it into a coherent narrative of their lives; they will creatively express their interpretations and feelings regarding this knowledge; and they will improve their writing, researching, and public speaking skills.
Nearly half way through the program, students and staff are enthusiastic and engaged. We look forward to hearing about their discoveries!!
"History Alive for Lawrence Youth" is partially funded by the ECCF Betty Beland Greater Lawrence Summer Fund (GLSF).