I’ll be the first to admit that growing up I didn’t have an extensive knowledge of Gullah Geechee cultures. History classes briefly touched on Gullah Geechee information, with classes focusing on the more stereotypical aspects of the communities, like basket weaving. While the Lancaster County School District welcomed a guest speaker to tell stories depending on the grade level, there was never exploration into the individual communities that existed. The speaker would be dressed in colorful dresses with patterned skirts and wrapped their hair in a beautiful patterned cloth.
The speaker varied from year to year. The stories that were told caught my interest, but the course content barely scratched the surface of the rich and valuable groups of people that exist as Gullah Geechee descendants. The stories told were important, but they centered around the general Gullah Geechee culture as a whole instead of the individualities of the different communities. That said, one aspect of the demonstrations I really enjoyed was the making of “Gullah Dolls”. It was a simplified version of the more intricate figures created by those in the Gullah Geechee culture. We made them with pieces of cloth and decorated them as a group. At the end, we got to keep them and I know a lot of people, myself included, thought they were nice to have as a souvenir of the presentation.
After being invited to work with the Athenaeum Press as an intern, I began to learn more about the Gullah Geechee cultures and communities through our project brief and other resources. At the time I was trying to switch out of a class that I was no longer interested in and needed something to replace it. When the coordinator, Alli Crandell, reached out to me, I was very excited to join the project. This opportunity meant that I could keep all of my credits for the semester while also working as an intern for a press office. It was the best of both worlds.
Another reason why I joined the Athenaeum Press was because I have a dream of working in publishing. The press office and the Gullah Geechee Conservation Project allows me to get experience in the industry that I am passionate about, while also fulfilling my passion for learning. In addition to the experience from the internship, my classes as an English major have helped me in the project in so many many ways. Throughout my time at Coastal Carolina University, I have taken courses that feature extensive and creative writing that allow me to be more thoughtful about what I put out into the world.
When I began working on this project, there were many aspects of the Gullah Geechee communities that I was unaware of. For example, I had no idea how many communities exist in the state of South Carolina, or that students that live on Sandy Island have a school bus boat to get to school on the mainland. There are so many fascinating aspects to each community, which is one of the main reasons why I am invested in making this project the best and most accessible it can be.
Part of what I do as an intern for the Atheneum Press is reading up on the history of the Gullah Geechee communities and how their cultural impacts tie into the present day. This allows me to have a better insight when making blog posts and prototypes for the immersive experience website. With my team, I participate in two-week long sprints, which allow us to get certain projects done in a more efficient manner. As I have participated in the sprints, there have been challenges along the way. For example, at the start of the project I was unfamiliar with Microsoft Teams because I had never used it before. Another challenge that I had was time management between my classes and the internship. To combat the issue with Microsoft Teams, I have found that asking for help and tutorials allows me to better familiarize myself with the software. In terms of time management, I have found that blocking out my time works better for getting work done. Recently, I have finished working on the blog post pitches for the website and the categories for each type of blog post. I found inspiration from comparable projects and implemented some of those ideas into what we do.
As my time with the Atheneum Press progresses, I can say that joining this team has been one of the best decisions I have ever made in my academic career. As of writing this, I have only been working with the team for a little over a month, but I could not have found a better group of people to collaborate with. The work I have been doing has allowed me to write in a way that I never have before. I have learned how to write blog posts and write in a way that is more concise. My work also allows me to learn about a history that has widely influenced my life as a South Carolinian, even if I do not fully recognize all the ways it has done so yet. I look forward to continuing my work with the Athenaeum Press and I hope that by the end of my time with them, I will have made a positive contribution to the immersive experience as a whole.