Faculty Member: Dr. Sean Jacobson, Assistant Professor of History

Program: Public History 

Three graduate students and 5 undergraduate students in our Public History program benefitted from the ACHE grant for a field excursion to Shiloh National Military Park and the Tennessee River Museum in Savannah, TN. During the trip, students met with park ranger Matt McMillan to get a behind the scenes tour of the changes to the interpretive center and well as a briefing on jobs in the park service and what it is like to manage sites operated by the National Park Service. The visit to the Tennessee River Museum afforded students the opportunity to see one of our MA program alumni, Lauren Whaley, in action in her role as a curator and administrator at a small museum. Lauren talked with students about the process of creating small-scale exhibits using local primary sources and how to navigate relations with a board of directors. The funds helped us cover the costs of transportation to these locations from UNA’s campus and covered a group lunch at the historic Hagy’s Catfish Hotel Restaurant located near Shiloh. Students used the experience to inform their work on the upcoming Collier Library mural.

Faculty Member: Mike Johnson, Chair of Cinematic Arts and Theatre

Program: Film Studies

In January, we utilized the grant to support a group of twelve UNA film studies students in attending an educational and networking event organized by Create Birmingham, titled "So You Want to Work in the Film Industry?". This panel and mixer session, coupled with a visit to Birmingham Southern College’s film production program, served as an introduction to the film industry. Our students gained insights into career opportunities and the various facets of film production from industry professionals and educators outside of their usual academic bubble.

The impact of this experience on our students has been positive. It provided them with real-world knowledge but also contacts that could assist in their future careers. Many students have expressed their intentions to pursue employment and collaborative projects as a result of the connections made during this event. The skills and insights gained are being actively incorporated into their academic and creative endeavors. I could see this initiative benefiting future students as well. I plan to integrate what we gained into our curriculum and continue opportunities like this for new students. This will ensure that more of students in the creative arts and humanities are well-prepared as they transition into the professional world.

Faculty Member: Dr. Katie Owens-Murphy, Associate Professor of English

Program: Restorative Justice

With our funds, we contracted with Jarrod Wall to develop 3 work-readiness modules geared toward professional development for our RJ students. The first module focused on networking; the second (geared toward inside students) focused on barriers that formerly incarcerated people will face in the workforce; and the third focused on how to create an LLC to do consulting work.

Our inside students especially appreciated these modules, particularly the "ABCs of jobs" (starting with "Anything" and moving toward "Career"), creating "inoculation letters" that narrativize their criminal histories for employers on the front end, preparing three different narrative versions of their criminal background, and learning positive news about places in the current job market that value the lived experience of those impacted by incarceration. They were also interested in Jarrod's distinctions between LLC and Sole Proprietorship, accessing conferences, and networking.

Faculty Member: Dr. Allison Berkowitz, Associate Professor of Social Work

Program: Social Work

Our grant money was used to take social work students to the state capital for a statewide social work Advocacy Day event. Students helped plan and facilitate this event, got to use policy practice skills such as interpreting proposed policy, writing policy briefs, and advocating to lawmakers about how the students would like the legislators to vote on bills related to social welfare. Additionally, one of the students co-presented with me at the event on the topic of legislative advocacy and how to prepare for / facilitate a meeting with a legislator. 

Students also felt empowered getting to meet lawmakers and policy advocates who work in this area for a living as they were exposed to a new range of job prospects. For instance, one of the students, noted that the experience opened her eyes up to a lot of different possibilities she'd never given consideration to before. I am looking to expand the number of students I take to the capital for a similar experience in the next legislative session. These students will offer testimony to future students about what their experience was like. In this way, I believe these two students' experiences will be beneficial for other students in the future.

Faculty Member: Jason McCall, Associate Professor of English

Program: Creative Writing

Michael Wheaton, the founder of Autofocus Books, Autofocus literary journal, and The Lives of Writers podcast, visited the EN 490/590: Literary Publishing course via Zoom on February 28. During the visit, Wheaton discussed his process for creating the press, the journal, and the podcast. He also discussed what values he looks for as an editor and how he fits his writing and editing into other parts of his life. He also answered student questions related to writing, editing, and publishing.

Having access to expert advice was invaluable to the class. This visit was very important to my class it is centered around an experiential learning project: the creation of Lion Bridge Publishing, a student-run publishing press that allows students to take part in the editing, design, and marketing of a book. Talking with a working editor helped them gain confidence in their own editorial process and helped them feel like they were part of the writing community. Even after the class, students will be able to benefit from this visit because this visit gave them more access and familiarity with the writing and publishing community, and this familiarity can help them in future activities inside and outside of the classroom.

Faculty Members: Dr. Tammy Winner, Professor of English and Dr. Jason Price, Associate Professor of English and Chair

Program: English

The English Department used the ACHE grant to fund a Fall Semester English Department Experiential Experience and Internship Event. 15-20 Faculty and student representatives came to talk to over 30 students about career readiness and experiential learning with regard to campus and departmental opportunities they are a part of: internships, study abroad, graduate programs, the library, department literary magazine, and so on. The event also featured a slideshow with information about potential careers for English majors.

The department’s internship coordinator reports the fall event inspired twenty-two English majors to sign up for more help securing summer internships. The internship director reported that 31 students participated in internships in 2023-2024, a 121% increase from the previous year (14 English majors did internships in 2022-2023).