First Person: TAVP's Scott Hollis from UT's iSchool

TAVP Intern Scott Hollis at home at a radio station

Scott Hollis is a Master's degree student in the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin. He is working on his Capstone with TAVP this summer, helping us to upgrade our workflow and archiving systems and also producing podcasts. We asked Scott to answer a few questions as part of our First Person series, where we introduce the people behind the archive. 

First Person: TAVP's Scott Hollis from UT's iSchool

TAVP: So, you are currently a graduate student at the University of Texas' iSchool. What did you study as an undergrad and what are your studying now?

Scott:  I have a BA in Radio/TV/Film from the University of South Carolina, and an MA in the same field from Syracuse University. I've always had a big interest in music, which influenced my decision to pursue degrees in this field. While in college, hosting a radio program on the campus sation along with an internship with South Carolina public radio led to an interest in radio broadcasting and production. I followed this muse after graduating from SU by accepting a job at public radio station WSKG in Binghamton, NY, where I was employed for 16 years, hosting a jazz show and eventually being involved in nearly every aspect of daily radio operations. I am currently nearing completion of my MS in Information Studies, with a particular interest in archives

First Person: Professor Reginald Byron teaching TAVP in Intro to Criminology

Professor Reginald Byron at Southwestern University

Reginald A. Byron is an assistant professor of sociology at Southwestern University. His current research interests include race and gender stratification in occupational, educational, and criminological contexts. His work has appeared in Work and Occupations, The Journal of Higher Education, Gender & Society, and The Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency.

This is the fourth post in our First Person series, where we introduce some of the people behind the TAVP archive. Professor Byron is one of a growing number of teachers and professors who are incorporating TAVP interviews into their courses. We asked him if he would answer a few questions about his experience using the TAVP collection in his class.

First Person: Professor Reginald Byron on Teaching TAVP in Intro to Criminology

TAVP: For which course did you draw on TAVP interviews?

Byron: I used TAVP interviews in my Introduction to Criminology class. College students, from first years to seniors, seem to have a growing interest in criminology and criminal justice. 

As I began teaching my students about the differing perspectives of plaintiffs and defendants in criminal cases, I looked for some short examples that would resonate with the students. Then I remembered the work of TAVP because of the outreach of Dr. Rebecca Lorins. These important interviews provided access to the real world complexity of those directly involved in the criminal justice system and their families.

First Person: TAVP Board Member Betty Gilmore

TAVP board member Betty Gilmore

First Person: TAVP Board Member Betty Gilmore

Dr. Betty Gilmore teaches courses in both the Dispute Resolution and Master's in Counseling Programs at Southern Methodist University. As a licensed clinical psychologist, she has worked in clinical, teaching, training, supervisory and consulting roles in a wide variety of settings including academic, workplace, private practice, community and health care. Over the past 15 years, she has delivered training programs and professional presentations nationally and internationally. Her areas of specialization include trauma, crisis management, conflict resolution and cross cultural issues. Her book The Darkest Hour: Shedding Light on the Impact of Isolation and Death Row in Texas Prisons, co-authored with Nanon M. Williams, will be published in 2014. 

Dr. Gilmore earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Southern Methodist University and her Master's and Doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles, California. She has received extensive training in dispute resolution through Harvard's Program on Negotiation, Pepperdine's Strauss Institute, CDR Associates, and the American Institute of Mediation. 

This is the third post in our First Person series, where we introduce some of the people behind the TAVP archives. 

First person: Meet TAVP alum Gabriel Solis

Gabriel Solis setting up an oral history for TAVP

First Person: Gabriel Solis

Gabriel Solis is a former TAVP volunteer and staff member. We recently uploaded his oral history interview with Scott Atlas, which he conducted for his master's thesis in Mexican American studies, and donated to the TAVP collection. On that occasion, we had the opportunity to talk to Gabriel about the story behind the interview, which can read in this post.

We also asked Gabe if he would answer a few questions about what he's up to now and how his oral history work has influenced his career trajectory.

TAVP: Tell us a little bit about your career trajectory after you left TAVP.

Gabriel Solis: Well, I became involved with TAVP just as I was completing a BA in philosophy at UT-Austin. I left TAVP when I decided to study for my master's in Mexican American studies at UT. After that, I moved to New York City, where I first worked as the project coordinator of the Rule of Law Oral History Project at Columbia University's Center for Oral History, and then as a Research Associate in the criminal justice program at NYU Law School's Brennan Center for Justice. I returned to Texas, and beginning in January 2014, I started work as a Post-Conviction Investigator at the Office of Capital Writs.

Meet the interns!

Spring semester 2014 TAVP interns with faculty adviser Charlotte Nunes.

This semester's interns have been recruited through the 
Human Rights & Archives Working Group, affiliated with the 
University of Texas' Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice.

This semester, with a bit of serendipity, we have partnered with the Archives and Education strand of the Human Rights & Archives Working Group affiliated with the Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice at UT-Austin to welcome 5 dedicated interns who have pledged to help us process the TAVP collection. Dr. Charlotte Nunes, their faculty adviser and the point person for the Archives and Education subgroup, has been working closely with TAVP to, as she puts it, "offer a team of UT undergraduate interns a meaningful opportunity to learn about digital archives by building them." 

All of the interns study within the Bridging Disciplines Program at UT. We wanted to know more about these committed students so we asked them to share a little bit about themselves. Click "read more" to learn more about them. Look out for a separate post where our interns offer intriguing responses to "Why archives and human rights?" and "Why TAVP?" 

Without further ado, we introduce the interns (in alphabetical order by last name)
(click on "read more" to learn more about each intern)