Capstone:Oklahoma History
My capstone was a work study experience, interning under Victor Lukerson. I read through newspaper articles, books, and rolls relevant to his upcoming book, Built From The Fire. I then organized my annotations of those documents into shared spreadsheets. Upon completion of my project, I will be able to tentatively determine whether or not I’d like to pursue a career in historical research.
 | |
| Baylor Freeman 2021 | |
|---|---|
| House | Fine Arts |
| Advisor | Aubree Karner |
| Advice | If you know of someone in Tulsa, or someone outside of Tulsa, who is working in a field the you are interested in, send them a cold email and ask if you can shadow them/intern with them. The worst they can do is say no, and if they say yes then you gain a lot of meaningful experience. |
| Type | Presentation |
| Subject | Oklahoma History |
| Discipline | History and Social Studies |
How It Began
On Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, from 8am-12pm, I will be completing research for Victor Lukerson. This research consists of reading editions of newspapers from that time period, like the Tulsa Star, on the Library of Congress website. He will provide me with a list of key places, people, events, etc. that he wants me to keep track of, and I will record the relevant info into a shared spreadsheet on Google Docs. We will meet occasionally to check in and discuss new tasks that I will complete like: reading books about desegregation in Oklahoma or finding people who may have been affiliated with the KKK in 1921.
How It Changed
Things went as planned. Other than the few days towards the beginning of second trimester when my school schedule changed, and my work schedule changed too, my capstone experience did not differ from what I outlined in the beginning of the school year.
Reflection
Even though I determined that historical research would not be a career I was interested in in the future, I still had a valuable experience in completing my internship. Researching historical events, locations, and people related to Tulsa and Norman, OK allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of Oklahoma History.