Students share results of oral history project at regional conference

Lumberton, N.C.–Students enrolled in Dr. Tatiana Seeligman’s Spanish Conversation class at Campbell University participated in a recent Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke March 29. Sophomore Benjamin Hopf, freshman Lauren Bajorek and junior Erica McAllister shared the research collected from an oral history project that involved Hispanic immigrants conducted during fall 2007.”We formed a round table to discuss the project at the history honor society conference and received very enthusiastic responses from the audience,” Seeligman said.An example of Campbell’s commitment to Servant Leadership, the oral history project, conducted in conjunction with Dr. Jaclyn Stanke’s 20th Century history classes, required students to obtain the histories of 30 Hispanic students enrolled in the Campbell Divinity School’s Hispanic Theological Education program. The students also worked with Hispanic children in an on-site daycare facility.”A major project objective was to get students to apply their skills toward a larger goal than just being able to pass a test,” said Seeligman. “Students trying to learn Spanish grammar and vocabulary, for example, could apply their knowledge in a real-life situation which also involves community service.”One of the primary outcomes of student Erica McAllister’s research was a better understanding of ethnic stereotypes. McAllister, who interviewed a man who was a practicing attorney in his native Columbia, said, “Although he’s a really well-educated and intelligent man, people here think that he’s uneducated because he is Hispanic.”

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