Stories

Two history majors, seniors Michelle Runyon and Daniel Morales, are currently working in the Santa Clara University Archives and Special Collections Department in Orradre Library.

Michelle came to Santa Clara after graduating from Granada High School in Livermore. She became a history minor in her sophomore year and upgraded to a major during her junior year. As a double major in History and Spanish, she is especially interested in Latin American history.

Last year she was selected for the Archival Internship Program in Archives and Special Collections. Her language skills have enabled her to focus on the Spanish-language archive collections. She was involved in processing, cataloging, and developing a finding aid for a few of these collections. One such collection was the Pinedo family papers. This collection includes material relating to Encarnación Pinedo, who published a very significant Spanish-language cookbook in 1898. Michelle has also worked on scanning various items for the digital exhibits that Archives and Special Collections has organized. She is also processing and cataloging the Fr. Norman Martin, SJ collection. Fr. Martin, in whose memory and honor the Archive reading room is named, was a long-time history professor at Santa Clara University. After graduation, Michelle intends to pursue degrees in library science and Latin American history. Her historical research interests include the history of the Sephardic people in the New World.

Senior Daniel Morales entered Santa Clara after attending to Temecula Valley High School in Temecula. He declared a history major in the middle of his junior year. This fall, as he and Michelle were talking before History 116, Prof. Naomi Andrews’s class “Sex and Gender in the Age of High Imperialism,” Michelle mentioned to him that the SCU Archives and Special Collections had an opening for an intern. She told Daniel that she had held this position the previous year and that it had proven to be a very rewarding experience. Daniel applied and was accepted, and is just beginning his term as the 2016-17 intern. He is looking forward to the challenges and opportunities the position will offer him. Daniel was especially happy to get this position because work in museums and/or archives is one of the possibilities he is considering after graduation.

Daniel has been involved in a number of campus activities. He is currently serving as house manager for SCU Presents, the wonderful collection of theater and music-related activities offered through the Theater and Dance Department.