Wellesley College Outreach by Izzy Torkornoo
Happy New Year everyone! Wellesley only returned back to school this past week (our first day of classes was Monday, January 23rd, 2023) so we are still adjusting back. My most recent outreach has consisted of the planning of two main events as well as working on the historymakerswellesley Instagram and social media outreach. The first event that I have been working on was centered around introducing The HistoryMakers, sharing about Wellesley Alumnae who are HistoryMakers within the archive, how to access the archive using our Wellesley log-ins and introducing the Black History Month Contest! This event was held on Thursday, January 26th, 2023 and was a collaboration between Professor Fitzpatrick (my faculty advisor and a faculty fellow for The HistoryMakers), Dean Patricia Birch (the dean for students of African descent) and I. We held the event at the home of the Black student union: Harambee House and we used both social media and posters to promote the event! The turn-out was AMAZING! In the words of Professor Fitzpatrick, the room was “overflowing.” (Please view attached pictures below from the event) My friends and the larger Wellesley community really rallied around us and created such a special environment! People stopped me on the way to class, in the dining halls and messaged me on social media to express their excitement and appreciation for the event. I am honestly still processing what was such a monumental occasion! I am very proud of what we did.
The second event that I’m planning is an upcoming presentation with the W Collective, Wellesley’s literary and fashion organization. The event will be held Thursday, February 2nd, 2023. I met with Serena (the president) and Sylvia (an e-board member) to go over the plan for the event! I went through The HistoryMakers slides with them to give them a foundational understanding and then I showed them a list of HistoryMakers in the fashion industry that I’m thinking to highlight at the event! Lastly, I took them within the archives to watch some clips! We decided that HistoryMaker Desiree Rogers, a Wellesley alum and the Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Publishing Company will be the focus of the start of our presentation, grounding the work in an amazing Wellesley alum!
Our Instagram page has been super active! Professor Fitzpatrick and I have both been posting and we have been getting notable interactions on our posts! We launched the Black History Month contest and used Instagram as a main medium for promotion! Now it is time to focus on The Higher Education Advisory Board presentation and prepare for next weekend!
