Cristo Rey Jesuit High School had an archival need and the Stevenson Public History Program responded. During Stevenson University’s new January Term, eight students enrolled in a Public History Archives course volunteered to help set-up that institution’s first archive. Providing approximately 200 hours of skilled labor and $100 worth of materials, the students inventoried materials, created a digital database, and processed approximatey 18 linear feet of documents and artifacts. The new archive documents the first seven years of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School’s existence in Baltimore.
Approached by Reverend John Swope (SJ), President, Criso Rey Jesuit High School, about that institution’s archival needs almost a year ago, it would be several months before we could coordinate a time when skilled students with a background in archives could devote one week to the project. During the third week of January Term, students Alex Jeffries, Maria Hooe, Shabrea Dansbury, Sam Conteh, Michael Shaltry, Josh Rifkin, Erich Goetz, and Matt Flynn and Dr. Johnston traveled into the city and worked at the high school. Part of a new intiative offered by Stevenson, Public History In Service To the Community (PHISTC), the project provided valuable field experience for our students while also providing an important service to the high school.