Students in the second year of the History Center/Cornell Oral History Fellowship focused on “rapid response” oral history–documenting community responses to COVID-19. Topics include political leadership, community organizing, food security, and responses among local business owners, including hotels, restaurants, and theaters.

Students worked with Professor Stephen Vider, Director of the Cornell Public History Initiative; Ben Sandberg, Director of The History Center; Professor Edward Baptist; Professor Derek Chang; and Julia Taylor, community educator and director of Civic Ensemble, to receive training and ongoing supervision in conducting, transcribing, and interpreting oral histories.

John Colie
John Colie is a Sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences originally from New Jersey. Currently planning to major in English and History, he applied to the fellowship due to its goal of contributing to historical knowledge about Tompkins County, especially concerning certain issues and aspects not as often thought about but nevertheless still important to the region’s history. To this end, he is chiefly interested in learning more about the stories of the people of Tompkins County concerning COVID-19 and allowing more people to hear those stories in the future. He currently serves as Sunspots Editor of the Cornell Daily Sun.

Audry Hong
Audry Hong is a Junior at Cornell University studying Global and Public Health Sciences in the College of Human Ecology, pursuing minors in English and Inequality Studies: Health Equity. She is excited to be a part of the Oral History Fellowship because she believes it is important to tell the stories and preserve the experiences of populations that have often been overlooked or misrepresented in history. As someone interested in a career in public service, she firmly believes that to build a better future for all, we must first understand and account for the past.

Philly Latorre
Hello! My name is Philly Latorre and I am a sophomore majoring in Human Development and minoring in Inequality Studies. I’m originally from Syracuse, NY, and its a great honor and privilege to live in Ithaca as I go to school. I joined the Oral History Fellowship because I believe that hearing the stories of community members is crucial to learning from the past and working towards a brighter future. I hope to show that everyone’s experiences, no matter how small they may seem, help paint a more nuanced understanding of the times we live in.

David Marantes
David Marantes is a junior from Boerne, Texas in the College of Arts and Sciences, and he is double majoring in Government and History. He was interested in this fellowship because he wanted to play a part in recording such an important time in history, and has always found it fascinating to learn about the many stories and unique perspectives people hold. From a young age, he has enjoyed listening to the oral histories of his family’s past and he looks forward to documenting others for the future.

Nabiha Qureshi