GAINESCENTER FORTHEHUMANITIES
LETTER FROM THE GAINES DIRECTOR
ONE DAY FOR UK GIVING REPORT
THE 2025 BREATHITT LECTURE
THE 2025 LAFAYETTE SEMINAR: CITY STORIES
INAUGURAL OUTSTANDING HUMANITIES RESEARCH AWARD THE INAUGURAL GAINES COOPERATIVES
HONORING THE GAINES CLASS OF 2025
THE POST CLINIC: AN ORAL HISTORY
GET TO KNOW THE GAINES CLASS OF 2027
NEW YORK ART EXPERIENCE
2025 ZOLONDEK TRAVEL AWARD WINNERS
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: DOMINIQUE LUSTER
COMMONWEALTH HOUSE UPGRADES
SAVE THE DATES: BALE BOONE SYMPOSIUM + ALUMNI REUNION
The Spring Semester culminated in a series of highs in April and May – from the Gaines senior thesis defenses, to the Breathitt Lecture and the Lafayette Seminar, to the New York City Art Experience, the Scarf Ceremony, and graduation. Of course, these last milestones are always bittersweet as we say goodbye to the seniors and watch them begin exciting new phases.
Simultaneously, this spring brought numerous queries about Gaines with regard to federal policies affecting higher education. We appreciate the concern from alumni, faculty, and other community members and your continuing support of our mission to promote the humanities. Like other institutions across the country, UK is monitoring federal changes. Our approach at Gaines is to stay focused on the excellent work we do for students, the campus, and the wider community and the important role humanities plays in advancing Kentucky.
We prioritized high-impact experiences in the Gaines Fellows Program and in our Humanities course offerings for all students at UK. For example, courtesy of Gaines Board Member Carol Farmer, the Fellows took a field trip to the Speed Museum in Louisville at the end of March. They received a docent tour of the special exhibit “Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris, 1900-1930” and participated in interactive exhibit activities. The entire day was a one-of-a-kind, unforgettable hands-on learning experience for the Fellows. In HMN 303: “Humanities in Action,” an immersive course on careers in the Humanities, students learned about the fields of urban archaeology, rare book acquisition and preservation, and public history, often by going on-site and doing. Developed by the Gaines Center, this team-taught seminar centers on the pressing need for trained humanists in today’s society.
We sought to recognize and build intellectual community among campus members who invest so much in Gaines’s students and mission by launching two new programs: the Gaines Lecture for Outstanding Research in the Humanities and the Gaines Humanities Cooperatives We created the Gaines Lecture to showcase the exceptional achievements in the Humanities by UK faculty. The Gaines Lecture recognizes ground-breaking Humanities work by early career scholars at the University of Kentucky. Each year, we’ll spotlight work related to our annual theme. The inaugural lecture was given by Dr. Anastasia Todd, Assistant Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies. Calls for nominations for the AY 25-26 lecture will go out in August. The Gaines Cooperatives are an initiative that fosters new and emerging working groups on Humanities-focused research, pedagogy, advocacy, and public scholarship for faculty, staff, and graduate students. Our pilot group this year was the Health Humanities Group, which brought together members from nine units at UK. Each cooperative is intended to promote interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary inquiry and lay the groundwork for innovative projects to advance the Humanities across campus and in the wider community. We received a lot of interest in the program and are pleased to be able to sponsor 6 Co-ops for the 25-26 academic year.
As we bring the spring semester to a close, we are buoyed by the success of our students and our role in educating and preparing the next generation of leaders for Kentucky and beyond. We are also encouraged by all of you. Your efforts and good wishes on behalf of the Gaines Center are essential. We love hearing from you so please don’t hesitate to be in touch (michelle.sizemore@uky.edu).
Wishing you a restorative summer,
2025BREATHITTLECTUREFEATURINGLUCASCARLOSDELIMA
Lucas Carlos de Lima, a University of Kentucky senior in the College of Design, delivered the 30th annual Edward T. Breathitt Undergraduate Lectureship in the Humanities. Lucas’ lecture explored the utopian philosophies present in the work of Wenzel Hablik and Pierre Chareau and the relationship between social issues and the transformative power of architecture.
On Thursday, April 10th senior Gaines Fellow and architecture major, Lucas Carlos de Lima delivered the 2025 Breathitt Lecture entitled, “Crystal palaces: Designing a Better World Amidst Social Chaos.'' De Lima spoke to a packed audience of community members, students, and faculty about two creatives who embraced utopian ideals in their work as a means for confronting social upheaval. The first, Czech painter Wenzel Hablik (1881-1934), was profoundly influenced by the aesthetics of crystals. De Lima writes, “Inside, he saw ‘magical castles and mountains’ that would haunt the artwork, architecture, and design of this polymath Czech artist for the rest of his life, and in those natural crystalline forms, he saw the power of creative forces” Hablik leaned deeply into the fantastical, relying on heavy use of color juxtaposed against geometric shapes in order to render a sublime scope that would leave audiences awed and inspired His intention was to transport viewers into a world unscathed by societal destruction while rendering idealized architectural forms that could trigger imagination and whimsy
Similarly, French architect and designer Pierre Chareau (1883-1950), felt that artistic expression could transcend functionality. While his pieces were rooted in architectural design rather than painting, he leaned into similar utopian ideals to Hablik. An example can be seen in arguably his most famous work, La Maison de Verre or “House of Glass” located in Paris, France. Chareau pioneered the use of glass bricks, fabric screens, and strategic lighting to transform the space into an immersive, aesthetic experience for visitors He argues, “A house is not a machine to live in It is the shell of man, his extension, his release, his spiritual emanation" De Lima shared many examples of these artists’ works in the context of social upheaval before turning to a lively question and answer session with audience members De Lima concluded “Both artists are idealists, believing that humanity’s greatest achievements will arise from careful consideration of how architecture could embody the aspirations of an industrial age while promoting societal well-being”
The Gaines Center is immensely grateful to all those who joined us, and as always, want to honor former Kentucky Gov. Edward T. Breathitt, for whom the lecture is named. Breathitt was a University of Kentucky alumni with exceptional passion for higher education and the humanities. The undergraduate lectureship is awarded to student whose qualities of mind and spirit have been expressed eloquently on one or more of the basic concerns of the humanities: form, value and memory. The Edward T. Breathitt Lectureship recipient receives a special award and an honorarium of $500.
By Dr Chelsea Brislin
CPETIVES THEINAUGULGAINES
The Gaines Center for the Humanities is excited to introduce “Gaines Humanities Cooperatives” an initiative that fosters new and emerging working groups on Humanities-focused research, pedagogy, advocacy, and public scholarship. Envisioned as a generator of community across departments and colleges, Gaines Cooperatives assist in the formation of these university networks by providing funding, space, and other institutional support for coalescing around common interests and goals.
CHARLIE ZHANG, GENDER AND WOMEN’S STUDIES
MICHAEL SAMERS, GEOGRAPHY
EMILY BERGERON, HISTORIC PRESERVATION
LYNN ROCHE-PHILLIPS, GEOGRAPHY
MATTHEW STRANDMARK, UK LIBRARIES
KATHRYN NEWFONT, HISTORY
STUDIES
MEL STEIN, GENDER AND WOMEN’S STUDIES
MARK HINES, ENGLISH NASH MEADE, THE PATTERSON SCHOOL
the seminar featured three conversations between advocates and policymakers on some of the most pressing health challenges in Lexington: Segregation, Accessibility, and Homelessness.
Moderated by Vice Mayor Dan Wu,
On April 17th, the Gaines Center took over the Downtown Public Library’s Farish Theatre to host the 2025 Lafayette Seminar, “City Stories: The People Behind the Policies.” This year’s topic was inspired by the 2024-25 Gaines Year on “Health and the Humanities” and addressed three pressing health concerns in our local community: segregation, accessibility, and housing insecurity. Vice Mayor Dan Wu facilitated conversations between government representatives and local advocates to showcase the triumphs and tensions that exist between these important community stakeholders.
The first panel featured councilmember Shayla Lynch (District 2) and local advocate Yvonne Giles. Ms. Giles, affectionately known as “cemetery lady,” has worked to preserve and protect the African American cemeteries here in Lexington through historical recognition, and community outreach. She discussed her experiences riding the bus, educating elementary schools, and communicating with councilmember Lynch about her local concerns. In turn, councilmember Lynch discussed ways she has moved the local government to better recognize the inequalities throughout different Lexington neighborhoods. Construction, detours, and historic preservation are all areas she has worked within to be a voice for her local district and to represent concerns like the ones voiced from Ms. Giles.
Our second panel featured Access Kentucky’s Kristy Stambaugh, a long-time advocate for better accessibility measures here in Lexington. Kristy discussed what it means to be a “dementia friendly” city and delivered many personal stories of how her team has worked to address barriers for our local residents. She discussed raising the fee for violators who park in handicap loading stations, and plans to use the additional income to filter back into accessibility measures. She regularly researches benchmarks to advocate for change in and around Lexington, while also sharing stories about the many considerations one must make for improved accessibility. One example she shared included custom house renovations for wheelchair users. We all know the benefit of ramp access, but Kristy shared other considerations including lower counter heights, pool lifts, and elevator accommodation.
The last panel addressed the topic of housing insecurity in Lexington, and featured the Catholic Action Center’s Ginny Ramsey, in conversation with councilmember Liz Sheehan (District 5). Sheehan and Ramsey discussed the repercussions of new and ongoing legislation that penalizes “urban encampments,” or “unauthorized street camping.” This legislation would penalize unhoused individuals, even when shelters are full or otherwise inaccessible. They discussed the limitations with current services to aid our unhoused population including the higher number of shelters for women-only, pet insecurity, and more. While this is an issue that continues to need advocacy, both panelists spoke about the benefits of living in Lexington where much of the population cares deeply about our community’s welfare and wants to find solutions so that everyone can be safe and sheltered.
The event concluded with an overview of how city planning can, and does, take these various health concerns into consideration. Hal Baillie, Manager of the Lexington LongRange Planning Office, shared elements of city planning that have the maximum impact on health and belonging. The Gaines Center is proud to host the Lafayette Seminar on an annual basis, thanks to support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. One audience member remarked, “Hearing about efforts to save our history, efforts to improve accessibility, and the challenges and complex solutions in addressing housing…my soul felt good hearing about efforts being made, but not sugarcoating the obstructions. Kindness and empathy were repeated throughout.”
We look forward to next year’s event and want to thank everyone who came to listen to these vital stories from our community members.
By Dr. Chelsea Brislin
JUNIORFELLOWSAMICASNOWANDKAUNER SHACKLETTEWERESELECTEDASTHE2025EUROPEAN TRAVELSCHOLARSHIPRECIPIENTS!
THANKSTOTHEGENEROSITYOFMRS.EVELYN ZOLONDEK,KAUNERANDAMICAWILLTRAVELTO GERMANY,FRANCEANDSPAINTHISSUMMER.SOME OFTHESITESTHEYWILLBEVISITINGINCLUDE:
CHARTRES CATHEDRAL (CHARTRES, FRANCE)
SEMPER OPERA HOUSE (DRESDEN, GERMANY) AL HAMBRA (GRANADA, SPAIN)
MUSEE D’ORSAY (PARIS, FRANCE)
JEWISH MUSEUM (BERLIN, GERMANY)
CHURCH OF SANTA TOME (TOLEDO, SPAIN)
GERMANY
FRANCE
SPAIN
Anastasia Todd is an assistant professor of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Kentucky. Her research is at the intersection of feminist disability studies and girlhood studies. She is the author of Cripping Girlhood (University of Michigan Press, 2024), which was awarded the 2022 Tobin Siebers Prize for Disability Studies in the Humanities.
Her work has been published in Disability Studies Quarterly, Societies, NEOS, Girlhood Studies, and Transformations: The Journal of Inclusive Scholarship and Pedagogy.
CELEBRATING
OUR SENIORS
DANCE; ARTS ADMINISTRATION
ANNA BENTON
LOUISVILLE, KY
“Gaines has been my favorite part of my undergraduate experience (by leaps and bounds). If I could turn back time and do it all over again, I would.”
Post-graduation, Anna will work with a dance company In Lexington.
ENGLISH; FRENCH ELLA-BROWN TERRY
MURRAY, KY
“My best Gaines memory was late-night bonding with my cohort when setting up our community engagement exhibition.”
Ella was accepted to the Miami of Ohio and West Virginia University Masters in English, UT Austin and the University of Virginia’s PhD programs in English, and the English Studies MPhil program at Christ’s College, Cambridge. She will be moving to England to complete her MPhil in at Christ’s College, Cambridge in the fall.
LUCAS CARLOS DE LIMA
ARCHITECTURE; HISTORIC PRESERVATION
AVARÉ, BRAZIL
“Developing a year-long project was an extremely important part of my education and has taught me more than I could put into words. I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Gaines, my amazing committee , and everyone else who was present, uplifting, and encouraging throughout this process!”
Lucas was accepted into the Architecture graduate program at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. He will pursue architecture work in São Paulo, Brazil, after graduation.
ALYCIE CAYA
FOREIGN LANGUAGE; INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS; ENVIRONMENTAL & SUSTAINABILITY STUDIES
“I feel so privileged to have earned a spot in the Gaines Fellowship.”
Alycie is taking a gap year, during which she hopes to apprentice at the King Library Press. She plans to pursue a Master of Public Policy or Arts Administration.
MARIANA ESCOBEDO DE LA PEÑA
SOCIOLOGY; GENDER & WOMEN’S STUDIES GUATEMALA
“This program really changed my life. It made so many of my dreams come true.”
Mariana has been accepted to Columbia University’s Masters in Social Work. She has deferred her place until Fall 2026 in order to gain additional work experience in social work.
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
TIMIHIA MURPHY
LOUISVILLE, KY
“My life wouldn’t be the same without Gaines,”
Post-graduation, Timihia hopes to work in city planning while applying for graduate school programs.
JAMES OVERLY
BIOLOGY; NEUROSCIENCE; PSYCHOLOGY
BRENTWOOD, TENNESSEE
“I am eternally grateful...for everything.”
James has accepted a laboratory research position at Vanderbilt University.
ALYSSAH ROBINSON
HISTORY; AFRICAN AMERICAN & AFRICANA STUDIES
LOUISVILLE, KY
“The Gaines Center has changed my life by giving me a place to be academically challenged and make friends and connections.”
Post-graduation, Alyssah will be an intern for the Library of Congress, working for the Researching the Black Press in Chronicling America project.
DANIELA RODRIGUEZ SOTO
MANAGEMENT; MARKETING; INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
HEREDIA, COSTA RICA
“Gaines has changed my life. I have been able to make my dearest friends and have had the most wonderful learning experiences.”
Post-graduation, Daniela will return to UK to complete a Masters degree with the College of Communication.
DIKSHA SATISH
“I cannot imagine an undergraduate experience without Gaines. It’s changed me as a student and a person.”
BIOLOGY; MATHEMATICS
FRANKFORT, KY
Post-graduation, Diksha will work as research assistant at the University of Kentucky.
MUSIC; ENGLISH
AVERY SCHANBACHER
VERSAILLES, KY
“I’m so grateful for this program.”
Avery was accepted into the Masters of Library Science programs at Illinois, the University of Kentucky, and Simmons University in Boston. She has accepted the offer from Simmons University and will be moving to Boston in the fall.
BRENNA STASER
“Gaines has given me opportunities time after time. It has changed the trajectory of my life and my family’s narrative in more ways than I can name.”
ENGLISH; PHILOSOPHY
HENDERSON, KY
Brenna has been accepted into the University of Florida Levin College of Law, the University of Kentucky Rosenberg College of Law, the University of Minnesota College of Law, and the Ohio State Moritz College of Law.
Founded in 1996 by Dr. Edward Roberts, the Post Clinic is a volunteer-based, nonprofit medical clinic located in Mount Sterling, Kentucky. It was established with a clear mission: to provide free primary healthcare and dental services to uninsured and underinsured adults in Eastern Kentucky and surrounding areas. The clinic is staffed by a dedicated team of volunteer doctors, nurses, and support personnel, many of whom donate their time after-hours or in retirement. Over the years, the Post Clinic has become a lifeline for hundreds of patients annually, offering not only medical care, but also a sense of dignity and community.
As part of the year on Health and Humanities, the junior Gaines Fellows proudly partnered with the Post Clinic to launch an oral history project focused on preserving the voices and experiences of this often overlooked community in Eastern Kentucky. Through this collaborative initiative, fellows have come together to document the stories of patients, volunteers, and healthcare workers who have shaped the Post Clinic’s legacy of compassion, resilience, and service.
Dr. Roberts talks about the origins of the Post Clinic.
Fellows Maria and Amica preparing
The oral history project was designed to capture the human stories behind the clinic’s work. Fellows underwent training in ethical interviewing practices and oral history methodology, then conducted interviews with Post Clinic stakeholders, ranging from founding physicians to longtime patients. These conversations explored topics ranging from the challenges of accessing healthcare, to the emotional dimensions of caregiving and the evolving role of community clinics in public health.
The collected oral histories will be archived digitally by the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center, ensuring they remain accessible for future scholars, activists, and community members.
By Kauner Shacklette
Fellows Maria and Botshelo interview patients!
Thanks to bipartisan support and funding, the Post Clinic was recently able to open a new facility!
Sidney
ENGLISH
BIOLOGY & ENGLISH
ARCHITECTURE
EXPLORATORY BUSINESS
BIOLOGY & NEUROSCIENCE ECONOMICS & POLITICAL SCIENCE
Acree
Prisha Patel
Hunter Coady
Priscilla Agbozo
Riley Owen
Eduarda Frizzo Pereira
POLITICAL SCIENCE, ECONOMICS, & PUBLIC POLICY
PSYCHOLOGY & SOCIAL SCIENCES RESEARCH
INTERNATIONAL STUDIES & SPANISH
Cecilia Rhein
INTEGRATED STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION
NATURAL RESOURCES, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, & LAW AND JUSTICE
ENGLISH AND HISTORY
In Fall 2025, the Gaines Center will welcome 12 new Gaines Fellows, representing more than 15 degree programs and demonstrating a profound dedication to academic excellence and civic engagement. Our fellows were selected through a competitive application process and include firstgeneration and international students. We’re thrilled to have them in the program and look forward to seeing how they grow as scholars over the next two years!
Matthew Mitchem
Sanai Wright
AJ Hopkins
Carter Franklin
Da’Vazjah Scharkley
AARTEXPERIENCE RTEXPERIENCE 2025NewYork
“I have never been to New York, and I truly thought as a first-generation student, that I would never have the opportunity to go.”
“We saw Paquita at the New York City Ballet and I really couldn’t hold my tears of excitement.”
“I cannot even begin to express how utterly transformative this experience was.”
“This trip was so immersive and enriching that it brought me to tears.”
“One day I will do this for other Fellows.”
“I genuinely have never seen art with such impact.”
“When
I feel tired and lost, I think about New York and the experience I had. It exceeded all my dreams and expectations.”
“This trip changed my life.”
DOMINIQUE LUSTER
SENIOR GAINES FELLOW ALYSSAH ROBINSON SITS DOWN WITH ALUMNA DOMINIQUE LUSTER TO DISCUSS ALL THINGS GAINES AND LIFE SINCE COLLEGE.
So, first question, can you tell me a bit about yourself and about your company?
Sure: my name is Dominique. I am from Louisville go brown bears! I currently live in Richmond, Virginia I went from Kentucky to Pittsburgh for a decade, and then, after living in Pittsburgh, I moved ,to Virginia I love all the things that are very stereotypical. I love Bourbon, I love horses, I love basketball I’m very straightforward on those things I am very deeply, deeply thrilled that Beyonce finally announced the Cowboy Carter tour I also am very excited about the Kendrick Lamar tour, though I may not go to it because K DOT's tickets are man, it’s expensive
What else that's all about me? I love Black people, Black history, Black culture, Black folk, Black talk, Black music enough to start my own company (The Luster Company) I'm an archivist by trade and training, which means I work in historic documents I like to say that it's a blend; my job is like Harriet Tubman meets Indiana Jones
We explore and discover and save I don't swing on vines, but we definitely do the whole exploration and discovery in old dusty basements and old creaky addicts finding lost treasures of Black history, specifically I opened my company in 2021 in the middle of the pandemic and we're a consulting firm specifically This comes after I worked as an archivist for probably about 10 years; I still do a little bit of traditional archival work, but I switched into consulting work, and that's what we do now
Can you tell me a little bit about archival processing, and also the consulting work that you do?
Archival processing is essentially when on a personal family level someone ’ s great grandmother passes away, and the family goes into the house to try and start sorting things, and they find boxes and boxes of old photos, her letters during World War Two, an old cookbook, an old family Bible, photographs of her parents stashed in her house in various places An archivist is a person who helps preserve those things so that they last for as long as materially possible So, for example, print photographs decay over time, so you can't see them after a while. We try to stop that from happening Paper, if it ever gets wet, will mold and go away We try to stop that from happening Paper degrades, photographs degrade; these things just will go away eventually, and we try to delay that as long as possible Archival processing is essentially the process of stabilizing historic objects so that they don't break down over time because they will no matter what we ’ re just trying to slow it down as long as possible.
I still do quite a bit of the hands on archival processing, but as a consultant, I work with organizations--like the University of Kentucky library, or University of Louisville library, or MoMA. I’ll work with the organization or with the government at a higher level to help them lay out strategies and plans It's a lot of thought work instead of actual practical “putting this letter in an envelope” work.
How did you get into the field, and how did your time at UK and the Gaines Center specifically help you get there?
I wouldn't be an archivist, actually, if it wasn't for the Gaines Center I went to Germany as a part of the Fulbright Program to the Freie Universität, which is in Berlin, and then when I came back, I started my Gaines junior fellowship year I was there to study German, but I also used some archival material as a part of my Gaines Senior Thesis.
Itwas 200 pages of my life. Itwas a beast, and really, really hard I just remember being up in one ofthe Gaines houses, Connie (Duncan) was there, and she would supply me with Coca Cola, because I was draining fast! I was writing about a European artist, and I had a committee, and I was using archival material from Germany in my paper I learned howto use an archive because I was trying to write this behemoth of a 200 page thesis This thing was massive, and really stressful and complicated I used a lot of primary source research; I was doing this original research, and it required me finding original documents in an archive I started pulling material for it. At some point, either atthe start of senioryear or right before the start of senioryear, the Special Collections Liibrarywas looking to hire interns, and theywere atthe time, paying a ton of money compared to everything else on campus. If everything else atthe time (this is back in the day) was paying $8 an hourArchives and Special Collections was paying $15
I needed the library, I needed the archive I was trying to write my thesis I thought “this is perfect ” I could work at the library, but spend that time writing? I thought I could just sit at the desk and check people's books out while I was writing my thesis, and I'd already be in the library at the archive, and so if I needed archival material for my thesis ? But I had no idea what archiving was I did not sit at the desk once; I was doing things, processing things, moving things, putting things in the boxes, labeling things I was actually archiving And I realized I loved it I learned how to be an archivist
I had to write this behemoth of a thesis and then defend it in front of a group of people. And so I became an archivist because I needed a job, and I was trying to write a thesis, and I found a job in the archive That's it That's the story If I hadn't been writing that thesis, I probably wouldn't have found that job
Okay, so we talked about this a little bit, but, if you have anything to add: what was your thesis and how did it influence your time after undergrad?
My thesis was about, well, actually, my thesis changed, halfway through it. I don't know if that was allowed or approved, but I changed mine Originally, it was supposed to be on French impressionist writing I selected my committee based on my original topic because I was taking art history classes. I had an art history minor, but once I started working in the archive, and once I went to Germany I realized that there was a better topic I was a theater student, I was a lighting design student, and I ended up writing about a German lighting designer named Bertolt Brecht whose archives were in Berlin— where I had been and then I got a job at the library in the archive, like it was just working out way better My committee, for the most part could not help me, because they were either art history or French professors, and my project was about a German lighting designer But I still became an archivist after the fact.
Are there any fond memories from your time at Gaines that still stick with you?
All of them Some of my Gaines classmates are still my friends to this day, and the previous administrative associate, Connie If Connie called me right now, I would have to get off this call, because nothing else will interfere with my love for Connie; she matters to me in ways that is hard to describe, because she got us through Gaines It got really hard some years, some of those, like rotations, I don't know how they structure it now, but in the junior year, we did two months of philosophy, and then one month of something else like applied music composition and then it was, another topic for six weeks, and then another topic for two weeks after that We just went from topic to topic to topic, and different faculty members across campus would come in and teach their sections.
We had a drawing section and that instructor told me that I was not a good drawer I remember that very distinctly She told me I couldn't draw, which, well, I can't draw very well...
I do remember it fondly. I remember one of the faculty I think he's actually still at UK I don't know if he still teaches Gaines, but he was a music history professor, something like that. Anyway, we all went and saw him perform jazz live. I don't remember where, but I remember going with him to see him play live And I remember in one of the classes, he had us put
our heads down He had a pentameter which tracks time in music. And he had us put our heads down and then raise a hand when you think it's been 30 seconds and everybody got wrong And then raise your hand when you think it's been a minute, and everybody got it wrong. And he would play with the tempo, to make you think whether or not it had or hadn't been Senior year, I remember we just spent a lot of time hanging out I think we spent most of the time in like one house (Bingham Davis). I don't know if there's still a computer lab upstairs, but we spent a lot of time just writing; you're just sitting there all at the same time and writing I remember pulling an all-nighter once when drafts of my thesis were due, and Connie let me stay there till midnight or 1 00am writing, and I just sat in the big conference room I think there were a couple of us there, because it was the big deadline in April. And Connie just let us have the house for the day As people finished writing and submitted, they left But I remember just sat there and wrote It wasn't like, chit chatting or goofing off; we literally thought “don’t talk to me. ” I'm not messing up or not graduating because you want to play around All very, very, very fine memories
Pivoting a little bit from Gaines specific, but I'm a history major; I focus on African American history. So reading about your company and what you do, I wanted to ask about your thoughts on the importance of history and archives.
Well, the importance of history is mostly, in my opinion; the importance of history is that we often forget more than we remember. And when faced with similar inputs, humans tend to make the same outputs over and over again So, history doesn't repeat itself humans do I think that, to me, is the most important thing, because if we didn't like how it turned out last time, maybe we'd do something different this time, when faced with the same input But I think that human memory in the western society can be very short. I think in other traditions and other societies it can have a little bit more extension to it But yes, I think the importance of history is really around the ability for upward mobility, by remembering and making different choices. So, if you remember something, even locally within an individual family, right, if you come from an immigrant background My partner comes from an immigrant background His father immigrated here. By having a localized family memory or even an archive if his father, for example, kept notes or journals about that experience of being an immigrant in the States I think it allows future generations to learn from said wisdom, not make said decisions, or make the same decision if it nets a great outcome to be like, ah, I don't have to know how I don't have to learn, potentially, the hard way, how to do something I can just look to my elder that already did this and move accordingly. If you imagine a spiral staircase, you want to go either upward or downward I think it would be psychologically harmful to the human brain to go in a circle right at the same level over and over and over and over again. I don't think it's helpful to go down, either But movement history provides us movement both upwards and downwards Archives provide corroboration to events in the past. That's it. That's all that they do. They corrobate events that happened in the past They either say, I wrote this thing down when it happened; I was at the storm on Normandy, right? I was there. I was a soldier who stormed
Normandy, and this is my accounting of what happened The archive is important, because if soldier A has an accounting of what happened and soldier B has a very drastically different account of what happened, now what happened is in question, because none of us in 2025 were there, right? The archive provides corroboration to what happened. It also has the ability to erase what happened, because the record keeping in the Western world, we maintain “memory,” and I put that in quotes based on what we can corroborate in writing, as opposed to other cultures, predominantly in Caribbean or Western and African communities who have more oral traditions or material culture, baskets, casks, clay, things like that. In Western tradition, we write stuff down. Our idea of knowledge is what we read or have written down If certain groups of people never write something down, did they exist? And even if they did through whose vantage point are you receiving knowledge of what happened? Let me use an example practically with my fourth great-grandmother who was born enslaved in in Danville Are you from Kentucky?
I am. I'm from Louisville as well.
right?That's critically important That's why I became an archivist.
So do you have a favorite project that you've worked on?
So my fourth great-grandmother was born enslaved in 1852 in Danville I know that because the enslaver had her baptized at birth Okay, this does not get her freedom It just means that there's a church record of a negro girl born on this date and baptized in this church. That's the information that we have And if you multiply that over hundreds of years, millions of enslaved individuals You have the ability to either create their existence or erase their existence by simply never documenting the fact that they were born That is what we call a historic gap That historic gap, at least in African American diasporic context, is critically important, because only thing that we have about African American history prior to say, 1900, is what other people wrote down about African Americans,
I have a special love for all of my projects, mostly because, here's what I will say, I love more than anything, I absolutely adore and love the fact that I get to do projects that I love with people that I love I cannot overstate the value of being able to pick and choose what I work on, or to say no to a project because maybe it's not a good fit, maybe it's not a good time, maybe I'm not ready, or the client isn't ready I get to choose who I work with and what I work with them on I'm not assigned anything or tasked anything. So, they're all my favorite project, because I got to pick them
In my particular lane of entrepreneurship, for the Luster Company, people reach out They say, “hey, we're interested in this project. Are you interested? Are you available?” We'll say yes or no There's a process by which we qualify whether it's a good fit or not, whether we have time or not Is it scoped well, things like that But then we'll just decide yes, we'd like to work with this person. Or no, we're not the right partner for you at this time
So my last question is, do you have any advice or words of wisdom for future and current Gaines fellows?
I love Gaines so much Do I have advice? Maybe I would say that in today's day and age, especially with AI, my ability to run my business, my ability to be a small business owner and to run my business successfully is because I can critically move through really complex problems That would be my advice If there is a skill to learn, and I do understand that AI is getting better at reasoning and complex problem solving, I get it, but the world that I work in is very niche, so if I had advice for somebody, it would be to specialize in something really, really niche and be the world's greatest at it. And, be an incredibly good problem solver I can solve really complex, abstract problems, which is something that I think I learned because I was a Gaines fellow Roll with me on this. So, for example, we took six weeks studying
philosophy, and then four weeks studying ancient Greek and Roman history, and then six weeks studying music, and then four weeks studying science I understand critical thinking skills; I can take a little bit of philosophy, a little bit of rationale, a little bit of logic and a little bit of music and put it together to solve a very complicated problem in a creative way For now, AI can't do that, or at least, it can't execute on those the solution of those problems, and it can't take human care in the development of those solutions So, it can tell you most logically, oh, well, if you just lay off this team and decrease the salaries of that team, you'll solve your problems, because logically, it would act as humans, who, when we're faced with the same inputs, we tend to make same outputs, and thereby repeat our mistakes The skill that I learned was to be able to put humans first and to see humans as people with
feelings and families and rents to pay in this incredibly expensive market, and to be able to solve problems for companies that are really complicated Gaines taught me how to do that.
It’s totally okay to pivot Maybe you get a degree in business, and then you start working at a bank, and you realize you hate it Which you wouldn't have known until you start working there. I think it's really important that people know how to pivot using the same piece of paper If you have the degree in history, for example, and you start teaching, and you actually kind of hate it, how can you use the exact same piece of paper to pivot? You still have a history degree, but you use it towards x, y, z I think that's a really important skill to have
THE GAINES CENTER HAS BEEN BUSY THIS SPRING MAKING UPGRADES TO THE COMMONWEALTH HOUSE, INCLUDING NEW PAINT AND LIGHTING. STAY TUNED FOR THE BIG REVEAL ATTHE FALL GAINES REUNION!
SINGLETARY CENTER
CONCERT HALL
OCTOBER 23
6:00PM
IN CONVERSATION WITH UK ART MUSEUM DIRECTOR STUART HORODNER
