Archives processing student Matt Black

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Hi! I'm Matt Black, I'm a CMU senior with a semester to go. In many ways, my experiences at Clarke have helped me understand what kind of career I want. When I started at CMU, I knew I wanted to be an archaeologist and triple majored in anthropology, history, and mathematics, later adding a Native American studies certificate. However, a research project I did during the end of my sophomore year that largely used sources from the Clarke, introduced me to a field of history I had not previously known about and prompted me to change my history major to public history.

After spending my summers at archaeological field schools, I still needed an internship before I could graduate. Given my past experience with the Clarke, I began an internship in January that turned into employment. During that time, I have helped process several collections including past CMU Athletics files, a collection of book auction catalogues related to fly fishing, and the family history of a CMU alumni. Additionally, I helped create and encode finding aids for those collections.

Something I have enjoyed is finding a surprising number of similarities between archaeological field work and archival processing! They both have repetitive (sometimes mundane) processes, they require the ability to subjectively group materials together, and both rely heavily on context and documentation of methodology. Perhaps the coolest thing I have come across while processing thus far was a 1939-1943 diary that had belonged to Calvin Carstens who served in the United States Air Force during World War II. It was impactful reading his entry from December 7, 1941 stating, “We heard that we were are war with Japan this noon – now I think it was a wise move to enlist in the Air Corps.” I have learned so much in my time at the Clarke and I look forward to seeing what my future holds.

Marian note: Matt is a quick, detailed learner with manuscripts processing and description. I'm so glad he's going to continue working here.


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