Creators
Sophia Auron (she/her) is a senior from Madison, Wisconsin studying Anthropology and Sociology and French. She studied abroad in Besançon, France last year where she met many interesting people and visited a lot of amazing historical sites. This experience and her courses at Knox sparked her interest in archival research and Knox’s history. She is excited to continue to learn more.
Marina Hoang is a Psychology and Educational Studies major at Knox College. Her enjoyment of studying human nature and equity led to her interest in how people of different races, ethnicities, and social identities interacted throughout history. As an international student from Vietnam, she wishes to explore her presence in modern America, informed by an understanding and appreciation of the country’s history of colonialism, abolition, and the like. Beyond academics, she considers herself to be an avid bathroom singer.
Abigail King (‘24) is a Classical Languages and Creative Writing double major. She is also the Health and Wellness chair of the Student Senate and the President/House manager of Smash Club. In the summer of 2022, King worked on the collaborative Wikipedia Editing research project that also utilized the Knox College Archives and Special Collections, which inspired her to work on the Finding the Founders Project. When she’s not busy studying, you can find her writing, and when she’s not busy writing, you can find her playing video games. She has many chickens and ducks.
Allie Konopelski (they/them) is a Senior English Literature and Classics double major, originally from St. Louis, Missouri. When not working at the Seymour Library, Allie enjoys following stray cats, cooking, baking, and reading. After graduation next June, Allie plans to go to graduate school for English.
Matt Lande (He/Him) is a senior at Knox majoring in both Secondary Education and English Literature. He is from Skokie, IL, where he has spent all of his life before Knox College. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his cat, watching movies or TV shows, reading and learning. This is Matt’s first immersion experience at Knox.
Isabel Oliver is a Junior at Knox College, originally from Boulder, Colorado. She is majoring in Gender and Women Studies and minoring in Peace and Justice. At Knox, Isabel sings Alto in the Knox College Choir and serves on Choir Board as the Public Marketing Chair. Isabel is also the President of the Epsilon Chapter of Delta Delta Delta. Prior to this project, Isabel was part of the pilot Knox / Henry Hill prison program which evoked her interest in abolition and the local history of Galesburg and Knox. She looks forward to continuing to do work in the local community through philanthropic service and independent research.
Xander Robins (They/he) is a Senior at Knox College, Majoring/Minoring in Psychology, Gender & Women's Studies and Political Science. They are originally from Wichita, Kansas. He is interested in crocheting, collecting oddities and spending time with their pet rodents. After this year Xander will be taking a 5th year to finish their studies. He has lived in 5 states (and counting) and hopes to learn as much as they can wherever he goes.
Amelia Grace Zyskowski (she/her) is a senior at Knox majoring in History and minoring in Gender and Women Studies and Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies. She is originally from Clarkston, Michigan. She is internal relations chair of Knox’s chapter of Food Recovery Network. She has had a bit of experience in the Knox College Archives and Special Collections before this project with various history classes, and is interested in further research there as well as library studies more broadly. When not reading history books she can often be found gardening, baking, playing video games, or driving her car.
Hilary Lehmann is associate professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies at Knox. She researches rhetoric, law, and the family in classical Athens. Outside of work, she enjoys reading novels, playing music, and running around in the woods.
Joseph Taylor is the Archivist and Special Collection Librarian at Knox College. He holds a degree in Library Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Deirdre Dougherty teaches in the Educational Studies department at Knox. She is a historian of education and her archival research draws on critical geography and Marxist social theory to think about the history of school desegregation. She likes sea shanties, the East Coast, and dogs.