The following text and pictures were contributed by Nam Nguyen Vu ’18, an Alumni Memorial Scholar, who attended the AMS trip to New York City during February/March of 2015.
Is there a better way to celebrate the fact that you’re one of the lucky Colgate students chosen for the Alumni Memorial Scholars (AMS) program, than by going to New York City with other AMS students?
On February 28, 2015, a group of 17 AMS students traveled to the Rockefeller Archive center, a premier center for research on philanthropy and civil society. Sound boring? Not in the least. We were welcomed personally by James Smith – the Director of Research and Education – on a Saturday morning (yep we were that privileged!). And guess what, he is a Colgate AMS alumnus, too.
We had a wonderful lunch, and after exchanging quick introductions with the archive staff, we were taken on a tour of the vault, where precious materials acquired over tens and hundreds of years are kept. Imagine all the documents researchers have to request days or weeks in advance. We examined all of them closely—including posters, books, letters, receipts, minutes, and research proposals, some written by Nobel laureates and world-renowned scientists. (And, for some reason, there was a wedding cake, too!) The tour really helped us, and especially me, understand how an archive works and what it holds in store. Since all AMS students all researchers-in-training, this information could be really handy someday.
The best part of our visit was a workshop on scholar rescue programs organized by the archive staff. We all became judges, charged with determining who was most in danger–and who could be saved, brought to the United States. These were real scenarios from WWII, reconstructed from primary source documents held in the vault. At times, we found ourselves surprised to read letters of support written by famous people, like Albert Einstein (yes, THE Albert Einstein). But every portfolio was so compelling that our group decided to rescue people based on the level of immediate danger they faced. In the end, we were amazed to read about these high profile researchers who eventually got to the US and who contributed so much to the intellectual life of American universities during and after the war. After a whole day of learning, we ate dinner. Nothing fancy, just some really good Italian food with the best company, including the research assistants at the archive. The first day was successful.
On the second day, we went on a tour of art and architecture at Rockefeller Center. We learned all sorts of history, including how the center was built, and how Diego Rivera painted one of his masterpieces on the wall of the Center – only to see it ripped from the walls for portraying Lenin. Did you know Mr. Rockefeller was so upset with one of the sculptures that he would only use the main entrance to avoid seeing it? There are always so many interesting things to learn.
If you think we only went on tours, you’re wrong, because we were given plenty of time to explore the city on our own. Free time in NYC is never wasted. After all, it was so much fun. I had a chance to learn, to find out so much more cool things, and to bond with my fellow AMS. We sang, we danced, we rapped to Drake and Nicki Minaj and belted out Beyonce. And we are still potential researchers! Thank you Peter and Robert for all your effort to pull this off. You guys are awesome.