Meet Five Student Advisory Council Members
Posted by Gilder Lehrman Staff on Wednesday, 01/18/2023
Created in 2014, the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s Student Advisory Council is a diverse group of high-achieving students in grades 8–12 with an interest in history. At monthly meetings, the Council provides valuable feedback on the Institute’s programs and materials, helping the Institute keep the needs of young people in mind.
Council members often serve as speakers at the Institute’s four book prize ceremonies and annual gala, among other special events. Council alumni have gone on to attend Brown University, Columbia University, Duke University, Harvard University, and Stanford University, among others. The Council now has 165 members from across the country and internationally.
We asked five members of the Student Advisory Council questions about their experience in the SAC.
Anthony Akator
Basis Tucson, Arizona
What interests you about history?
History’s inherent link with the present, its impact on human beings, and the general feeling of it being a tapestry of stories woven together by human cultures and societies are what interests me about history.
Each month a member of our curatorial department presents about one or two historical artifacts from the Gilder Lehrman Collection. Which topic was your favorite?
The Hamilton Letters.
Which GLI resource do you think would be the most helpful for students?
Do you know what you want to study in college?
Political science, international politics, or history. I might double major. I intend to go to law school as well.
Anything else you’re up to?
I recently connected with Professor Lucas Morel of Washington and Lee University through the SAC. I am now hosting a virtual scholar talk with him at my school.
Siya Gupta
Herricks High School, New York
What interests you about history?
History is the story of us. I have always loved seeing how the past connects to the present as well as watching how our society has developed and the stages it has gone through.
Each month a member of our curatorial department presents about one or two historical artifacts from the Gilder Lehrman Collection. Which topic was your favorite?
Student Protest in NYC.
Which GLI resource do you think would be the most helpful for students?
Do you know what you want to study in college?
I hope to study art history in college. I have always been inspired by the arts and I hope to continue my studies. Also, there really isn’t anything like exploring and learning about artwork you have never seen before.
Anything else you’re up to?
I recently attended the National History Teacher of the Year ceremony and the On Juneteenth book talk by Annette Gordon-Reed of Harvard University at Trinity School as a Student Advisory Council representative.
Owen Hannon
Raleigh Charter School, North Carolina
What interests you about history?
I’m drawn to the historical discipline’s argumentative rigor and, crucially, its nexus to current American political culture. History and politics are inseparable: political debates perpetually flock to the historical record for evidence; what is included and omitted from that very record begs questions about power and intent; the current political landscape, like all real-world things, is overdetermined, so people invariably use historical contingency as a piece to the puzzle. All of these things, though, only demonstrate how the substance and content of political and historical scholarship are related to each other and ignore the arguably more important connection: history builds political tolerance. There is no conclusive “history,” but a series of interpretations and theses that we must—in order to engage with the historical discipline responsibly and thoroughly—collate, qualify, and compare. Reading the opposing side and coming to your own conclusion is the same skill required for the health of a body politic.
Each month a member of our curatorial department presents about one or two historical artifacts from the Gilder Lehrman Collection. Which topic was your favorite?
The Hamilton Letters.
Which GLI resource do you think would be the most helpful for students?
Do you know what you want to study in college?
I want to study history and American studies in college. My principal academic interest is the intersection between poetry and legal history, as both demonstrate the role that written language plays in initiating, amplifying, and responding to political movements. I’ve found that people have a tendency to dogmatize texts in the American political canon and sometimes refuse to acknowledge historical trends that cast doubt on whether the founding political philosophical ideals were fully realized. Legal history, particularly constitutional law, helps break down those dogmas and encourages historical reckoning in the same way that poetry allows us to counter our own presumptions about the world with the experiences of others. Law, politics, and art all echo each other, and I hope to be able to combine my passions for all of them in college.
Anything else you’re up to?
I am currently a research assistant in the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s Education Department.
Jessica Jiang
Alhambra High School, California
What interests you about history?
I am a huge fan of cultures. I love East Asian culture, I love popular culture, and I love reading about American culture. History allows me to discover how these cultures were able to originate and the subtle nuances that add to their beautiful complexity.
Each month a member of our curatorial department presents about one or two historical artifacts from the Gilder Lehrman Collection. Which topic was your favorite?
The US Census Map.
Which GLI resource do you think would be the most helpful for students?
Do you know what you want to study in college?
I don’t know yet.
Anything else you’re up to?
Along with Owen, I am working in GLI’s Education Department as a research assistant.
Spencer Segura, Jr.
Brunswick School, Connecticut
What interests you about history?
The patterns and themes of history interest me the most in that they have shaped modern society and contributed to the creation of “new” history.
Each month a member of our curatorial department presents about one or two historical artifacts from the Gilder Lehrman Collection. Which topic was your favorite?
The US Census Map.
Which GLI resource do you think would be the most helpful for students?
Do you know what you want to study in college?
I would like to study business because I am interested in starting my own company or business in the future. I would like to be some sort of entrepreneur or business owner.
Anything else you’re up to?
I am creating a student club dedicated to history at my school. I’m really interested in bringing SAC meeting topics to my fellow students there.