Alexis' Reflection

What did you enjoy about this project?

I really enjoyed the interview part of this project. Through talking with Terri Hailey and Lynn Luna, I learned so much more than I possibly could through newspaper articles. I learned personal stories about Coach Johnson, which I found entertaining, and I think was a nice contrast to all the factual stuff Josh and I found. Terri Hailey and Lynn Luna were very helpful in their interviews and I owe a lot of my findings to them.

What surprised you about this project?

What surprised me most about this project was how slow of a process it is. When I first started I thought I was going to find all sorts of information on Coach Johnson in a neat little box in Special Collections. I realized that I was going to have to do lots of digging, which in a way is a little disappointing, because Coach Johnson seemed to be a remarkable woman and more people at Trinity should know what she's done for the school.

What was the most challenging aspect of the project, and how did you manage it?

When I did find all sorts of newspaper articles and old pictures regarding Libby Johnson I found it hard to keep track of it all. I eventually ended up creating a separate folder for the class and within that, creating more separate folders within that separated newspaper articles from Trinitonian articles from photos from miscellaneous. It was a bit hard to stay organized for a little while. 

If you could start over, what would you do differently?

I would have started looking early on in the old Trinitonian and old Mirage articles. After all of this, there ended up being lots of valuable information in those places rather than Special Collections. However, I did learn how to successful sift through box after box and folder after folder in Special Collections, so you could say I am pretty much a pro now. 

What did you learn about history and/or the historical process through this project?

I learned that history is literally you trying to unravel a story piece by piece. You take all of these little pieces of a puzzle and put them together to create a story that reveals something that other people may never have heard of. I also learned that it takes patience and lots of dead ends. When you hit a dead end, instead of giving up, you just take things in another direction. 

What did you learn through this project that can be applied to life outside the classroom?

First off, I would have to say people skills. Through conducting the interviews and working with the library staff I was able to communicate with another person that knew Libby Johnson or about her and have them convey information to me. Without people skills and networking, you are unlikely to get very far in any job field. Secondly, I would say that I learned perseverance and determination is important. Without those two things, Coach Johnson would not have made the impact she did. Coach Johnson's story is an inspiring one and even when times were tough, she never gave up and brought a lot to women's athletics.