Josh's Reflection

What did you enjoy about this project?

I enjoyed discovering someone who made significant change to Trinity’s Women’s Athletics. I found her accomplishments to be very impactful and it was a pleasure getting to know and giving credit to someone who worked hard to give opportunities for female athletes. I also enjoyed putting myself in the shoes of an historian and discovering new things about people I never knew about before. I also got to meet some great people during this project who helped understand who Libby Johnson was as a person.

What surprised you about this project?

It surprised me that Libby had to do most of these things by herself. Today each sport has a few assistant coaches, but Libby was the head coach for 4 different sports and had no assistant coaches. It’s hard to imagine she had enough time to do her job as well as function as a human being. It was also surprising to hear of the lack opportunities for Women in athletics at Trinity and how it took all the efforts from Libby Johnson to give women those opportunities. I also thought it was surprising to see much how things changed over time. Lastly,  I thought it was crazy that Trinity beat University of Texas in anything so it was surprising to read the Trinity Women’s Basketball team beat Texas.    

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

Since Libby worked at Trinity a long time ago it was challenging to find helpful people to talk to about Libby. I kind of followed a chain of people to talk to. I asked one person about who would be good to talk to and they suggested a different person to talk to. Eventually I got to someone very helpful who worked directly with Libby. I learned that during projects like this it takes patience and hard work in order for a breakthrough to occur.

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

I would have tried harder to get an interview with a former player of Libby Johnson. My partner was able to but I really would have like to hear what player’s thought of her and had some interesting stories. I tried through the alumni relation directory, but I need to use different resources to try and get a player. I really wanted to get a fun story that only few people knew about which could have shown who Coach Johnson was as a person.

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

I learned when looking back at history it is important to look back at history with an unbiased eye because the truth is more important than trying to paint our own picture of history. I also learned that someone can never have too many sources in trying to understand history. Lastly, I learned that while it is important to have a thesis, there must be information to figure out that thesis.  

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

I found Libby Johnson’s story to be inspiring in showing that one person can make a huge difference in lots of people’s lives. It also made me feel grateful for the time I lived in being more accepting than it was in the past. I learn that things change through time, and it is important to be able to accept those changes. Lastly, I learned that some people do not get credit for their hard work and accomplishments and it is important to try and give credit where credit is due.