PAWV
  • News
  • Contact
    • Ways to Give to PAWV
  • Advocacy
    • Most Endangered Properties
    • Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits
  • Programs
    • Annual Awards >
      • 2025 Awards
    • Blair Footsteps Interpretive Trail
    • Frances Benjamin Johnston: A West Virginia Icon >
      • Selected Photos
      • Behind the Lens Activity
    • West Virginia Historic Preservation Conference
    • Webinars >
      • Webinar Archive
    • West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail
    • WV New Deal Trail
  • Resources
    • Fund Your Preservation Project
    • Preservation Techniques >
      • Historic Building Assessment
      • How to Recycle Asbestos
      • Mothballing Property
      • Window Rehabilitation
    • Preserve WV AmeriCorps

Continuing Education Through Zoom: AmeriCorps Member gives Virtual Guest Lecture

4/14/2020

 
Picture
In the spring semester of 2019, Jennifer Thornton, an assistant professor of public history at West Virginia University, contacted Nicole Dias of BAD Buildings and the Northern WV Brownfields Assistance Center and asked her if she would like to give a guest lecture to her historic preservation class. Nicole agreed and included me, the Preserve WV AmeriCorps member serving at BAD Buildings, into the project. We created a presentation on BAD Buildings and our work with abandoned school buildings across the state. The guest lecture went over well with both Professor Thornton and her students. For the rest of the semester Jennifer and her students remained in contact with us, sending us questions and information about abandoned schools they did projects on.

With the success of our first guest lecture, in January 2020, Professor Thornton contacted Nicole and I to do another guest lecture for her spring 2020 historic preservation class. We scheduled the guest lecture to take place in April. With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the plans for the guest lecture seemed uncertain. However, Jennifer Thorrnton assured us that the guest lecture will go on as planned, except it would be done through zoom. We would be able to share our presentations through screen share and talk to the students.

Nicole and I split the guest lecture into two parts. Nicole would give the basics of the BAD Buildings program while I would give the basics of the Preserve WV AmeriCorps program and how historic preservation is connected to BAD Buildings. Since this is my last year as a Preserve WV AmeriCorps member, I wanted to share my experiences with the class and encourage them to look into becoming a Preserve WV AmeriCorps member post graduation. Additionally, Nicole and I wanted to give the students a lesson that lets them know that historic preservation is not only important for history, it is important for a community's redevelopment. There are a lot of benefits to historic preservation and we wanted to share them with the students to encourage them to continue this path in their professional careers. 
​

Despite not having given a lecture through zoom before, thankfully our guest lecture was a success without any technical errors during the presentations. The students were well behaved and Professor Thornton added insightful comments. At the end, several students asked questions indicating that they were engaged with the lecture despite the circumstances. Unfortunately, at the very end of the guest lecture the zoom audio started to malfunction so we had to call the class to a close. The next day, Professor Thornton thanked us again through email and told us, “I was worried that with the COVID-19 quarantine the students would miss out on the guest lectures. I appreciate that you were committed to making it work despite these challenges!” It was great to work with Professor Thornton again and share our experiences with a new group of students.

SUMMER PHILLIPS

Summer Phillips is the Preserve WV AmeriCorps service member with the BAD Buildings program at the Northern WV Brownfields Assistance Center. She began her service in 2018 and it will conclude in August 2020.


Comments are closed.

    Preserve WV Stories

    Donate to Support Preserve WV AmeriCorps Members
    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Greenbrier County
    Improvement Projects
    Learn Something New
    Meet The AmeriCorps
    Monroe County
    Pocahontas County
    Recruitment
    Support Preserve WV
    Volunteering

    Archives

    May 2025
    August 2024
    August 2023
    July 2023
    March 2023
    September 2022
    August 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    January 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016

Get Involved

  • Give Online
  • ​Volunteer​
  • ​Subscribe 
  • Contact Us

Programs

  • Advocacy
  • Conferences
  • ​Preservation Awards
  • Endangered Properties List​​​


Contact Us

Preservation Alliance of West Virginia
​421 Davis Avenue, #4  |  Elkins, WV 26241
​Email: [email protected]
Phone: 304-345-6005
Donate to PAWV
© COPYRIGHT 2025 - PRESERVATION ALLIANCE OF WEST VIRGINIA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • News
  • Contact
    • Ways to Give to PAWV
  • Advocacy
    • Most Endangered Properties
    • Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits
  • Programs
    • Annual Awards >
      • 2025 Awards
    • Blair Footsteps Interpretive Trail
    • Frances Benjamin Johnston: A West Virginia Icon >
      • Selected Photos
      • Behind the Lens Activity
    • West Virginia Historic Preservation Conference
    • Webinars >
      • Webinar Archive
    • West Virginia Historic Theatre Trail
    • WV New Deal Trail
  • Resources
    • Fund Your Preservation Project
    • Preservation Techniques >
      • Historic Building Assessment
      • How to Recycle Asbestos
      • Mothballing Property
      • Window Rehabilitation
    • Preserve WV AmeriCorps