Karen Adjei majored in History and minored in Asian American Studies in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. Her senior thesis explored how Japanese American women’s testimonies and oral histories from the Redress Movement in Chicago provided alternative narratives of identity, belonging, and reparations. She began this project at the University of Chicago’s Summer Research Training Program, and her thesis won the Outstanding Achievement Award in Asian American Studies. After graduating, she worked at Northwestern University Libraries on the Native American Educational Services Project and provided access to humanities resources for patrons. Here, she was inspired to further explore the intersection of storytelling, community engagement, and information access, and was able to secure internships and a fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution. At the Smithsonian, she worked on programming related to Japanese American history, Latinx baseball history, and African American and Latinx social justice initiatives. She has also worked with the D.C. Public Library to acquire materials related to the Civil Rights Movement in Washington, D.C. for the renovated Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. She is volunteering with the Germantown Historical Society on making local history more accessible and inclusive for communities and also serves with Arlington Bridge Builders to provide direct resources to vulnerable populations during the pandemic. Currently, she works as the Program Administrative Coordinator at Nonprofit Montgomery to inform systems change for early childcare and workplace development with the Montgomery Moving Forward initiative. She will be applying to Masters of Library and Information Science programs, and is considering seminary programs for the future.
Karen Adjei majored in History and minored in Asian American Studies in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. Her senior thesis explored how Japanese American women’s testimonies and oral histories from the Redress Movement in Chicago provided alternative narratives of identity, belonging, and reparations. She began this project at the University of Chicago’s Summer Research Training Program, and her thesis won the Outstanding Achievement Award in Asian American Studies. After graduating, she worked at Northwestern University Libraries on the Native American Educational Services Project and provided access to humanities resources for patrons. Here, she was inspired to further explore the intersection of storytelling, community engagement, and information access, and was able to secure internships and a fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution. At the Smithsonian, she worked on programming related to Japanese American history, Latinx baseball history, and African American and Latinx social justice initiatives. She has also worked with the D.C. Public Library to acquire materials related to the Civil Rights Movement in Washington, D.C. for the renovated Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. She is volunteering with the Germantown Historical Society on making local history more accessible and inclusive for communities and also serves with Arlington Bridge Builders to provide direct resources to vulnerable populations during the pandemic. Currently, she works as the Program Administrative Coordinator at Nonprofit Montgomery to inform systems change for early childcare and workplace development with the Montgomery Moving Forward initiative. She will be applying to Masters of Library and Information Science programs, and is considering seminary programs for the future.