I was really excited to be accepted as part of the DSSRF cohort this summer because I saw this not only as an opportunity to explore what I was interested in but also build on existing skills. While I did take a class in Digital Scholarship in my first year, I thought that being in the DSSRF program would be more helpful in the long run, because I would be able to show a complete website that I made on my own and would help me explain the connection between my country and Bucknell in the future.
For my project, I wanted to explore the Burma-Bucknell Connection, the long history that the University has with my country. I thought it would be something worth while to pursue, seeing how students before me have come to the University as well as the interactions between Bucknell and the country’s politics. I want to break down my project into five parts.
- A comprehensive timeline of the relationship,
- Shaw Loo, the first international student at Bucknell,
- The Burma Bowl, a symbol of friendship and the annual diversity award,
- The Burma-Bucknell Weekends held from 1948-1965,
- And a brief visualization of the flow of students and where in Burma they came from.
Through working on this project with the library team this summer, I want to learn effective ways to integrate interaction into the website experience, and to learn more about the various tools and ways that make these interactions meaningful and interesting. I would also like to learn more about how to build a comprehensive website and how to integrate different types of media, but also not make it too distracting. Aside from those technical skills, I want to learn more about the Burmese at Bucknell University and what they did, as well as the various figures who contributed to the relationship.