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Reminiscing with the Archives

rollins-college-campus-lake-virginia-overheadThe Department of Archives and Special Collections has created a fun, new project called Rollins Reminisces.

This project was created to share favorite Rollins memories with future generations.
The department acquires, preserves, and makes accessible unique and rare documents regarding the Rollins College and central Florida communities. The new project is just another creative way to bring our community together.
October is known as National Archives Month, and Rollins partnered with the Alumni Office in preparation for Family Weekend. Rollins Reminisces is a program that was brought to life during this preparation.
Wenxian Zhang, Head of Archives and Special Collections, said, “We decided to launch the Rollins Reminisces program, through which all members of the Rollins community—current students, faculty and staff, retired employees, friends, donors, and others with a connection to the college—are encouraged to share with the College Archives their favorite experience at Rollins.”
Everyone has the opportunity to share personal stories, advice, quotes, and pictures from their time and experience at Rollins. These submissions will be compiled and preserved by the Archives Department for future generations to learn more about Rollins and enjoy the school through past experiences.
Students are especially encouraged to share their favorite memories from their time at Rollins; the Archives Department has trouble collecting the experiences of individual students,as opposed to groups and organizations.
“This portal for Rollins Reminisces represents an effort for us to try and capture those individual experiences so that each student at Rollins feels they can leave their mark in the archive and on Rollins history,” said Rachel Walton, Digital Archivist and Record Management Coordinator.
This project is definitely a fun and creative way for students to leave a bit of themselves on campus and have future generations learn more about the college through their memories.
The Archives Department also recently held an exhibit called “Curiosities from the Archives,” located in the display case in the foyer of the Olin Library entrance. The exhibit includes many exciting artifacts, such as a lock of “Napoleon’s” hair and a railroad spike from Dinky Line, Winter Park’s first commuter rail.
Zhang said, “We believe this project and other outreach programs will enhance the public awareness of services provided by the College Archives and help us better preserve the heritage of liberal arts education at Rollins.”

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