Eleven local high school students successfully completed the Virtual History Internship program at the Lanterman House after conducting interviews with a range of local residents. The program, which was conducted remotely, began last year during the pandemic as a way of offering experience to students who were not able to volunteer or work in person. Students were trained to conduct and record oral history interviews, which are then permanently archived in the Lanterman House Archives.

This year, interns recorded interviews with people who had experienced significant personal or professional challenges over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program included training in research methods, interview techniques, how to process and preserve an interview, and legal and ethical guidelines. Interns used free recording apps on their smartphones to record the interviews. The interns also received local history lessons from program advisor Mary Lou Langedyke.

Lanterman House Archivist Julie Yamashita is preparing a grant proposal to preserve the interviews in a statewide database, www.californiarevealed.org. California Revealed is a California State Library initiative that helps public libraries, archives and other heritage groups digitize, preserve and provide online access to materials documenting the state’s history, art and cultures.

“We currently have 53 oral histories available on the database,” said Yamashita. “It is an amazing resource that offers primary source materials to everyone.”

Participants in this year’s program were (from La Cañada High School):

Shahzareh Ali who interviewed Shahan Atmajian, Emergency Services coordinator, City of La Cañada Flintridge; Ella Baghdassarian who interviewed Mary Virgallito, associate administrator of Quality and Patient Safety at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital and longtime local resident; Anna Heur who interviewed Dr. Tony Chahine, local optometrist and longtime La Cañada resident; Adam Jensen who interviewed Ethan Stern, executive director of the Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge; Thomas Kim who interviewed Ann Neilson, active community volunteer and president of the Assistance League; Jenna Milbrodt who interviewed Bent Hansen, owner of local Mexican restaurant Los Gringos Locos; Ella Sahakian who interviewed Jessica Palacios, manager of Once Upon a Time Bookstore and lifetime La Crescenta resident; Paige Speaker who interviewed Kristi Cohen, Human Resources administrator for USC Verdugo Hills Hospital who oversaw COVID testing and vaccine distribution for the hospital.

Brendan Ehrhart of Loyola High School interviewed Dr. Mark Ewoldsen, science teacher at La Cañada High School and principal of the La Cañada Education Foundation Summer School; Samuel Khoh of St. Francis High School interviewed local resident and award-winning actor, director and producer Angela Bassett Vance; Jeseung Park of Crescenta Valley High School interviewed Jenny Franz, fifth grade teacher at La Cañada Elementary School and lifetime La Cañada Flintridge resident.

“The second virtual history internship program has been very successful,” said Laura Verlaque, executive director of the Lanterman Historical Museum Foundation. “We are so grateful to our volunteer interns and the community members who agreed to participate in the program. The stories they captured offer a truly fascinating insight into how living during the COVID pandemic has impacted our community over the last year.”