December 2025 Intern Insights: Jamie Raczynski
Jamie Raczynski
Jamie Raczynski
Research & Community Engagement Intern
My name is Jamie Raczynski and I am a Senior History Major with a minor in Appalachian Cultures and Environments at Virginia Tech who will graduate in May of 2026. For the past year and a half, I have been working with Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia as a research and community engagement intern. While I have supported all nine MAAV projects, I have worked primarily with the 23/54 Project. I work closely with the Black community of Pulaski County throughout the research, design, and digitizing processes of the 23/54 project.
How I approach social issues relevant to our public memory projects, such as racism, generational trauma, financial disparity, and lack of accurate historical representation, is by working with the community and individuals affected. By using historical research conducted by fellows like me, along with the stories and ideas brought on by the community, the 23/54 project has bridged the gap between academic and community-based engagement work to successfully create a project where the community tells their own story. As a history major, I have learned from this experience the importance of creative processes for preserving memory and generating community ties that fuel community organizing. This process has taught me how to center local knowledge and community voices, correcting an often top-down relationship that higher ed institutions frequently have with local civic organizations.
Vital to my future career aspirations of becoming a high school history teacher, my work with MAAV and the Calfee Center has changed how I view the historical past as new voices, stories, and communities inform my understanding of local, regional, and national history.
Jamie on the MAAV porch with Jacob Robinson and Sophia Spraker
Jamie (center) at 23/54 site visit with project team members
