February/March 2001

Spotlight On .....

Lori Sprague

"What do you do at Parkland?"  "I'm the Archivist."  "The what?"  During her fifteen years at Parkland College Lori Sprague has heard the above mentioned question many times.  She says, "Basically, I collect, organize, and provide research assistance regarding all things historical about Parkland." 

The path that led Lori to Parkland is a familiar story that's often told in these parts......... she moved here with her husband, Jeff, who was attending grad school at the U. of I.  She considers herself a "west coast gal" who grew up in Southern California - Arcadia to be exact, where she says that on a smog-free day one could have a spectacular view of the San Gabriel Mountains.

Lori attended college in the northwest-most corner of the U.S. at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington.  She started out majoring in art education, but later changed her major to studio art, eventually being accepted into the Bachelor of Fine Arts program.  Her areas of concentration were textiles and sculpture.  After completing her B.A. and B.F.A. degrees Lori worked in Seattle at a frame shop, all the while still creating artwork and entering shows and exhibitions.  Her artwork at the time consisted of large-scale soft-sculptures which were pop-art inspired. 

During their early married life Lori and Jeff lived in Houston and Denver.  While in Denver, Lori's art shifted to mixed media pieces framed in shadowboxes.  Her interest in this type of artwork still continues today - time and energy permitting.

Upon moving to the C-U area and seeking employment, Lori came across an ad for an  Archives Assistant at Parkland.  The job description appealed to her as well as the environment at the college.  After several years of working hard and mastering an understanding of the archives profession, Lori was appointed College Archivist.  Just like many other professions, there are courses, workshops, seminars, and the like offered in the Archives field.  Lori says, "I am very appreciative of all the opportunities I've had through the years to learn as much as possible about managing an archive collection.  I can truly say that I am one of those who ‘love’ their job. I derive a lot of pleasure from what I do.  My favorite experiences are far and away those where I have answered a question or solved a historical mystery."

When not enjoying herself at work, Lori is enjoying her family life with Jeff and their children, daughters Alyssa (14), Caitlin (11), and son Sawyer (almost 4).  They live in the small town of Argenta.  In her spare time - who's kidding whom! - she is deeply involved in her local historical society.  Lori managed to get a historical building donated to the society, wrote several successful grant proposals for building improvements, and this past year she authored an agreement with her town’s park commissioners which will allow the society to physically relocate the historical building to the park where it will be opened to the public in 2002 as a historical museum. 

Lori encourages everyone to "take an interest in the past" and "commit as much about our own lives to memory as possible, so that we each have our own tales to tell." 

We remind you that the Archives Office is open 8 - 5, Monday through Friday.  Lori is available to assist researchers or to answer questions related to the Parkland Archives. 

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