We spent our second day at the Lemon Project meeting and interviewing the Legacy 3. This was an experience I’ll never forget. The women were genuine and hilarious, and the stories they told transported me in back in time while still remaining incredibly relevant to today. We learned about their struggles as freshman trying to figure out how to navigate academic and social lives, as well as their struggles with strict (and outdated– even at the time) regulations for female students. They spoke more about these than their struggles as African American students, but their self-awareness was apparent. They used this aspect of their life here as motivation and a source of strength to do well in their classes and graduate. I was blown away by the women’s strength and grace, and so excited to start on our part of the project.
My group bonded today while working on the project, mostly over a long, cold walk over to Colonial Williamsburg to take photographs of the Bruton Parish graveyard where Karen spent time studying. Spending more time with my group as well as the entire Lemon Project group (grad students and all) inspired me and made me realize how lucky I was to meet and work with these women. My time spent with them and the Legacy 3’s emphasis on the prestige of their William & Mary degrees also renewed my gratitude for the ability to learn from the professors and other students here. As I said earlier, I will never forget my experience interviewing the Legacy 3, and I will be forever inspired by their strength and determination (no matter how much they insist they were just like us).