Through the Carnegie Mellon University Archives, CMU students with a passion for primary sources and collective memory can dive into the intellectual, cultural, and administrative history of the university, exploring the past and investigating how it informs the present moment. We checked in with 2024 Dietrich College graduate Nancy Zuo, who frequently interacted with the Archives during her time as an undergraduate, to see where that passion has taken her post-graduation.
Q: Share a little about how you interacted with the Archives during your time at CMU. How did you first get involved? What were you most interested in?
A: I started going to the Archives during my junior year. I had just taken a year off from CMU, and when I returned, I wanted to make the most of campus resources. The Archives was the place where I really found that. Up until that point, I hadn’t really understood the gravity of what CMU represented. I applied for colleges, and I went to CMU because I got in — I didn’t really appreciate the history behind the institution until I started exploring the Archives.
One day that year, a friend and I were exploring Hunt Library and looking at random microfilms, when we thought to ourselves: “I wonder if CMU has an archive?” We found the door to the reading room on the second floor, and when we asked at the front desk if we could see it, he told us to just knock on the door! Archivist Emily Davis opened the door and introduced us to the Archives. From then on, I went during open hours on Thursday each week, just to talk to Emily, Crystal Johnson, and Kathleen Donahoe and see what they were working on.
All around CMU, I found myself becoming interested in the information people shared with me — for example, learning about the undergrad experience of alumnus School of Design professor Mark Mentzer, who worked at CMU for several decades. In class one day, he said, “When I was your age, I sat right there,” and told us a story about one of his professors. I took that name and looked it up in the Archives, and I realized that all this fascinating information is available out there to discover, even if you can’t just look it up on Wikipedia.
I took a book binding class with an instructor named Joe Dicey, who was also at CMU for around 50 years — he actually started off as a staff member before he started teaching. In class, he would introduce me to people that he knew from the past, and I would look for photos in the Archives and bring them back to him. I found it really fulfilling to share those memories.
Q: The Archives collects, preserves, and provides access to materials of the university that have lasting historical value, reflecting the diverse experiences and contributions of the CMU community. How does this mission enrich the broader CMU student experience?
A: I grew up in the Bay Area, so I grew up around computers. My dad is an engineer, and I remember going into server rooms with him for whatever software company he was working at. I also grew up going to the Computer History Museum — and since I was surrounded by technology all the time, I took it for granted.
There was a moment where I met a CMU alum at some event, and he asked me if I knew about the history of computing at CMU — Simon and Newell, and Alan Perlis, who invented programming languages. And so I looked Perlis up, and I found a Medium article titled “Alan Perlis: The First Computer Scientist” by a professor named Jim Morris. Morris also wrote a memoir about CMU, and was a previous dean of the School of Computer Science. His memoir is really witty and easy to read, and I understood through his lens how SCS has changed over the years.
It was through those stories that I realized how the field of computer science began to exist, and as I began to connect those dots, I was very grateful for the Archives because it helped me to piece everything together. Even with my background, I hadn’t really understood what CMU’s influence was up until that point. Having access to all these materials helped me appreciate the field of technology and computer science in a way I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise.
Q: What’s the most interesting or unexpected thing you uncovered in the Archives? How did you find it? Why did it catch your attention?
A: There was a point where I was working in the Archives part time, helping a Dietrich seminar class find materials to supplement their course about diversity, equity, and student life. I was looking to find student perspectives, and most of what I found about student life was through the Thistle, CMU’s student yearbook.
I found the Thistle really fascinating – it started in the early 1900s when CMU was founded, and lasted all the way through 2020. Most of the yearbooks are available online — except for one, from 1970, which is only available for in-person research by request.
I went to the Archives to find this copy, and to investigate why it wasn’t online. This edition was from the Vietnam War, when students across the United States were unhappy with universities. The yearbook took the form of a political cartoon, and students were very honest with their thoughts about the situation. It was controversial even at the time.
Q: Tell us about your time since you’ve graduated from CMU. What are you doing now, and in what ways did your work with the Archives help prepare you for success?
A: I’m currently a graduate student at Arizona State University studying Media Arts and Sciences. My focus is on telling stories that go beyond a screen — immersive experiences, themed experiences, things like new interactive theater and film.
I actually found this program at ASU during one of the many rabbit holes I went down in the Archives. I was interested in so many threads of research — the history of technology, the art program, older professors — and another interest that came up was the history of the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC). I took two classes at the ETC, and the building and the program both fascinated me. It was started by Randy Pausch, from Computer Science, and Don Marinelli, from the School of Drama. I read Don’s papers, and I realized that he was still in Pittsburgh — so I found his email online, reached out, and invited him for coffee in Shadyside!
I told him about my interest in archives, computer science, and storytelling, and he told me to look into ASU. At the time I was still figuring out what I should do after my senior year, but he wrote me a letter of recommendation, and I ended up getting accepted and continuing my journey here.
I still find myself thinking a lot about archival and historical information the way I did at CMU. Before, I thought that every piece of information was available on Google — that if you couldn't find it, it just didn’t exist. But I realized through the Archives that everything that exists in the world is there for a reason — and that if that reason isn’t written down, you can still talk to people who experienced it, find source material and jog people’s memories, and discover the history behind whatever it is that you’re interested in.
The Archives’ collections are available for use by researchers and other community members throughout the year. Contact the Archives to schedule an appointment, or visit during drop-in hours on Thursdays starting September 4 from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. All levels of curiosity are welcome!