A.C. Ivory, the Skydiving Student Genealogist for Follow Friday

Many genealogists keep a bucket list, but the top item on genealogist A.C. Ivory's list has to be unique. "For years, I've wanted to go skydiving," he says, "so ... I finally did it!" 

 

A.C. Ivory; photo copyright A.C. Ivory, used with permission

 

A.C. brings the same persistence to genealogical research that he shows in planning and fulfilling his goal to try skydiving. Personal research, college studies, travel, and work with ProGenealogists in Salt Lake City are all part of A.C.'s life as a student genealogist since receiving the 2012 Suzanne Winsor Freeman Student Genealogy Grant. 

 
A.C. recently sent an update on his activities --

It was such a great honor and surprise to receive the Suzanne Winsor Freeman Student Genealogy Grant this past June at the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree. I am fortunate enough to have met Denise's mother, Suzanne, at the Jamboree in 2010 and hear of her love and passion for genealogy. Denise has set up a wonderful grant for students like me and Elyse to expand our education and love for genealogy.
 
Over the last few months after receiving the grant I continued to work at ProGenealogists, Ancestry.com's official research firm and expand my knowledge and skills in genealogy. The genealogy grant has given me the opportunity to purchase new genealogy research books, a paid subscription to Dropbox where I can store all of my genealogy files and access them anywhere, and to pay for another year's subscription to Weeby Pro. Weebly is the service I use to create my family's genealogy websites.
 
I have built a few family websites where I can create custom pages to share my family history with the world. Although they are not anywhere complete, go ahead and check them out for yourselves.

• Generation Ivory
 - for Ivory Family Association

• Rowsell Researches
 - Rowsell Family History

• My Maternal Kin
 - Family Website for my mother's siblings and family

• Lucas Lineages
 - My mother's biological father's ancestry

What does to future hold for me? Ever since returning home from an LDS Mission in Canada I have wanted to pursue a career in the genealogy field. I have worked very hard the past four years learning everything I can about  genealogy research and new technology for genealogy, and attending genealogy conferences to learn and network with other genealogists. I am currently attending the University of Utah for a degree in Mass Communications with and emphasis in New Media. Although this degree does not exactly fit with genealogy, I am confident that it will help me pursue my goals to work in whatever way I can in the genealogy field. 
 
I am currently a professional genealogist at ProGenealogists and am continually learning more about genealogy research. Whether I continue to work as a researcher or spread to other areas in genealogy, I look forward to expanding my network with the genealogy community and helping others learn how to research their own families.

The Suzanne Winsor Freeman Student Genealogy Grant has been awarded to three student genealogists since being founded in 2010. The goal of the program is to assist young genealogists in the pursuit of genealogy education and experience. The 2012 grant was presented to A.C. Ivory and Elyse Doerflinger at the SCGS Jamboree in Burbank, California; the 2011 recipient was Anthony Ray of Lancaster, California.

Keep up with A.C. :

AC Ivory Blog www.acivory.com

AC on FaceBook – ac.ivory

AC on Twitter -- @acivory

Genealogy Grant Winner "Gets Archiving"

 

Elyse Doerflinger

If you follow Elyse Doerflinger of Elyse's Genealogy Blog at her blog, on Facebook, or Twitter, you know that this winner of the 2012 Suzanne Winsor Freeman Student Genealogy Grant is a very busy young woman. Not only is she a full-time teacher, Elyse is also finishing her credential program at a local university, researching her family tree, speaking at genealogy societies, and planning a June wedding. So, what does she do in her free time?

Elyse recently sent us an update on her activities --

Elyse, in action, at a recent genealogy event

When I was awarded the Suzanne Winsor Freeman Student Genalogy Grant at Southern California Genealogy Society’s Jamboree conference, I was so excited and completely surprised. After taking countless pictures, drying my happy tears, and letting the reality of having $500 to spend on my genealogy truly sink in, my brain was going crazy with all the opportunities of what to do with the money.

To be honest, it took me awhile to figure out what I really wanted to do with the money.  I explored buying books or webinars, or joining a genealogy society.   I thought about renting all the microfilm that has been on my “to rent” list.  I spent hours in Best Buy considering new tech tools that I could buy.  In the end, I couldn’t decide on one thing to spend the money on.  So I decided to do a little bit of everything.

My first bout of inspiration hit when I was sitting in front my of my closet that holds all of my family photos, artifacts,and important documents.  Frankly, the closet was an unorganized mess in old boxes.  Nothing was properly labeled or cared for, and it was really hard to get to boxes on the bottom.  Inspiration hit: organize the closet and all of the stuff within it.

I found the best boxes to use while walking around Ikea.  I brought home two different size boxes. Then I went online and bought some archival quality photo sleeves from Light Impressions. I’ve been organizing the photos in small batches as my busy schedule allows, and truly taking the time to enjoy the experience.  I often notice something new on the old ancestral photos and if it hasn’t been scanned yet, then I pull out my Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner.

On top of my big photo organization task, I’ve been slowly tackling my giant “microfilm to rent” list. I’ve spent a lot of time at the family history center, scrolling through microfilm for my ancestors. I’ve even been trying to tackle some of my ancestors from across the pond - particularly with my very intimidating German ancestors.

What does the future hold for me?  Although I’m not planning on pursuing genealogy as a full-time profession (I’m studying to be an elementary school teacher), genealogy will always play a huge role in my life.  Speaking and writing about genealogy and technology is a huge passion of mine and something I will definitely continue to do.  I’m not sure where my genealogy addiction will take me, but I know it will be one amazing journey. 

The Suzanne Winsor Freeman Student Genealogy Grant has been awarded to three student genealogists since being founded in 2010. The goal of the program is to assist young genealogists in the pursuit of genealogy education and experience. The 2012 grant was presented to A.C. Ivory and Elyse Doerflinger at the SCGS Jamboree in Burbank, California; the 2011 recipient was Anthony Ray of Lancaster, California.

P.S - I'm more than a little happy to see that Elyse used some of the grant funds to purchase archival storage containers for her family history treasures! And I'm glad she is finding helpful preservation tips in my new book, How to Archive Family Keepsakes.

Exciting News for Student Genealogists

The Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree has a reputation for setting trends in the genealogy conference world -- Bloggers' Summit, Jamboree App, Social Media Policy, to name a few ground-breaking projects. With the just-announced Jamboree scholarship program for young genealogists, SCGS has done it again.

SCGS has announced a new Jamboree scholarship program for aspiring genealogists and family historians between the ages of 18 and 29 as of June 8, 2012. The scholarship will offer reduced Jamboree registration of $15 per day or $25 for all three days for young people registering online with government issued ID by May 28, 2012. A limited number of scholarship slots are available.

In 2010, SCGS generously provided full conference registration to the recipient of the Suzanne Winsor Freeman Memorial Student Genealogy Grant, sponsored by The Family Curator. This award is one of a very few scholarships available aimed to assist young genealogists pursue education in family history.

I am so excited that my local society, SCGS, has taken on this much-needed project. Unlike many professional and academic fields, most genealogy conferences do not offer a reduced registration rate for students or young persons working in the field. This can, and does, deter young people from attending professional conferences. I hope other genealogy seminars, workshops, and conferences will join SCGS in offering reduced registration to young people. If you agree, add a note in the comments and forward an email to your local society.

Contact SCGS for registration and more information.

www.genealogyjamboree.com

jamboree@scgsgenealogy.com