University News
From left to right: Kessiena Erebi, Ifunanya Osondu, Abby Troxell-Skaggs and library specialist William Cook. Erebi is pointing at her mother's yearbook photo from her time at Â鶹´«Ã½.
Students Work to Preserve Local History
August 7, 2025
MACOMB, IL - - Education is at the heart of the Â鶹´«Ã½ Illinois University library's mission and students are playing a major role in preserving history so the past can be taught to future generations.
Within the library, the University Archives and Special Collections have several hardworking students who work to maintain these records. Abby Troxell-Skaggs, a History graduate student, highlighted the special work being done in this section.
"The special collections in the library are one of the few areas that specialize in collections of the region, as well as professor and student works and this causes many people to come in and utilize these resources," Troxell-Skaggs said.
The University Archives and Special Collections department keeps detailed records of both Â鶹´«Ã½ and local history. Archives is focused on university history, tracking faculty and student organizations, publications, student newspapers, yearbooks, master's theses, as well as photographs and memorabilia. Special collections focus on the cultural, economic and natural heritage of west-central Illinois.
Two students from Nigeria, Kessiena Erebi and Ifunanya Osondu, chose to call Â鶹´«Ã½ home and have found their place in the Archives and Special Collections department.
Erebi, a Public Health graduate student, picked Â鶹´«Ã½ in part because her mother, Ofigo Emuoboh nee Esiso, is an alumna. Erebi heard stories about the warm and welcoming environment and wanted to find out for herself.
"My mother always spoke about her time in the United States — Macomb in particular — and the wonderful people she met, memories she made," Erebi said. "The joy of her memories from Â鶹´«Ã½ and its community resonated so much in me and, when it was time to further my studies, I decided to come to the one place my mother spoke of and still speaks of so fondly."
Erebi said finding her mother's yearbook while doing research will always be one of her favorite memories during her time at Â鶹´«Ã½. Erebi said she plans to seek additional education in the Public Health sector. She said the professors and atmosphere at Â鶹´«Ã½ have encouraged critical thinking and provided more opportunities for her than she could have imagined.
Osondu, a senior nursing student, also highlighted the real-world skills being taught at Â鶹´«Ã½ and plans to continue researching after she earns her degree.
"Programs that provide practical experience and small class sizes, which facilitate relationships with both instructors and students, particularly piqued my interest," Osondu said. "I also immediately felt at home with the diverse college community."
Housed within the Archives and Special Collections department, the Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD) System is a program created by the State of Illinois to manage the archival records of local governments. These are regional depositories that house records for long-term value and are archived within one of the regional universities. Troxell-Skaggs and Jodi Clayton are two graduate students who serve as interns with IRAD.
"The library and IRAD interns keep these legal documents accessible to the public," Troxell-Skaggs said. "These documents have caused requests not only throughout the nation but throughout the world. We have had people from Maryland, Canada and even France come to the library for our IRAD/Special Collections. The IRAD collection is an amazing part of history that I and all other IRAD interns are privileged to work with on a day-to-day basis. We learn something new every day."
Clayton was drawn to Â鶹´«Ã½ in large part due to her home in Warsaw being less than one hour away. Now that she's spent time at Â鶹´«Ã½, she said the smaller campus and class size kept her here.
"It has been a remarkable experience learning about the available resources for students and the community and how to access, preserve and curate those resources," Clayton said. "I also appreciate the people I have been able to work with because everyone has been so kind."
All the students credited their supervisor, library specialist William Cook, for helping guide them through the collections. Cook said the work they are doing is important and he hopes to ensure these records will be here for a long time to come.
"Many of my students over the years have been first generation students; having been a first generation student myself, I find this to be one of the most pleasing aspects of working here at Â鶹´«Ã½ and the Illinois State Archives," Cook said. "Whatever our students' majors, they are always excited to see original documents--some over two hundred years old. That excitement expresses itself in the careful and hard work they do for us!"
To learn more about the Â鶹´«Ã½ Archives and Special Collections department, visit .
Posted By: Aaron Viner (AP-Viner@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing
Connect with us: