Students help create Vickery Voice journal

A faculty member and students have launched a new journal out of the University of North Georgia's (UNG) Appalachian Studies Center, giving students a forum to share their research and other writings.

Dr. Esther Morgan-Ellis, a professor of music and assistant director of the Appalachian Studies Center, curated the first issue of Vickery Voice by reaching out to students who had already produced research that might be a fit. The journal is available exclusively on the Nighthawks Open Institutional Repository website.

"I have been very much convinced over the years that undergraduate research is something that's very helpful for all students. I've seen it change students' lives and set them off on new and exciting paths," Morgan-Ellis said. "This is a wonderful opportunity to encourage and reward students for their research activities. I hope it's a reason to get more students involved in undergrad research. It feels more worth it when your research is out there for the world to see."

Karaghan Smith, a junior from Dahlonega, Georgia, pursuing a degree in English with a literature concentration, published a personal narrative titled "The Impact of Pick and Bow Traditional Music School on the Journey of a Young Writer." Smith is aiming to enter the field of journalism and write about social issues and music, and being published in the journal only encouraged her to keep going on that journey.

She originally wrote the narrative for a class with Dr. Michael Rifenburg, professor of English, and Rifenburg shared it with Morgan-Ellis for the journal.

"This is a really meaningful first opportunity that I didn't even mean to stumble upon," Smith said.

Piper Spraker, a senior from Dahlonega, Georgia, pursuing degrees in physics with an astrophysics concentration and music with a concentration in musical arts and a minor in mathematics, shared a personal narrative. It was "A Paradoxical Existence: How Speech Habits Can Make You 'Not Southern' to Southerners and 'Southern' to Northerners."

Spraker's writing drew on her experience trying to cover up her Southern accent while growing up in Dahlonega, yet still drawing accent stereotypes during academic experiences in the Northeast during short-term programs as a college student.

"I don't fit in either place, and I'm being pulled in both directions," Spraker said.

Yet her experience in a "Music of Appalachia" course offered helpful perspective that informed her personal narrative that is in the Vickery Voice.

"It helped me appreciate where I live," Spraker said. "Don't let people make you ashamed of where you're from."

HF Parker, a senior from Dahlonega, Georgia, pursuing a degree in art with a concentration in digital arts, created the logo for Vickery Voice, which is based on Elias Vickery's signature. Vickery is the former professor and former owner of the Vickery House, which houses the Appalachian Studies Center. Parker is a federal student worker for the Appalachian Studies Center.

"I'm just glad I was able to participate in this project," Parker said. "I'm glad to be here at the start of something that gives voice to stories and research about Appalachia."