By Kevin McGarry, Associate Director for Public Engagement

This summer, the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation (SBTHP) offered its Public Humanities Graduate Internship in partnership with Interdisciplinary Humanities Center (IHC) at University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) for the sixth time. In June 2025, Olivia Henderson, a PhD candidate in English, joined the Public Engagement Department at SBTHP.

Olivia researches sixteenth and seventeenth-century British literature and neurodiversity. Her dissertation argues that, in early modern England, novel understandings of the brain and mind influenced genre conventions. Throughout her graduate career, she has been interested in archival work. She spent previous summers digitizing and transcribing records for two UCSB initiatives: EBBA and the Ballitore Project. Olivia was excited to spend more time working with physical records in the Presidio Research Center.

“I have always been passionate about accessibility in the archives, both in terms of facilitating access to archival materials and making archives comfortable for all neurotypes,” said Olivia. “When I learned about the Presidio Research Center, I knew that it would be a wonderful place to develop my archival skills while collaborating on accessibility efforts.”

Under the direction and supervision of SBTHP’s Director of the Presidio Research Center Dez Alaniz, Olivia has been cataloging materials for the SBTHP catalog and processing a collection of research papers donated by Xiaojian Zhao, Professor Emeritus at UCSB. At SBTHP, she wrote her first finding aid, assisted with artifact preservation, and inventoried resources on “Health” topics. She helped plan and co-lead this year’s Wiki with Us workshops offered in partnership with the Santa Barbara Public Library.

“Wikipedia is such a great resource. It was wonderful to work with our local community to grow it further,” said Olivia. “Our workshop participants have been so passionate about sharing their knowledge, and I’ve learned a lot from our thought-provoking discussions on digital resources.”

Olivia has also assisted with several summer programs and events at SBTHP, including the Asian American Film Series, Presidio Archaeology Camp, and the opening evening event for the “Telling Stories of Mexican California”. traveling exhibit on loan from Exhibit Envoy currently on display at SBTHP’s Mexican-period house museum, Casa de la Guerra. In addition to helping install the exhibit, Olivia created a guide for staff to help them introduce and interpret the exhibit for the public. She has also been working directly with visitors at the front desk of El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park. “It has been amazing to collaborate with SBTHP staff and see all sides of museum and archive administration. Everyone has been so welcoming and willing to share their expertise. Although there are so many people that I have learned from, I want to shout out Dez who has taught me so much about working in an archive!” said Olivia.

When asked how her work at SBTHP would further support her development as a scholar and public humanist, Olivia said: “Empowering communities to produce research, whether by increasing access to archives for independent researchers, teaching people how to use Wikipedia, or accessioning collections produced by community members, facilitates incredible projects. Working in a neighborhood archive has been incredibly rewarding, and I am now considering careers in library or archival science to continue assisting with research by and about local communities.”

Meet Olivia Henderson: SBTHP's 2025 UCSB Public Humanities Graduate Summer Intern

SBTHP’s 2025-2027 Strategic Plan