Donald Peterson Student Travel Award: Sandy Yang

Sandy Yang, who is pursuing an MLIS with a major concentration in archival studies at the University of Alabama, is the 2024 recipient of the Donald Peterson Student Travel Award given by the Society of American Archivists (SAA). The award, established in 2005, supports students and recent graduates from graduate archival programs within North America to attend SAA’s Annual Meeting. The goal of the scholarship is to stimulate greater participation in SAA events, such as presenting research or joining a committee or section.

Yang is also a SJ4A fellow in the IMLS-funded Training of Community-Embedded Social Justice Archivists, also known as the Archival Studies Social Justice Master’s Scholarship Program. She holds leadership positions in student chapters through SAA, ALA, and ASIS&T at the University of Alabama. In her paraprofessional archives position at RAND, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization, Yang is actively involved in RAND's resource group for employees from Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. She helped improve documentation and awareness of underrepresented communities in RAND’s history, conducting extensive research in their archives that has been used in various outreach activities. One supporter stated, “Ms. Yang evidences the best of our profession’s aspirational values, with her conduct reflecting a general concern with supporting others in achieving their goals.”

Yang’s overarching research as a student focuses on gender representation in archival collections. Her current research explores the representation and service gaps within archival practices, with particular focus on enhancing women’s representation, utilization, and access within the Hauser RAND Archives. She recently presented a lightning talk on this topic at the 2024 SAA Research Forum. Yang will also co-present a poster with her cohort from the Archival Studies Social Justice Master’s Scholarship Program, showcasing the program’s distinctive curriculum, community-based practicums, and how their mentors have helped the students succeed.

The Donald Peterson Student Travel Award honors the memory of New York lawyer and philatelist Donald Peterson. Recent past recipients include Erika Alfieri (Florida State University), Katherine Schlesinger (University of Arizona), and Sidney Louie (University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa).