Mosaic Scholarship: Hope Houston

Hope Houston, who will be pursuing dual degrees, a Master of Library Information Science at Dominican University and a Master of Arts in Public History at Loyola University Chicago, is a 2025 recipient of the Mosaic Scholarship given by the Society of American Archivists (SAA). The $5,000 scholarship is given to a student who demonstrates potential for scholastic and personal achievement and who manifests a commitment both to the archival profession and to advancing diversity concerns within it.

Houston graduated from the University of Chicago with honors in both history and critical race and ethnic studies. Her research focused on 19th and 20th century African American history and analyzed public history, memory, and racial identity through the legacy of slavery in the United States. Houston explored materials related to plantations in New Orleans and at Tulane University’s Special Collections. She also gained valuable archival experience with the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project (CBDLP), beginning in 2021 as an archival intern and later becoming program manager. One project involved developing a digital archives for Red Clay Dance Company, which included conducting oral histories, organizing concert ephemera, and preserving performance-related materials. Houston also developed a digital repository for Red Clay Dance Company. She gained valuable experience by conducting inventories, completing over twenty oral histories, and creating a plan for the organization to continue archiving future materials. Additionally, Houston established a partnership with the Newberry Library to diversify their dance collection by incorporating archival collections from five Black dance organizations.

As one supporter wrote of Hope, “I am most pleased that Hope has only continued to hone her archival skills since she has graduated. As you see, she has been working for the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project, where she has ensured the survival of stories that would otherwise go untold.” Another stated, “Hope’s work has been absolutely excellent. I’m delighted that she is pursuing a career path that will involve archival management and library science, as I see her passion for the profession and her ability to organize and assess archival collections, as well as engage donors and the public in the importance of archives.”

First awarded in 2009, the Mosaic Scholarship also provides recipients with a one-year membership in SAA and a complimentary registration to the SAA conference.