Summer 2026 Interns
Aaron Gardner
Aaron Gardner is a 2026 Graduate of Morehouse College, from Nashville, Tennessee. Working across painting, mixed media, plaster, and pastel, he uses texture and depth to explore themes of identity, self-worth, and personal growth. His practice is rooted in self-exploration, using the tactile qualities of materials as a language to navigate complex emotions and questions of becoming. Growing up in Nashville’s culturally rich environment, Aaron developed an early connection to art that shaped his Southern-rooted perspective. What began as a personal outlet has evolved into a passion for creating works that blend abstraction and figuration, reflecting the layered complexity of identity and transformation.
Morehouse College
Al T. Alexander Jr.
Al T. Alexander Jr. is a Birmingham-born, Gulf Coast-based multidisciplinary artist, director, and cultural organizer whose work explores music as a living system of memory, performance, and archival practice. His artistic career is grounded in the belief that sound serves as an intergenerational record of human experience, in which performance, movement, and preservation are inseparable.
Al T. is the founder of the Houston Urban Archive, an eclectic music house designed to fit the muse in you, where they advocate for you and all their fellows to Write Your Own History! This artist-led initiative uses ensemble research and public programming to document underrepresented Gulf Coast traditions, reflecting a deep commitment to staging and reactivating Afro-diasporic lineages through contemporary practice.
Texas Southern University 
Christopher Arnold
North Carolina Agriculture and Technical State University Christopher Arnold is a rising sophomore at North Carolina A&T State University and a Music Performance (Voice) major from Wake Forest. His academic background and personal experiences have shaped a deep appreciation for culture, history, and community. One of Arnold’s strongest passions is travel and cultural exploration. Having traveled across multiple continents—including Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America—he has gained a broader understanding of how history, traditions, and identity connect communities across generations.
Arnold is passionate about using music as a way to connect people, tell stories, and preserve cultural expression. He is excited to participate in the Campbell-Wright HBCU Internship Program because it aligns closely with his interests in cultural preservation, storytelling, and celebrating the histories and traditions that continue to shape communities today. Through both music and travel, he hopes to continue learning from diverse communities while contributing to efforts that preserve their voices and histories for future generations.
Gianna Burgess
Gianna Burgess (she/her) is a senior honors English major at Howard University, concentrating in Creative Writing, with minors in History and Photography. Originally from Massachusetts, she grew up in a musically inclined family and naturally gravitated to all things creative (photography, dance, and writing). As a creative and scholar, she is interested in Black cultural production, particularly examining the storytelling and folkloric traditions of the African diaspora; she has been doing a comparative study of Gullah Geechee and Afro-Cuban cultural and spiritual traditions, working towards producing a 50-page manuscript that consists of poetry, prose, and photography. She aspires to work in the public humanities field, specifically as an archivist or cultural researcher to preserve and protect the histories and cultures of the African diaspora.
Howard University
Grace Callwood
Grace Callwood’s long-term research interests center on food insecurity and community-based responses to food apartheid. Through past research internships at Xavier University of Louisiana and Johns Hopkins University, she has conducted location-based analyses exploring the intersections of food access, culture, and social equity. Her work is deeply informed by an interest in the spirituality, ontology, and foodways of Gullah Geechee culture, particularly the influence of African ancestral food traditions on present-day food justice movements in America.
Callwood is committed to understanding how African-descended communities used their environmental knowledge and agricultural traditions to sustain themselves on unfamiliar land, and how those practices continue to shape modern acts of food sovereignty. She hopes this research will contribute to culturally grounded solutions for food insecurity impacting Black communities and other communities of color. Grace aspires to pursue a Ph.D. in Anthropology or Food Studies, with the long-term goal of operating a farm and developing culturally relevant food policy.
Howard University
Rachelle Smith
Rachelle Smith is a rising senior at Howard University majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies: Arts and Humanities with a minor in Communications. Originally from The Bronx, Smith spent her summers visiting family in Georgetown, where she grew up hearing Gullah spoken by relatives without fully realizing her personal connection to the culture’s rich history and traditions.
After beginning her academic journey at Howard University and learning more about Gullah Geechee culture, Smith recognized deeper connections to her own family background and became inspired to further explore the culture through research and creative practice. She developed an interest in archival work, historical research, and incorporating photography into her scholarship. Following graduation, Smith plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Black Studies and Art History, with aspirations of becoming a professor, curator, and eventually owning an art gallery.
Howard University
Samuel Stewart
Samuel Stewart is a rising junior at Claflin University studying Music Education with a concentration in Choral Piano. His connection to Gullah Geechee culture began through his experiences performing Gullah spirituals and traditional music with Claflin University’s Concert Choir. Through the choir, Stewart has participated in performances at Gullah cultural events throughout the Lowcountry and previously studied with Penn Center during the summer of 2025.
Stewart’s academic and artistic interests center on African American history and the preservation of Black musical traditions. He hopes to continue deepening his studies of African American history and incorporate those lessons into a culturally grounded music curriculum for future students as he pursues a career in music education.
Claflin University
Tai Campbell
Tai Campbell is a photographer and multi-media artist from New York City. She is primarily interested in working with her hands, and currently incorporates cyanotyping, papermaking and sewing into her practice. Campbell believes that the preservation of culture, ancestral knowledge, and land is integral to the struggle for Black liberation. She is excited to learn about the preservation work that is being done along the Gullah Geechee Corridor.
Spelman College
Whitaker Antoine
Whitaker Antoine is a junior at North Carolina Central University studying History with concentrations in African American Studies and Education. He is also an Eagle Scout with a strong passion for Black history, particularly the study of slavery, Reconstruction, and the Civil Rights Movement. Antoine has personal ties to Gullah Geechee culture through his mother’s family roots in Ridgeland and Beaufort.
Antoine’s academic and personal interests are deeply connected to preserving and sharing African American history. He aspires to educate future generations through public school teaching or by pursuing a career as a public historian or archivist, helping to preserve and interpret Black history and culture for broader audiences.
North Carolina Central University
Zion Hill
Zion Hill is a graduate of Albany State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts. His interest in Gullah Geechee culture began through a desire to learn histories and stories that are often left out of traditional classroom settings while also experiencing the people, places, and traditions connected to the culture firsthand. That interest deepened even further after discovering his own personal connection to Gullah Geechee heritage, inspiring him to learn more about his roots and cultural identity.
As an emerging visual artist, Hill hopes to build a career both as an independent artist and through collaborations with larger creative companies. He is especially interested in creating visual artwork and graphic novels that reflect culture, storytelling, and history.
Albany State University 
Zoe Andrews
Prairie View Agricultural and Mechanical UniversityZoe Andrews is a rising senior at Prairie View A&M University pursuing a dual major in Psychology and African American Studies. Her academic interests center on the ways historical narratives shape modern identity, particularly within the African Diaspora. As a Research Assistant at the Woolfolk Digital Preservation Lab, Andrews has gained hands-on experience in archival research and the digitization of primary resources, further strengthening her passion for preserving the histories and legacies of marginalized communities.
Andrews’ connection to Gullah Geechee culture is rooted in her commitment to digital humanities and cultural heritage preservation. She is dedicated to using archival work and multimedia storytelling to amplify the voices and histories of Gullah Geechee communities, ensuring their stories remain accessible for future generations. Her long-term goal is to bridge the fields of social science and history by becoming a lead archivist and public historian, using preservation work to honor the past while inspiring advocacy, education, and community resilience.
Jeremiah Mitchell
Morehouse CollegeJeremiah Mitchell is a rising senior majoring in English with a concentration in Education. Originally from Jacksonville, he is passionate about literature, storytelling, and the role education plays in shaping future generations. His academic interests center on language, culture, and the ways stories preserve history and strengthen communities.
Through the Campbell-Wright HBCU Internship Program, Mitchell looks forward to deepening his understanding of Gullah Geechee history and culture while gaining hands-on experience in cultural preservation, public humanities, and community engagement. He aspires to use his skills as an educator and writer to help make history accessible, meaningful, and relevant for diverse audiences.