Fall 2024 Intern Insights: Eve Azano
Eve Azano
Eve Azano is the Community Research Intern for Montañitas ReImagined
I’ve been an intern at MAAV since the summer of 2023. When I applied that spring, I was still a student at Appalachian State University. I was transferring to Virginia Tech the next semester, and, being from Appalachian Virginia, the concept of the MAAV project piqued my interest. Additionally, I had been working towards a minor in Appalachian Studies at App State and wanted to continue that work at Virginia Tech. However, I didn’t know anything about monuments! That’s not quite true. Of course, I already knew all the standard, traditional information about monuments: A monument is a statue or an old building like the Statue of Liberty or Solitude here at Virginia Tech. Those are monuments, but, since my first MAAV meeting, my view on this topic was expanded!
When I started my research over the summer with Dr. Katy Powell, I worked on writing a literature review that asked “what are scholars saying about monuments right now?” This was a great introduction to non-traditional monuments: I learned about Candy Chang’s and E.J. Hill’s non-traditional approach to monuments and monument installations (as well as many others). However, when it came to researching the discourse around monuments in Appalachia, the conversation was limited to tearing down Confederate statues. Taking down the statues of historical figures who fought to preserve the institution of slavery is something I agree with, but it wasn’t the directive of my research at the time. MAAV is focused on building monuments rather than tearing them down, which helped me become passionate about bringing discourse on non-traditional monuments to academic spaces in Appalachia!
With a deeper understanding of monuments and the current culture around them, I began to work with Lauren Trice on community engagement and community research. I got to help plan and participate in so many fun activities centering around storytelling in Appalachia, such as building a paper-mache mountain for parking day, writing a children’s book, and teaching a summer camp course about monuments to middle schoolers. The culmination of my work with MAAV came in the form of the Montañitas Reminaged project. Led by Dr. Amy Price Azano and Estela Diaz Knott (of LUA Project), the Montañitas Reminaged goal was to create a music festival that highlighted Mexilachian and Appalachiano culture. It was formative and fun to be able to work with my mom, grandparents, and family friends in the town where my Appalachian identity stems from: Luray, Virginia. The festival was an absolute success! With my graduation quickly approaching, I am finishing up my internship by writing a fourth grade curriculum inspired by Montañitas Reminaged and Appalachiano culture. I’m ecstatic to be able to use my major and passion, Elementary Education, to further my work with MAAV!
