A UCR graduate and PhD candidate, Emily McEwen accepts the ASAS trophy and a $2,000 scholarship from Robert Imboden, selection committee chair at the 17th Annual Preservation Awards Dinner on Sunday May 22.

Young Scholar Scores

By Annalisa Goode

 Inspired by her love of history and her desire to promote education and interest about preservation, this energetic and vibrant student was a natural fit for this year's Anne Siebert Academic Scholarship award.

"Out of three applicants, the committee unanimously approved UC Riverside PhD candidate Emily McEwin," said Robert Imboden, ASAS Committee Chair. "Beyond her academic excellence and solid recommendations, the committee found appreciation in her position of Curator of History to the Riverside Mission Inn," he said.

McEwin's chosen career began as an unpaid intern at the Mission Inn Foundation in Riverside, researching and designing new temporary exhibits both onsite and at the local schools.

Her internship took place during and between semesters and college breaks and then grew into a paid position.

"It's been wonderful gaining so much professional experience while working on my PhD," said McEwen.

The Mission Inn Foundation & Museum, a significant site in Riverside and southern California, deserves to be seen. McEwen believes public access is tantamount to education.

"Outreach is integral to my job as curator of history," said McEwen. She has created two offsite exhibitions for local elementary and middle schools and is currently working on a third outreach project at two underserved community centers teaching students how to use oral history to learn about their family and community's history.

As was similarly completed in Old Towne Orange, McEwen participated in a grant funded preservation survey documenting architectural resources in Riverside. She worked on photographing, describing, and researching each district's architectural and historical significance from March to August 2009.

With her accumulated experience and knowledge, McEwen plans to examine the significance, nationally and internationally, of the Mission Inn Hotel for her dissertation to be completed in late 2013.

McEwen will be focusing on the Mission Inn: how it fits into public history, it's transformation over the years, discussing the Inn as a privately owned hotel within a city that believes the Inn to be an historic landmark and central to their community's identity and economic stability.

"Like many threatened buildings, a grassroots effort mounted to save the Inn in 1969," said McEwen. "Many people remember when it was in its worse shape," she said.

In her dissertation she will be documenting the Inn's preservation history from every conceivable angle.

For more information regarding OTPA please visit http://www.otpa.org/scholarship.html.