By Isabel Segovia '28, W&M Libraries
How do you connect the history of the past to the people of the future? Well, it starts in the present, by collecting the stories of living community members. This is exactly what Daniel Sunshine strives to do as the oral historian for the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) at William & Mary Libraries.
Sunshine joined W&M Libraries in January 2026 and has already hit the ground running. While discussing his passion and the intricacies of recording oral histories, Sunshine described his past and upcoming projects, revealing a desire for his work and the work of SCRC to “pay it forward” into the future.
Traditionally, historians use written archival sources to reconstruct the past, but oral histories document the past through conversations with living people. Establishing trust and personal relationships helps an oral historian understand the nuances of local history and partner with community members to preserve it for generations to come.
"This work is fundamentally social. You cannot be a good oral historian unless you are out from behind your desk, out in the community,” said Sunshine.
One of the current oral history projects Sunshine is excited about is the Stephens Project, established in memory of Stephen H. Snell and Stephen E. Patrick, which aims to document the stories of the lives of William & Mary LGBTQ+ alumni, faculty, staff, and students.
"Speaking with individuals about their experiences is incredibly impactful," Sunshine said, "and I feel especially privileged to create a space where these community members feel safe to express their vulnerabilities."
Many of the contributors to the project attended William & Mary in the 1960s.
“This is all within living memory,” Sunshine said. "We can speak to the first people out on campus, and we can capture that visible history right now.”
Sunshine's work also supports faculty and student projects. One of his long-term goals is to build pathways for students to do more oral history research. Currently, he leads a team of student employees consisting of Dylan Kobus, Ph.D. student; Neel Sawkar ‘28; and Enna Carbone ‘29.
“We are blessed with absolutely fantastic students at Special Collections,” Sunshine said, “and it’s been fun watching them blossom as oral historians.”
He hopes to scale this up, eventually having students at multiple levels to enable mentoring of new hires and to offer more opportunity for students to develop the skills important to oral history, including archival research, interviewing strategies, project management, and technical expertise.
When it comes to technical expertise, Sunshine highlighted the contributions of his colleagues at the Reeder Media Center and Digital Services. From access to a professional recording studio to expert advice in digital archiving and database management, Swem Library offers a complete ecosystem for researching, recording, and preserving oral history.
What's on the horizon for Sunshine? He is currently developing new oral history projects with community partners. These partnerships will enable W&M Libraries to offer research, technical, and archival expertise, at no cost, to community partners hoping to preserve their rich histories. Sunshine is also exploring how to design engaging oral history lesson plans that W&M faculty can integrate into their curriculum.
For anyone interested in oral history, Sunshine is accessible through email and in-person at Swem Library's Special Collections Research Center, first floor. He invites you to consider the role oral histories play in your life and hopes to see you at one of his workshops this upcoming school year!