Contributors >> Zuk, LaVerne ('13)

Biographical Statement (August 2013)

LaVerne Zuk first started college in 1987. After several years at Lock Haven University in central Pennsylvania, LaVerne left school when she realized that she had no interest in her major of Secondary Education. In 2001, LaVerne began work in Lehigh University's Development office. Bruce Correll, Lehigh's former Registrar, found out that LaVerne had never finished her degree; he encouraged her to "take a few classes in a subject that interests [her], and we'll talk." Next she knew, LaVerne was enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences as an English major. Working full time and teaming with her husband to care for a home, a step-daughter, an aging father, and two rambunctious dogs, LaVerne kept plugging away at her credits whenever her job and finances would allow. Ten years later, in May 2013, LaVerne earned her degree. She is currently employed as the Manager of Finance Information Systems at Lafayette College, where she proudly carries her Lehigh umbrella on rainy days and can't seem to bring herself to buy a Lafayette tee shirt.

Reflection

When I was asked to be part of the RAH project, I was flattered but hesitant. I wasn't certain that I had the ability to work completely alone on something that required that level of research and detail. Buoyed by Ed Gallagher's assurance that I could "hang in there" and Vivien Steele's effervescent encouragement, I decided to give it a try. As I read through the film list, I was interested to find what turned out to be the only major motion picture made about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

The topic was one that had touched my life before. In 2005 on a vacation to the Eastern Sierras of California, I stopped to see the national park site that commemorates Manzanar Relocation Center, one of the largest internment camps in the country. My visit there had a profound impact. How could we, as a nation, force our fellow citizens from their homes and ship them off to what amounted to giant prison camps? What compelled President Franklin Roosevelt to allow such a travesty of justice? The only photograph I kept was of a monument built on the site of the camp cemetery, and the only memento I saved was a replica of the identification tags they made the internees wear as they were cataloged and sent to camp. Both can be found in the images section of the film's site.

The months that followed the start of my research were fraught with a deepening sadness that so much psychological and financial damage was done to fellow humans. As I learned that the incarceration of 110,000 Americans was a result of propaganda, prejudice, and fear, I was appalled that our country hadn't done more to stop what amounted to one giant hate crime but sanctioned it in the interest of "national security." I decided that I'd do my utmost to honor those who were affected by the internment with my words and research.

The work I did taught me many things: I'm very able to work independently; I meet self-created deadlines as if they were for others; I can sift through mountains of information to find the most relevant nuggets; I can write objectively as well as subjectively. All of these lessons are valuable to me in my career, and knowing them helps me be a success at what I do. I'm honored to have been part of this project that allowed me to learn so much about myself, about history, and about film as an historic perspective.