Eli Kernaghan gets excited about history. So much so, that he has made it the focus of his career path. Not only is he majoring in history, but the freshman already has a job assisting with historical research in Clemson’s archives.
A native of Clemson, Kernaghan thought he might like to go elsewhere to college, to experience new places and meet different people. But then he met Clemson University Historian Otis Pickett and decided that Clemson was the place he needed to be.
“He was this really cool guy, and he believed in me from the first day I met him, and that meant a lot to me,” said Kernaghan.
Kernaghan first met Pickett while researching his senior project, which focused on Clemson history, as a student at Christ Church Episcopal School in Greenville. He interviewed Pickett for his project and Pickett gave him a special campus tour.
“I don’t know how many academics would give away their time like that to a high school kid,” Kernaghan said. “He told me things I had never known about Clemson, even though I’ve lived here my whole life.”
Kernaghan wanted the opportunity to continue working with and learning from Pickett, so he decided to come to Clemson, and Pickett hired him as a student assistant to help him with archival research.
“Eli is just an amazing young man. He has such a passion for writing and history,” said Pickett. “I was very impressed when I heard that, for his capstone high school project, he wanted to do something on Clemson history. I thought to myself ‘I need to recruit this young man to come and work with me.’ We joked about having a ‘signing day’ in Special Collections and Archives, and I thought ‘Hey, being a future historian is just as important as being an athlete. Let’s do it!’ We recorded it on my cell phone and today it’s one of my favorite things we have done. Eli is amazing. He is only a few weeks in, but has already been a tremendous help to our office. I am so thankful and proud he is at Clemson.”
Kernaghan spends his time on the job in Special Collections and Archives, looking for historical records and documents to support the projects Pickett is working on. He has helped research the history of Tiger Band and found records of Tiger Band performing for President John F. Kennedy in 1962. The band performed the Alma Mater for Kennedy, but they had to sing it, since they were not allowed to bring their instruments into the White House.
He has also been researching the experiences of Clemson’s first Asian and Pacific Islander students for an upcoming presentation Pickett is giving on the topic. Kernaghan said he enjoys his work and is proud that what he is doing is “adding to the historical record.”
He said it is hard to explain to his friends why he gets so excited about his work.
“I’ll be telling them about something really cool that I found in the archives, and they’re just like ‘Dude, what are you talking about?’” he said.
Outside of classes and work, Kernaghan has already gotten involved in several student activities, including the College Democrats, FCA and playing intramural sports. Even though he is a local, he said he learns new things about Clemson every day.
“Having grown up here, I kind of had an idea of what it would be like, but now that I’m here, I’m like, ‘Wow, this is a totally different life,’” he said. “I know a ton of people, and I know the campus relatively well, but as a student, I’m seeing places I’ve never been before. I’m discovering some new things, but that familiarity is still there.”
He hopes to follow in Pickett’s footsteps and use his history degree to become a historian or a history professor.