Voluntary work of UL Foundation scholarship holders in the UL Museum

The volunteer work of University of Latvia (UL) Foundation scholarship holders at the UL Museum has already become a tradition. This school year's fall semester was no exception. The museum staff has been grateful for the opportunity to meet the scholars, along with their performance and cooperation.

Žanete Piļka, 1st-year student of the Bachelor of Law study program of the UL Faculty of Law and scholarship holder of the Konstantin’s Čakste Memorial Scholarship; Dāvis Gaiziņš, a 1st-year student of the Bachelor of Physics study program at the Faculty of Physics, Mathematics and Optometry of the University of Latvia and a scholarship recipient of the Minna Matilda Vilhelmīne Petkēvičas memorial scholarship, sorted the museum objects, speeding up the work of systematizing the collection and researching the history of the University of Latvia.

Žanete paid particular attention to the historical evidence of the UL's Faculty of Economics and Law, learning how to deal with it without damaging it as a museum object. One of these manifestations was the secure placement of objects in acid-free paper envelopes and the covering of photographs with binding paper, which was done in collaboration with the UL historical collections custodians. Davja's work assignment was identical, except for the evidence of the UL's Faculty of Physics, Mathematics, and Optometry's history. The work captivated the scholarship holder's interest, and he plans to continue volunteering in the UL Museum's history collections.

Leons Podbrezskis, a first-year student in the Bachelor of Law Studies program at the UL Law Faculty and a recipient of the Konstantins Čakste Memorial Scholarship, studied the coverage of the University of Latvia’s Foundation in press publications at the time. The study relied on the September 1919 issues of the official publication "Valdības Vēstnesis" and other press publications. The results of the research were successfully summarized in a publication created by the UL Museum in the rubric ZEM LUPAS "About the creation of the University of Latvia in press publications of September 1919".

Paula Malnača, a first-year student in the Physics Bachelor's study program at the UL's Faculty of Physics, Mathematics, and Optometry, chose to help Fridrich Cander and the Latvian astronomy collection as the holder of the Aina Galēja-Dravniece "Ceļamaizes" scholarship. Paula not only gained some museum experience, but she also learned a lot about astronomy.

The UL Museum values hardworking and energetic students and invites interested UL Foundation scholarship holders to assist in the future, fostering an altruistic culture among scholarship holders. The UL Museum encourages scholarship holders to connect their studies, interests, and individual skills to the content of volunteer work. Contact the UL Museum's director, Iveta Gudakovska, at iveta.gudakovska@lu.lv.