Three Questions is an initiative to share the value that our faculty, students, and others in the UNT community derive from using The Portal to Texas History at UNT Libraries.

1. How important are Unique Collections in your teaching, learning or research?

   In my position as the Education Program Assistant, I was able to use the Portal in a variety of ways. One of the ways that I was able to use the Portal is in the creation of lesson ideas and worksheets that encourage students to study and learn from primary and secondary sources, as is suggested in the TEKS. This year’s Camp Alamo: Gone to Texas, was another opportunity that I had to use the Portal to share information as we learned about the cultures that came to and influenced Texas. In my current position as Social Media Coordinator, I use the Portal to research individuals, events, and topics that we share on social media in order to educate our adult audience.

2. How have Unique Collections changed the way you approach your research, teaching or learning?

   The Portal is an absolutely treasure trove of primary and secondary resources and makes it so easy to incorporate these resources into lessons, essays, and social media posts. We have to compete for our audience’s attention, so we need something to catch their eye and attract their interest, and what better way to do so with a map or photograph from that time period?

3. What do you want others to know about your research, teaching or learning?

   There are a lot of unknowns, legends, and conflicting stories about the Alamo- even in primary and secondary sources, so it’s great to be able to use multiple sources to show these differing perspectives. The Portal makes it so easy to search a broad range of sources or narrow the search down to exactly what I’m looking for.

Misty Hurley holds a Bachelor’s in History from Sam Houston State University and a Master’s in Public History from Stephen F. Austin State University. Misty started her career at the Alamo as a Tour Guide and later became the Education Program Assistant, where she worked with students, coordinated field trips, and planned and oversaw summer camp. She recently became the Alamo’s Social Media Coordinator and hopes to continue sharing great information and resources with their adult audiences.