Introducing Our 2026 Roselani Summer Intern & AMIA Pathways Fellow, Macilee!

For the last several weeks we’ve been getting to know our Roselani Summer Intern, Macilee. She’s been learning the ropes with us at ʻUluʻulu and even getting to know other archives and repositories around the island. Now, it’s her turn to tell you about herself.  Welcome, Macilee!

My name is Macilee MacKenzie, and I’m from Orange County, California. Some things I enjoy are being outside, boxing, muay thai, and creative projects. Last year, I graduated from Brown University with my bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, and before coming to ʻUluʻulu, I lived in Vietnam for a little over 10 months. I plan on pursuing my Master’s in Library and Information Science in the future, and some of my interests in the field are cultural preservation and digitization. 

What brought you here to ‘Ulu‘ulu? What are some of the things you’re hoping to learn during your internship with us?

I was introduced to audiovisual archiving through a film preservation course I took during my third year at Brown, where I worked on a project to digitize 16mm film and repatriate footage to the Alaska Native Iñupiat community in Ambler. I wanted to continue working with similar archival audiovisual materials, and I found out about the Roselani Internship through the Association of Moving Image Archivist’s (AMIA) Pathways Fellowship. During my time at ʻUluʻulu, I hope to learn about cataloging Native Hawaiian materials, work with videotapes, and see how a regional moving image archive functions.

What projects are you working on at ‘Ulu‘ulu?

One of the projects I’ve been working on is cataloging digitized videotapes from the Juniroa Productions, Mary Tuti Baker, and Pacific Islanders in Communications collections – writing descriptions and selecting clips that will be displayed on the ʻUluʻulu Recollect website. I’m also transcribing and verifying Electronic News Gathering (ENG) shot logs from the KGMB collection and curating two posts for the archive’s social media pages.

Is there anything about the items you are working with that is surprising or unexpected?

Most of the items I’m cataloging are from the King Kamehameha: A Legacy Renewed production materials subcollection, in the Mary Tuti Baker collection. These videos are raw footage shot for the documentary about the 2001 restoration of the King Kamehameha I statue in Kohala, Hawaiʻi. 

Before starting to work on this subcollection, I watched the edited program to have some context before cataloging. The local community’s involvement in the statue restoration was highlighted throughout the documentary, but I was surprised to learn more about the extent of that process. I’ll go more into this in my upcoming blog post, but I’ve really enjoyed learning more about Hawaiian culture, contemporary issues, and Kohala through cataloging this subcollection! 

Now that  you’ve been at the archive for a little while have you found a favorite aspect?

One of my favorite aspects of the work I’ve been doing is researching and trying to piece together what’s happening in the footage. For example, in a clip from an ENG tape, the title on the shotlog didn’t clearly indicate what was recorded, but in the background there was a sign that was mostly visible. From that information, I was able to identify the people in the footage.

Do you have any advice for future ‘Ulu’ulu interns or fellows?

There’s so much cultural context in the materials, and before coming to ʻUluʻulu I wish I had familiarized myself more with Hawaiʻi history and culture. For future interns or fellows from the mainland and visiting Hawaiʻi, I would recommend checking out PBS Hawaiʻi and Pacific Islanders in Communications on Youtube. 

Since we are a moving image archive we like to talk about what we’re watching. Is there anything you’re watching right now, or have watched recently, that you recommend? Or perhaps a favorite film to recommend? 

Last weekend, I went to the Honolulu Museum of Art for a screening of the documentary, Aanikoobijigan [ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild]. 

Through the generous support of the Henry Ku‘ualoha & Muriel Roselani Giugni Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, and in partnership with the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) Pathways Fellowship Program, the Roselani Media Preservation Internship is offered each year at ‘Ulu‘ulu to give a student of merit who is committed to the preservation of our media history the opportunity to acquire practical experience in a moving image archive.