Skip to main content

Alumni

Oral History Project

Oral History Project

Kari Hooker-Leep, Class of 1983

Islander Alumni, 

Grand Island Public Schools Foundation loves our Alumni and we want to get updated information. Have you received your postcard or an email?  If so, YES, it is from us and we are looking forward to hearing back from every Islander alumni. 

The Grand Island Public Schools Foundation has partnered with Publishing Concepts (PCI)and their Oral History Project to gain access to its experienced, trained staff. Oral History Project associates will listen to your stories and assemble information into a publication. To help you stay connected to Grand Island Public Schools, Oral History Project will also verify and update contact information if you have moved or recently lost touch. 

Looking forward to getting back in touch with all Islanders and hearing all your wonderful memories. 

 

 

Islander Reflections – A Grand Island Senior High Alumni History Project

Grand Island Public Schools Foundation invites all alumni to participate in the creation of an oral history publication that unites GISH alumni across generations.  The project is an opportunity to gather stories and collect memories that bring the Grand Island Senior High experience to life. We are interested in your reflections and tributes, and we hope that this endeavor will preserve Grand Island Senior High’s history for generations to come.

Your Story

What Grand Island Senior High story will you tell? What memory is most special? It can be serious or lighthearted, a heart-felt tribute or with a bit of humor. The experiences of Grand Island Senior High alumni are unique, and variety is welcomed.

  • What is it about GISH that made it such a special or memorable place and time?
  • What stands out as the most valuable lesson you learned as a student there?
  • Were you involved with any clubs or organizations, or did you participate on any sports teams? If so, what impact did it have on you (teach you about team building, leadership, etc.)?
  • What traditions did you enjoy most (ring dance, prom, homecoming, senior skip day)?
  • How did you grow as a person during your years there?
  • How do you feel GISH prepared you for your future?
  • When you think back on your time at GISH, what makes you smile?
PCI Partnership

The Grand Island Public Schools Foundation has partnered with Publishing Concepts (PCI) to gain access to its experienced, trained staff. PCI associates will listen to your stories and assemble information into a publication. To help you stay connected to Grand Island Public Schools, PCI will also verify and update contact information if you have moved or recently lost touch. Please note that we have only shared your contact information with PCI in conjunction with this project. We have NOT sold your personal information or otherwise used it for outside marketing purposes.

Cost

There is NO cost to share your story, and we invite all alumni to participate. If interested, you will have an opportunity to reserve the publication as a hardbound book or digital collection.

Participation

PCI will contact Grand Island Senior High alumni directly through postcards, emails and phone calls to encourage participation. Final publication will be delivered in book and digital formats in September 2023 to purchasing alumni.

 

Frequently Asked Questions by Alumni
 

I received an email/postcard/phone call asking for my personal information and a story about Grand Island Senior High.
Tell me more about the project.
We have partnered with PCI (also known as Publishing Concepts) to produce an Oral History Publication for Grand Island Senior High. PCI is a family owned business based in Dallas, TX that has published directories for educational institutions, fraternities, sororities, and military organizations across the nation for over 100 years. This project allows us to hear about your personal experiences from your time at Grand Island Senior High and how the school helped shape your life since then. And, while we have you on the phone, we want to make sure your contact information is up to date.

 

Does Grand Island Public Schools Foundation benefit from this at all?
Yes, in a few different ways:
·         Updated Information – allows us to effectively communicate with and engage alumni
·         Legacy – sharing and collecting stories preserves the history of our school
·         Pride – wearing apparel shows support and love for our school
 

How do I know my information will only be used for Oral History Project purposes?
PCI is committed to protecting your information. The names, addresses and information provided to PCI for the publication of the Oral History Project will be held confidential by PCI, except to the extent that they are utilized in, or in the preparation of, the Oral History Project and except as required by court order or law. Upon completion of the project, PCI will redact PII (Personal Identifiable Information) from any and all electronic files that we have supplied or were produced by PCI in connection with the production of the Oral History Project.
 

I would like to verify or update my information and share a story. How may I do this?
If you have received a postcard or an email with a telephone number, you may call the number to speak with a dedicated representative for the Oral History Project. The representative will verify all the information we have on file for you, make any updates where needed, and then ask you to share your story about your time at Grand Island Senior High. Your story will be recorded and the sound clip provided to Grand Island Public Schools Foundation at the conclusion of the project.

If you have received an email with an embedded link, you may go to the online site to review your information and submit a story.

If you did not receive a postcard or email, you may call the dedicated Grand Island Senior High update line at 1-888-920-1775.
 

Can I choose what information prints in the publication?
The only information that is included in the publication is your name, class year and degree, along with your story and photo. No contact information is printed. When you call to update your contact information, it will only be used to update your alumni record for the school/alumni association. You may revoke consent for your story and/or photo to appear any time before 3/10/23 by contacting PCI’s customer service helpdesk at 1-800-982-1590 / customerservice@publishingconcepts.com.
 

I updated my information but need some more time to think about what experience to share.
You can call back at any time before 3/10/23 to share your story.
 

I shared a story and the representative said I could send a photo. How do I do this?
You will receive an email with a link to upload one photo (black and white or color) plus a caption.

If you have also purchased a book but do not have an email address on file, you will be sent a photo mailer to send a physical photo in to be printed (note: the photo will be returned if you include a self-addressed, stamped envelope).
 

Can anyone purchase a book?
The Grand Island Senior High Oral History Publication is available for sale only to Grand Island Senior High alumni.
 

When will I receive my book?
The total duration of the Oral History Project is about 12 months. Since we began the project in September 2022, the books will be distributed in September 2023.
 

I ordered a book / package over the phone and would like to cancel my order. How do I do this?
Contact PCI’s customer service helpdesk at 1-800-982-1590 and they will take care of this for you.

© 2024 Grand Island Public Schools Foundation
Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

  1. What Information Do We Collect? When you visit our website you may provide us with two types of information: personal information you knowingly choose to disclose that is collected on an individual basis and website use information collected on an aggregate basis as you and others browse our website.
  2. Personal Information You Choose to Provide We may request that you voluntarily supply us with personal information, including your email address, postal address, home or work telephone number and other personal information for such purposes as correspondence, placing an order, requesting an estimate, or participating in online surveys. If you choose to correspond with us through email, we may retain the content of your email messages together with your email address and our responses. We provide the same protections for these electronic communications that we employ in the maintenance of information received by mail and telephone.
  3. Website Use Information Similar to other websites, our site may utilize a standard technology called "cookies" (see explanation below, "What Are Cookies?") and web server logs to collect information about how our website is used. Information gathered through cookies and server logs may include the date and time of visits, the pages viewed, time spent at our website, and the sites visited just before and just after ours. This information is collected on an aggregate basis. None of this information is associated with you as an individual.
  4. How Do We Use the Information That You Provide to Us? Broadly speaking, we use personal information for purposes of administering our business activities, providing service and support and making available other products and services to our customers and prospective customers. Occasionally, we may also use the information we collect to notify you about important changes to our website, new services and special offers we think you will find valuable. The lists used to send you product and service offers are developed and managed under our traditional standards designed to safeguard the security and privacy of all personal information provided by our users. You may at any time to notify us of your desire not to receive these offers.
  5. What Are Cookies? Cookies are a feature of web browser software that allows web servers to recognize the computer used to access a website. Cookies are small pieces of data that are stored by a user's web browser on the user's hard drive. Cookies can remember what information a user accesses on one web page to simplify subsequent interactions with that website by the same user or to use the information to streamline the user's transactions on related web pages. This makes it easier for a user to move from web page to web page and to complete commercial transactions over the Internet. Cookies should make your online experience easier and more personalized.
  6. How Do We Use Information Collected From Cookies? We use website browser software tools such as cookies and web server logs to gather information about our website users' browsing activities, in order to constantly improve our website and better serve our users. This information assists us to design and arrange our web pages in the most user-friendly manner and to continually improve our website to better meet the needs of our users and prospective users. Cookies help us collect important business and technical statistics. The information in the cookies lets us trace the paths followed by users to our website as they move from one page to another. Web server logs allow us to count how many people visit our website and evaluate our website's visitor capacity. We do not use these technologies to capture your individual email address or any personally identifying information about you.
  7. Notice of New Services and Changes Occasionally, we may use the information we collect to notify you about important changes to our website, new services and special offers we think you will find valuable. As a user of our website, you will be given the opportunity to notify us of your desire not to receive these offers by clicking on a response box when you receive such an offer or by sending us an email request.
  8. How Do We Secure Information Transmissions? When you send confidential personal information to us on our website, a secure server software which we have licensed encrypts all information you input before it is sent to us. The information is scrambled en route and decoded once it reaches our website. Other email that you may send to us may not be secure unless we advise you that security measures will be in place prior to your transmitting the information. For that reason, we ask that you do not send confidential information such as Social Security, credit card, or account numbers to us through an unsecured email.
  9. How Do We Protect Your Information? Information Security -- We utilize encryption/security software to safeguard the confidentiality of personal information we collect from unauthorized access or disclosure and accidental loss, alteration or destruction. Evaluation of Information Protection Practices -- Periodically, our operations and business practices are reviewed for compliance with organization policies and procedures governing the security, confidentiality and quality of our information. Employee Access, Training and Expectations -- Our organization values, ethical standards, policies and practices are committed to the protection of user information. In general, our business practices limit employee access to confidential information, and limit the use and disclosure of such information to authorized persons, processes and transactions.
  10. How Can You Access and Correct Your Information? You may request access to all your personally identifiable information that we collect online and maintain in our database by emailing us using the contact form provided to you within the site structure of our website.
  11. Do We Disclose Information to Outside Parties? We may provide aggregate information about our customers, sales, website traffic patterns and related website information to our affiliates or reputable third parties, but this information will not include personally identifying data, except as otherwise provided in this privacy policy.
  12. What About Legally Compelled Disclosure of Information? We may disclose information when legally compelled to do so, in other words, when we, in good faith, believe that the law requires it or for the protection of our legal rights.
  13. Permission to Use of Materials The right to download and store or output the materials in our website is granted for the user's personal use only, and materials may not be reproduced in any edited form. Any other reproduction, transmission, performance, display or editing of these materials by any means mechanical or electronic without our express written permission is strictly prohibited. Users wishing to obtain permission to reprint or reproduce any materials appearing on this site may contact us directly.
Terms & Conditions

Terms & Conditions

Donation Refund Policy

We are grateful for your donation and support of our organization. If you have made an error in making your donation or change your mind about contributing to our organization please contact us. Refunds are returned using the original method of payment. If you made your donation by credit card, your refund will be credited to that same credit card.

Automated Recurring Donation Cancellation

Ongoing support is important to enabling projects to continue their work, so we encourage donors to continue to contribute to projects over time. But if you must cancel your recurring donation, please notify us.

Powered by Firespring