Courtney Gillie grew up in Michigan hearing stories about their grandmother’s childhood in Oak Grove, Missouri. Gillie moved to Missouri in 2013 and completed a bachelor’s degree in English at Columbia College and a master’s degree in information science and learning technologies with an emphasis in library science at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Prior to joining SHSMO as an archivist, Gillie worked at University Archives and Special Collections at the University of Missouri.