Former Students
Former Students
- Graduation Year: 2019
- Majors & Minors: Major in History and Minor in Psychology
Alum
Why did you choose history as your major?
My high school History teacher actually played a very influential role in my decision to major in History. Studying History all these years has made me realize how important it is to not only be educated on our society today, but to be active and critical civic participants of our society. Additionally, I was always interested in studying the past and finding major links between then and now. I loved thinking historically, and I knew I wanted to educate my students in the same way by making them historical thinkers. Studying History would help me make an impact by focusing on the counter-narratives of the past.
What did you like most about it?
Being a History major, I loved how my professors were resourceful and open to help. My History professors taught their classes in such a way that made it obvious that they were passionate about the field, and that passion inspired me as well. Whenever I had any questions or needed help on my research papers or my thesis, they provided resources that helped me accomplish major academic milestones. Additionally, graduate students were also available to offer any help and advice on writing History papers. This helped me get through my undergrad.
What is your current position, what do you, and what do you enjoy most about it?
I am currently student teaching at the Piscataway High School by Rutgers. I fortunately have the privilege to teach Honors World Cultures and Honors U.S. History I, both foundational history classes that I feel I can gain a lot from as a future teacher. One of the things I enjoy most about it is having my students realize their potential for doing well in their social studies class (writing and reading skills), and more importantly having them appreciate the content they learn in their History classes. It is easy for many students to typically dismiss their history classes as textbook work, but I believe in creating a culturally relevant and engaging curriculum that forces my students to think like historians, which I what I always look forward to in my position.
What was your first job after Rutgers and how did you get it? Since I’m in the Graduate School of Education, my first work experience will be continuing my clinical student-teaching practicum at the high school, which I was able to get through the graduate program. I am also working as a full-time summer tutor in English and Social Studies.
How did you move from that first job to your current position?
Looking back, what classes or experiences at Rutgers would you point to as contributing to your successes? Looking back, there were many classes I took that have left a lasting impact on me. The History Seminary with Prof. Devun has definitely been a challenging yet rewarding course since I was able to write my capstone paper. In addition, I have taken Health, Culture, and Society with Prof. Schoen, which has taught me so much about how our History is heavily intertwined with the field of medicine, as well as how our personal choices can make a significant impact on ourselves and our community. I have also taken the Cold War and U.S. Foreign Relations with Prof. Foglesong who I recommend to any incoming History major. He was the best and most engaging professor I have had in my undergrad.
What advice do you have for our current Arts and Sciences students?
My advice for students in the Arts and Sciences is to always take advantage of your professors’ office hours. It is important to visit their office frequently and ask as many questions because they can offer students the help they need. Having a plan on what to do with any major is a nerve-racking process, which is why I have always depended on my professors and advisor at the History department. They will provide valuable insight on what can be accomplished with a degree in History, whether it’s Education, Law, Public Policy, Graduate Studies, and more.
- Graduation Year: 2019
- Majors & Minors: History major; Spanish minor
Current Student
How did you decide on your major?
Since my junior year of high school, I knew that I wanted to be a History major in college. My AP European History teacher, Mr. Balerno, helped develop my interest in history, the seeds of which had been planted by my father throughout my childhood.
What is it about your chosen field (and the department) that appeals to you?
My current research concerning social unrest and activism in late-20th-century America is especially important to me because of the lessons that can be learned regarding how to confront social issues and racial tensions in today’s incredibly fraught society.
Do you have a favorite class/professor within your major?
Professor Anthony DiBattista has been my favorite professor since I took one of his classes during my first semester at Rutgers. So far I have taken Emergence of Medieval Europe, History Workshop, and Age of Reformation with Professor DiBattista. He is so full of energy and demonstrates a genuine passion for the material. More importantly, he treats every class with immense respect and shows that he wants the absolute best for every student.
What are your favorite academic experiences outside of your major?
I have taken several excellent English courses and serve as an Expository Writing instructor for the Office of Diversity and Academic Success in the Sciences (ODASIS). My summers teaching the ODASIS students has been the most rewarding, memorable experience I’ve had at Rutgers.
What are your other Rutgers activities?
I am a School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program (SASHP) Senior Ambassador, SASHP Peer Mentor, and SASHP Student Advisory Board member. I am a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Alpha Theta. I have also participated in Intramural Sports (soccer) and History Club.
What are your plans following graduation?
I will pursue a Master’s degree in Education in order to become a Social Studies teacher. I do not think this will be the only stop on my career journey, but I definitely want to generate experience working with youth in an education setting before exploring other options.
- Graduation Year: 2019
- Majors & Minors: History major; Political Science major
Current Student
How did you decide on your major?
I was originally a history minor, but as I took more history classes I realized I wanted to turn my minor into a major thanks to the amazing history department faculty. Every history class I took was so engaging, and I really felt that my reading/writing/research skills were improving so much.
What is it about your chosen field (and the department) that appeals to you?
History appeals to me because I believe it is incredibly interdisciplinary – the skills and knowledge it elicits can be applied to virtually any field. Above all, history helps us understand the present. Also, the emphasis that the Rutgers history department places on diversity is something I’m really proud of as a student.
Do you have a favorite class/professor within your major?
My favorite class thus far has been my history seminar with Professor Stephens. Our seminar focused on family history/microhistory. It was incredibly interesting and rewarding to learn more in depth about conducting research on “normal” people/groups – or doing “history from below.” I even had the opportunity to research my own family’s immigration history and learn more than I ever had before from a historian’s perspective. I believe this process significantly improved my writing and research skills – largely thanks to Professor Stephens.
What are your favorite academic experiences outside of your major?
My favorite academic experience outside of my major, although related to it, is currently my role as a FIGS Peer Instructor (First Year Interest Group Seminar). This summer, I’ve developed an original 10-week curriculum on “Exploring History” that I will teach to a class of first-year students interested in majoring in history this upcoming fall. I will also be taking a peer instructor class alongside my own class. In all, it’s such a great opportunity to learn so many valuable skills and be a meaningful mentor to new Rutgers students – especially those interested in history!
What are your other Rutgers activities?
I’m the service director for the Rutgers chapter of Omega Phi Alpha, a national service sorority (so we focus on hands-on volunteering projects, as well as learning about the communities we serve). I am also a proud member of the Rutgers club softball team – we’ve made it to NCSA Nationals in Columbus, Georgia twice in my time here!
What are your plans following graduation?
Following graduation, my plan is to join AmeriCorps and volunteer for a year. During that time, I also plan to apply to law school where my goal is to focus in Public Interest Law. I truthfully do believe that my history major has proficiently prepared me for law school.
- Graduation Year: 2018
- Majors & Minors: History major and Political Science and American Studies double minors Honors: Honors in History, SAS Honors Program, Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude, Harold Poor Prize, Margaret Atwood Prize.
Alumna
Why did you choose history as your major?
I had a disastrous first day of classes my freshman year, and I immediately hated every class I had signed up for. So, I decided to drop my philosophy course and take a “fun” class instead to make the first semester less horrible. I ended up choosing Professor Koven’s Europe, Sex, and Society course, and that class is the reason I became a history major. I loved how everything we learned was so interconnected and how diverse the range of materials and primary sources were that we examined. I continued taking history courses and decided at the end of my freshman year to become a history major.
What did you like most about majoring in history?
I really loved the variety of classes I had to pick from. Every semester there was at least one class I was really excited to take. And it was always deeply satisfying to be able to connect the course materials from different classes.
How and when did you decide your postgraduate field of study and your career path?
I didn’t officially decide on library science till over a year after graduating from Rutgers, but it was something I had been thinking about doing after taking some public history courses through the department. It was during my first cataloging job that I decided to apply to graduate school.
What was your first job after graduating from Rutgers and how did you get it?
After graduating, I wasn’t sure what to do next, so I applied to AmeriCorps and worked at a middle school in Newark the first year out of college. This allowed me some space to self-reflect and think about what I wanted from my future. I knew that I wanted to be able to continue studying history in some capacity or other, but I didn’t necessarily want to pursue a PhD. After finishing my year of service with Americorps, I worked at the Zimmerli Art Museum as their assistant cataloger. I had worked there as a gallery attendant as a student, so I was lucky enough to already know the head registrar. She had wanted someone with a background in history and research to execute this project because so many of the items that needed to be cataloged were unidentified and void of any contextualizing information. I had a lot of fun doing this work and ultimately, it is what led me to apply to graduate school for my masters in library and information science.
What is your current position? What do you do, and what do you enjoy most about it?
I recently accepted a position as the Assistant Archivist at Baruch College, where I get to do both processing work (i.e. cataloging, arranging, and housing archival collections) and reference work. I like that I get to work closely with the archival materials as well as with researchers and students who have questions about the collections. Archival work can sometimes be a trade off between one or the other, so I like that I can do all different kinds of projects in this position.
How did you move from your first job to your current position?
Attending graduate school and getting my master’s degree in Information Science (concentrating in archives and preservation) was a necessary step in getting me from that first job at the Zimmerli Art Museum to my current position at Baruch. While in graduate school, I was also lucky enough to get some fantastic internships and fellowships, where I learned a lot from very talented professionals in the field and was able to explore the many facets of library work.
What classes or experiences at Rutgers would you point to as contributing to your successes?
I think pursuing a thesis was a major contributor. For one, I learned and really had to practice research skills, and I had to figure out how to navigate library and archive resources. This made me familiar with library work from the patron side of it, which I do think is necessary to consider when you’re doing reference and processing work. Another benefit of doing a thesis project is that I gained some level of expertise in my chosen subject, which can be an asset when working at an academic library or at any museum/archive that has materials relating to that subject. And in general, the writing skills you develop when doing a thesis is invaluable when pursuing any field really.
Do you have suggestions for current or prospective history majors?
Take classes that interest you and take classes about time periods, subjects, peoples, nations, etc. that you know nothing about.
Ask librarians for help. As one now, I love helping students and researchers with their problems. You’re not bothering them and they’re not judging you. They want to help you with your project!
Visit special collections! They have cool stuff and getting to handle physical materials really enhances the research experience.
- Graduation Year: 2018
- Majors & Minors: History and American Studies double major
Alumni
Why did you choose history as your major?
I was incredibly lucky to have a passionate yet challenging history instructor throughout high school. He helped me to discover my interest in history and thoroughly prepared me for both college and a collegiate level history major. After taking a few history courses at Rutgers, I really fell in love with the major and declared as soon as I was able.
What did you like most about it?
I loved the structure of the program. It isn't difficult to navigate, and I was easily able to determine what courses I needed to take when. I've had such interesting professors throughout my time at Rutgers, and their own research has really inspired me to dig a little deeper into course material. I also enjoyed being able to take a wide array of courses; I've studied early Jewish history, World War II in Europe, Modern Britain, and everything in between.
What is your current position, what do you do, and what do you enjoy most about it?
I am an incoming member of Americorps, more specifically NCCC FEMA Corps, Class 25. I work in Emergency Management and Preparedness to ensure that communities are better prepared for disasters and are able to recover safely and quickly. I leave July 24th, but I already feel connected to my class members, and I am excited to serve the country for ten months.
What was your first job after Rutgers and how did you get it?
I was a work study student at Rutgers throughout my four years. I spent my freshman year as a member of event crew at the Cook Student Center, but transferred to the History Department the next year, where I worked until my graduation in May. I absolutely loved my time at the History Department, as I was able to work with professors to ready course materials while still finding time to study.
How did you move from that first job to your current position?
Before graduation, I realized that I wanted to take a gap year in order to breathe. I have always been interested in working for the government, so when I discovered Americorps I was thrilled. Applying was a long process, but I’ve been legally and medically cleared and I start incredibly soon. I’d like to think that my jobs at Rutgers have prepared me for FEMA Corps by teaching me responsibility, resourcefulness, and flexibility.
Looking back, what classes or experiences at Rutgers would you point to as contributing to your successes?
This year, I wrote a senior thesis for the American Studies major. It was an...experience. It was probably the most challenging thing that I’ve ever done, but now that I’m able to look back on my thesis, I’m so incredibly proud of what I’ve written. I pooled resources not just from American Studies, but History as well. It really reflects my four years at Rutgers well.
What advice do you have for our current Arts and Sciences students?
TALK TO AN ADVISOR. Seriously. They’re not as scary as you think they are. You can speak to an advisor within your major, or a more general advisor for your school. Make sure you’re on track to graduate and you’re checking every box. I’d also recommend taking a few courses outside of your major. Rutgers has such a wealth of information and courses, and I really regret not branching out more during my time here.