I attended the University of Cincinnati as an undergraduate from 2013 to 2016, double majoring in English and History. I love anime and writing; I am currently learning to figure skate. Some of my favorite eras in history include the politics of 15/16th century England, Victorian England/Gilded Age America, and issues with immigration throughout history.
What are you up to these days?
After graduating from UC, I took some time off before going to get my Master’s in English literary and cultural studies at the University of Dayton with the intent of working on becoming a professor. I received a teaching assistantship while attending and got experience teaching English. However, I realized that teaching in college wasn’t something I ultimately wanted to do. Due to graduating in spring of 2020, I spent some time off again before becoming a Youth Services Librarian where I currently work after 2.5 years. I love working in a library and would eventually love to work towards becoming an academic librarian where I can find myself once again on a college campus.
What brought you to history at UC?
I have always loved history, even before going to college. I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I came to college, so I did the exploratory track. After taking a couple history classes, I realized that I loved the department and thought that my professors were supportive and friendly, which is something I found extremely important when thinking about my degree and what I needed to do to achieve that. Shoutout to Dr. Karr for being my rock through those years (:
What did you focus on as a history student while at UC?
Honestly, I don’t think I exactly had a specific focus because I enjoyed multiple different types of history. I usually chose my classes based on what sounded interesting and fulfilled requirements at the time. I did end up taking quite a few Renaissance-era classes because those were the ones Dr. Longfield Karr taught, and I loved being in her classes.
Did you have any favorite history classes? Which ones and why?
One class that stands out was my immigration history class with Dr. Mark Raider. I didn’t have much knowledge of immigration history and after, I found that I was intrigued by the injustices and conditions that immigrants had gone through throughout history, which still blend into today’s political atmosphere. During that class, I chose to do an alternative final project where I wrote a short film screenplay about Japanese internment during WWII. That screenplay ended up winning first place in a writing competition at UC, so I was very proud of that. Plus, I ended up turning the 11-page screenplay into a feature film-length story after.
Another class that I loved was the first class I took of Dr. Longfield Karr’s “Rulers, Rebels, and Rights.” I chose to do an alternative final project where I wrote a story about King Henry VIII coming back from the dead to have a conversation with King James I about everything that had happened between his death and 1547 and James’ coronation in 1603. It was so much fun to write, and I loved that I could do something unique.
What did you focus on in your capstone and why?
I focused on courtship and etiquette through letters in Gilded Age America. There were so many things that I was interested in at the time, but around the same time I had acquired many personal correspondences between a man and woman from the late 19th and early 20th centuries that focused on courtship. After being fascinated with them, I realized that there was so much information to research about expectations and etiquette during courtship during that time.
What skills have you picked up from studying history that has helped you beyond your courses?
One of the most important skills I’ve learned from studying history is being able to critically think about any given topic, whether it’s history or not. This is especially useful when thinking about credible information and whether or not something should be taken seriously or discarded. Of course, my research skills are quite good, and much of that has to do with the time I spent studying history. I take the time to dive into research, which does help quite a bit in the field of librarianship.
Any advice for current students?
Something that I wish more people would have told me when I was in college was that what you study and want to do matters. It might seem like people don’t understand why you’re studying history or even interested in it in the first place, but the skills you obtain from studying history will help you in your future, whether you decide to go into a field directly related or not. I am a librarian, but there is no doubt that I still use history and skills for my job. Also, have fun with it and take time for yourself every once and a while.
