I graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2018. I played baseball while at UC and majored in History to become a History teacher after graduation. I am also a member of Phi Theta Kappa, The National History Honor Society.
I am currently a dual licensed History/Special Education teacher and teach World Studies/Government for the 2023-2024 academic year at Marysville High School, my alma mater. This is my 4th year teaching, three at Olentangy Liberty High School and one at Marysville High School. I live in Delaware, OH, and am happily married to my high school sweetheart, a rockstar Spanish teacher! We have two Australian Shepherds and love to take them on adventures around Ohio.
What are you up to these days?
Mainly doing a lot of teaching, reading, and fun adventures with my wife/dogs. I also coach baseball at Olentangy Liberty High School as the head pitching coach, which takes up a lot of my time in the winter/spring, but it is a blast.
What brought you to history at UC?
I wanted to become a social studies teacher, and I thought that majoring in it would help me gain a better depth of knowledge than being in the teacher’s college. I also took education classes to figure out how to be a great teacher, but ultimately, majoring in history was the best decision I ever made.
What did you focus on as a history student at UC?
Since I was trying to become a Social Studies teacher, I tried to be well-rounded with the classes I took and didn’t really try to have a major concentration. I took many “Law, History, and Society” classes that helped me a ton, and I was interested in it.
Did you have any favorite history courses? Which ones and why?
The best classes I ever took were with Dr. Susan Longfield Karr because she is so good at explaining the law’s impact on society and how it stretched globally. Her Hist4002: From Natural Law to Human Rights? was phenomenal and has really helped me teach Government and the early units of my World Studies class. I will always remember the in-depth discussions/readings we did. I also really enjoyed taking courses with Dr. Man Bun Kwan; his classes were awesome, and I highly recommend him as well if you are into Asian/Cultural studies.
What did you focus on for your capstone?
It has been a while, but I believe my capstone dealt with the disparity of African Americans in college baseball.
What skills did you pick up from studying history that have served you well beyond your courses?
The skills I picked up as a major that continue to serve me today include critical thinking skills, being a better lecturer for my students, knowing when/where to dive into different subtopics with my students, showing causation, how to be a meaningful writer, how to engage in hard or uncomfortable topics with my students, being able to show different viewpoints with topics, and many more! There are too many to list….
Have any advice for current students?
I may be biased, but you must take at least one class with Dr. Susan Longfield Karr during your time there. She keeps things exciting and engaging in her classroom, not to mention there is an opportunity for great debate and discussion! She was the most influential figure I had and opened up her door any time during my baseball schedule. She probably doesn’t even know, but she is why I now read a lot and have a serious passion for teaching my students about human rights/natural law…and just teaching in general. Also, take a wide variety of classes, no matter your concentration. All my professors were awesome, but I was also smart in taking the classes I wanted to learn about. Don’t take a class to “fill a requirement” if you don’t have no interest in the topic because that will leave you unfulfilled and hate the major. Overall, you would be a fool not to be a History major while at UC!
