I graduated in spring 2016 from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in Secondary Education History, as well as a Major in History. I won the George B. Engberg Prize: Best History Capstone Essay, Non-U.S. History for my capstone, “The Irish Rebellion of 1641: The History Behind the Myth”.
What are you up to these days?
After graduating, I wanted to live somewhere my dog would like, so I moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado where I taught middle school social studies for the past seven years. I recently graduated from the University of Colorado with a Masters in Learning Design and Technology, moved to Denver so my partner could attend Law School at the University of Denver, and I decided to try something new and become an Instructional Designer. I am currently working for the Metropolitan State University of Denver as an Instructional Designer helping Subject Matter Experts (faculty and professors) create more engaging, inclusive, and accessible online learning experiences.
What brought you to history at UC?
My path to majoring in history at UC was not a traditional path. I wouldn’t say that I was an amazing student as a high schooler, however, history always just made sense. During my time as a history student at UC, I focused mainly on the European Renaissance, Early Modern Europe, and the history and development of Rights. While I enjoyed all of my history courses at UC, HIST 3042: Rulers Rebels & Rights: Early Modern Britain 1485-1689 and HIST 3056: European Renaissance: Power, Politics, & Persuasion with Dr. Susan Longfield Karr were my favorite courses. I love that period of time, and I love learning about religion, corruption, and rights.
As I took more history courses than necessary for my education degree, Longfield Karr called me into her office one day to talk about my transcript. She explained to me that I had “really good grades”, a first for me, and that I should consider going for a second major, as it would only require a capstone course and one other course. I decided to go for it.
What did you focus on as a history student at UC? What did you focus on in your capstone and why?
As previously stated, my capstone was about the Irish Rebellion of 1641, a rather obscure (not as popular as the rebellion of 1649) historical event that I had heard about during one of the courses that Longfield Karr taught. I found it fascinating that the narrative of this event was almost strictly dictated by the English, who blamed religious intolerance against Protestants from the Irish, as the reason for this rebellion. However, as I analyzed primary sources and put the event into historical context, I determined that religious retribution was not the sole reason for this violent event, and that the oppression of the Irish from the English was a major factor, something left out of the history books.
What skills did you pick up from studying history that have served you well beyond your courses?
I’m very lucky to have gone through the history department at the University of Cincinnati. There are many extremely valuable skills that I use every day that I learned at UC. Understanding current events and how they tie to historical events, having the ability to discern reliable sources from unreliable, identifying facism and having the knowledge of what it leads to are all skills I can say came from my time in the history department at UC.
Have any advice for current students?
Advice I would give to current students is that these courses help you understand the world. The skills that you gain help you become more informed and understanding of why things happen, and what can happen in the future.
