MAJOR:
History
DEGREE:
B.A in American Studies from FAU Wilkes Honors College ’08; M.A in History from Florida Atlantic University FAU ’10, (I’m an owl through and through!)
CURRENT POSITION:
I’m the Undergraduate Program Administrator in the Department of English at Harvard University. (What’s that?!) I run the undergraduate program for the English Department – work on the curriculum, coordinate the honors and creative writing programs, and most importantly and enjoyably, advise students who want to be English majors.
FIRST JOB:
My very first job was a counselor-in-training at a summer camp in Connecticut. For two summers, I did arts and crafts and played kickball with little five year old girls – it was the best! In high school though, I worked in the bakery of my hometown supermarket. I decorated cakes, made pies, muffins, bread, and ate my weight in chocolate fudge brownies.
BIGGEST CHALLENGES:
Figuring out what to do with my life professionally! While pursuing my Master’s, I acted as a graduate advisor in FAU’s Office of Student Involvement and Leadership, and had the opportunity to work with an amazing mentor and a group of really special, dedicated student leaders. Through this experience and as a TA in the History Department, I always found that I appreciated the opportunity for one-on-one student contact, and figuring out how to help students navigate their way through college – whether that be throwing a foam party until 4AM inviting them to relieve some stress or spending time helping students learn how to write successful topic sentences and thesis statements for their history papers. Those experiences helped me settle into a career in higher education.
BEST FAU MEMORY:
I took a class in my second term – Modern British and Irish History with Dr. Kanter. To put it mildly, I was terrified of taking this class. I had never really encountered history from that time or part of the world, and it was far from my area of specialization and interest. When we had to choose our research topic, I nervously went to see Dr. Kanter in office hours, where he asked, “Well, what DO you like? What are you interested in?” to which I responded, “The American Civil Rights Movement?” He then guided me toward the Catholic Emancipation movement, led by Daniel O’Connell. I spent the semester poring over old Irish newspapers on microfilm and put together a paper I was really proud of on a topic and a figure I hadn’t heard of four months beforehand. It was the most challenging yet rewarding experience I had in grad school.
ROLE DEPT. OF HISTORY PLAYED IN YOUR CAREER:
I got my Master’s in history because it was my academic passion. I liked taking the classes and reading the books. I didn’t ever really think I wanted to go on to a PhD program or become a historian in the traditional sense (but believe me, I give unofficial historical tours of Cambridge and Boston to everyone that comes to visit me!). I graduated from the History Department with a fond appreciation of the professors, advisors, and staff that supported my academic passion. While I work in an English (not History) Department now, I get to encounter students on a day-to-day basis who are discovering and pursuing their academic passions, and that resonates with me. They don’t go into English because they think it’s going to land them a job with a six-figure salary after graduation; they do it because they love to read. The passion for the liberal arts that I was able to cultivate in the History Department, and understanding how those ideas and ways of thinking translates to the world after college, helps me understand my students and support them in a way that many do not. Aside from that, the skills I learned when in the classroom, the library, and at my desk at home while pursuing my Master’s Degree – researching, communicating effectively, creativity, attention to detail, and an appreciation for the past – has helped me face my career in higher education head on.
GOAL:
I hope to continue to cultivate my career at Harvard. Aside from being an amazing institution to be a part of if you want to work in higher education, my inner history nerd is in its glory here. Every day, I walk through a campus that houses a building from 1720 where Washington’s troops stayed during the Revolution, a library named for an alumnus who perished on the Titanic, a yellow house on the Underground Railroad with a secret trap door, and an old dining hall on the National Register of Historic Places where I now sit at a computer.
Favorite Book:
My favorites are Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods and Steven Millhauser’s Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer, a book I read in Dr. Chris Strain’s undergraduate colloquium at the HC.
PERSONAL:
I’m going on my third year as a resident of the ever-lovely and historical Cambridge, Massachusetts, always honing my rendition of “Sweet Caroline,” eating as much chowder as possible, and digging out of the occasional blizzard.
