Super-papers, presentations
win national recognition
It's one thing to produce a quality research paper as a class assignment, but it's an altogether different matter when that paper takes center stage in a national conference of the best of the best.
Sooner or later all Bloomsburg history majors encounter 42.398 Research and Writing Skills, a demanding class in a program that puts a lot of emphasis on writing and research, and to graduate, students need a grade of C or better.
Standing, from left, Jennifer Horn, Tory Bright, Katie Pilgren; seated, Leah Hilliard and D.J. Robinson.
But those who rise to the occasion get a shot at an even higher opportunity: the national conference of the history honor society, Phi Alpha Theta, held this year in Albuquerque, N.M. There they present their work with 200 other graduate and undergraduate students from throughout the United States and face real-world scholarly criticism in rounds of panel discussions.
It's a golden opportunity for those in love with history, and this year Tory Bright, Leah Hilliard, Jennifer Horn, Katie Pilgren and D.J. Robinson not only made the trip, but were commended by event leaders and their peers for the level of research they'd done and the quality of their presentations.
Accompanied by Associate Professor Lisa Stallbaumer-Beishline, the Bloomsburg contingent learned first hand how the profession shares research and came to appreciate the intellectual challenge of editing 25-page research papers into 20 minute presentations.
During the presentations, she explains, each student had to consistently advance an argument and avoid the pitfall of simply telling a story. To pull it off, they had to remain focused on the major points of the argument, which gave evidence of intimate familiarity with subject matter and preparedness.
Katie Pilgren (left) and Jennifer Horn (right) during a conference panel discussion
Pilgren, a senior from Levittown presented "The War Refugee Board's Participation with the Raoul Wallenberg Mission." She plans to attend law school and eventually practice family law.
Hilliard, a junior from Manheim presented " Chivalry and Courtly Love in Arthurian Literature: Manipulated and Contradictory Concepts." She plans to attend graduate school for a masters in education with a goal of teaching history at the middle school level.
Bright, a senior from Northumberland presented " The Deindustrial Revolution and The Decline of the Pennsylvania Anthracite Region, 1946-1970." He plans to enroll in graduate school with a goal of teaching and researching at the university level.
Robinson, a senior dual majoring in political science, from Watsontown, presented "The Question of Peter Maurin and the Emergence of Catholic Radicalism in the United States." He is currently weighing options of going to seminary or a graduate history program.
Horn, a senior with minors in political Science and ethnic studies in the United States, from Cocalico, presented "Varian Fry in Marseilles: Refugee Relief and Rescue Operations During World War II." She plans to enroll in graduate school to study city planning and historic preservation, with a goal of working in preservation as a career.
Afterward, the five students agreed they had gained confidence in their expertise, having discovered that they knew more about their subject than anyone in attendance - including the faculty commentators.
They also had the opportunity to compare their own work with that of top students from across the nation, an important boost when facing the unknown of graduate school.
Of them, Hilliard had a bit of an edge; she had already presented her work to a conference of Medieval and Early Modern Studies at Moravian College in Bethlehem in December. Everyone else spent their holiday break practicing.
BU students visit Sandia Mountain during their trip to the national Phi Alpha Theta conference in New Mexico.
Horn, who admits that as a freshman she was so shy she barely spoke in class, had just come off one of the State System of Higher Education's most prestigious internships. She was one of 14, one from each university, selected for The Harrisburg Internship Semester, a 15-credit stint that galvanized her career ambitions. She spent a semester working with Preservation Pennsylvania, a consortium of the Pennsylvania History Museum, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Department of Community and Economic Development. The project includes identifying historic sites throughout the commonwealth and advocacy for preservation. She's destined for work in historic preservation and urban planning.
And the exposure to other scholars didn't hurt, either. Robinson was invited to participate in another upcoming conference - the Urban History Association - at Sam Houston State University in Texas.