Graduation

Yesterday I received my masters degree in history (with a certificate in public history) from Northeastern! Despite the rainy weather, it was wonderful to be joined by Matt, Mom, and the Edwards for the ceremony on campus, then afterwards with the rest of the family at the Crackerbarrel! Seneca and baby Jack were also cheering us in the audience, as guests of Natyra.

Graduate school was a fun and engaging process, and felt quite different from being an undergraduate. Classes were smaller, the work was more intense, and there was a greater sense of community within the department. I was accepted into Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honor society (although by a bizarre turn of events, it was my husband Matt who was signed up for the membership - they confused my name with his from the check I paid with for the subscription to the magazine! - that's soon to be remedied!)

From learning and developing the methodologies of writing historical articles for publication, learning about managing non-profit organizations, producing a museum exhibition, writing and presenting conference papers, and spending many fascinating hours in a variety of archives, it was a challenging yet instructive process. The department was in the process of developing a world history program, so there was less of a focus on American history than I had hoped for, but classes like Prof. Fowler's colonial American history, Prof. Green's Problems in Public History; and Museum Exhibitions; Prof. Correll's Oral History; and Prof. Penna's Non-Profit Organizations offered a great deal of valuable information and also provided room to perform in-depth research for topics was I particularly interested in. And, of course, my internship led to my wonderful job!

So here's to studying the past, celebrating the present, and looking forward to what is to come!