Name: Kaelin Hughes

Major: History

Academic Year: Junior

What is your favorite history class you have taken and why? I think my favorite classes so far have been American Women’s History with Dr. Sopcak-Joseph or United States Disability History with professor Chamberlain.

What is your favorite aspect of history?  My favorite aspect of the history major is engaging in research and analysis of sources to learn more about topics that interest me. A lot of people think of history and think of war, conflict and more, but I tend to focus on more cultural things. I’ve researched the Stonewall Riots, the history of body standards in American mass media and I recently did a paper on contraceptive care for women with disabilities.

What are you looking forward to this year? I’m looking forward to taking more topics courses that interest me, along with completing my final research project in capstone this upcoming fall.

Why did you choose this major? I chose this major because of how easy it was to put with my political science major. There aren’t that many credits within the major and some of the courses fall within the general education requirements so I added it for fun and I’ve fallen in love since.

What do you hope to achieve from history? I hope that I can use the skills I’ve learned regarding research, reading and analyzing sources and critical thinking in conjunction with my political science education and pursue a higher degree of some kind. Whether I get a masters or eventually my Ph.D. I feel as if the major has helped me a lot!

Name: Eliana Kramer

Major: History

Academic Year: Sophomore

What is your favorite history class you have taken and why? History 102 with Dr. Kuiken has been my favorite by far. The class covered Europe before the 1600s. We discussed things that I have never learned before and even that the middle eastern countries knew the Earth was not flat centuries before Galileo! 

What is your favorite aspect of history?  My favorite aspect about this major is how flexible it is! I am double majoring in corporate finance and it allows for me to have room in my schedule for both finance and history courses. 

What are you looking forward to this year? 

Why did you choose this major? I love history. I love learning about the world and the different people in it. 

What do you hope to achieve from history? Upon graduation, I will be pursuing my finance degree but with my history background I hope to be able to look at the world from a different perspective. 

Name: Jacob Kudysch

Major: History

Academic Year: Senior

What is your favorite history class you have taken and why? My favorite class that I have taken was the capstone course because it allowed me to take on a large research project. I really enjoyed working with my peers to discuss research, compile that research into a large paper and finally be able to present the research to the history department. 

What is your favorite aspect of history? My favorite aspect of being a history major is the people and faculty that I get to work with on campus. The history program has small class sizes, which means that each student is able to really get to know their classmates and have great relationships with their professors. During my time in the program, I have had the privilege of working closely with many classmates and faculty that will be friends and mentors for years to come. 

What are you looking forward to this year? This year I am looking forward to putting my major into action. I have presented at conferences this semester that have allowed me to demonstrate my research and share what I have worked on this year. In addition, I have begun student teaching and have taken over several classes in United States history. 

Why did you choose this major? I chose this major because I have always had a passion for studying history. I love examining the people, places and events that have shaped the world that we live in today. 

What do you hope to achieve from history? After graduation I hope to become a history high school teacher and attend graduate classes to continue my studies. 

Name: Adam Piston

Major: History

Academic Year: Senior

What is your favorite history you have taken and why? Dr. Kuiken’s British history class(es). Dr. K had a way of conveying a lot of material in a motivating and engaging way, which made it fun to come to class and learn about his specialty. His teaching style was at a near Lawrence Taylor-level of dominance. He tackled lessons as if they were Joe Theismann and left them similarly mangled and broken in his glorious wake. 

What is your favorite aspect of history?  Favorite aspect of my major is the people and professors I met at Wilkes U. It is also the fact that you can explore so many different avenues in history with courses we offer.

What are you looking forward to this year? I am looking forward to student teaching and conveying the information I learned in my college classes to my high school students.

Why did you choose this major? I chose this major for my love of history and I want to be a social studies teacher. 

What do you hope to achieve from history? I hope to become the best Social Studies teacher I possibly can!