The Beginning

My Education
I have just become a graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. My specific focus was the American Civil War, but more broadly my studies concentrated on contemporary American history. I completed the program in three years, a feat I am particularly proud of in a day in age where five and six year undergraduate stints have become the norm. I am confident in my academic record as I graduate Magna Cum Laude with a cumulative 3.75 GPA. I look forward to earning even more academic distinction as my graduation date approaches.

The best experience I had during my undergraduate work was researching and writing my senior thesis. It is a “Why We Fight” study of Henry Windsor Mason, a private in the Twenty-Fourth Wisconsin volunteers during the Civil War. I became interested in Mr. Mason when my mentor allowed me access to a collection of Mr. Mason’s personal correspondence with his family during his service. My mentor, Dr. Fred Sturdivant, is in the process of writing a book with Mr. Mason as its centerpiece, so I am elated to be serving as his research assistant while also completeing my own work. Dr. Sturdivant and I traveled throughout the Western theatre during the summer of 2007. On the trip we traced the Twenty-Fourth Wisconsin and Mr. Mason’s path through the Western Theatre that included Franklin, Tennessee, where Mason was wounded, and Nashville, Tennessee, where Mason later died of his wounds and was subsequently buried in what has become a national cemetery. Although I have submitted my senior thesis, Dr. Sturdivant and I plan to travel to Wisconsin this summer to visit the historical society and get a taste of Henry Mason’s hometown. I look forward to helping Dr. Sturdivant research his much more extensive study and plan to add to my own thesis with his help and guidance.
The Battle of Franklin

My undergraduate education has helped me hone my communicative, writing and analytical skills. The accelerated pace in which I completed the program also prepared me for handling stress, making and keeping goals and also prioritizing tasks. During my undergraduate studies, I also worked part-time at the Cincinnati based law firm Keating, Muething & Klekamp, P.L.L. As a records management clerk I learned the value of organization and being able to work with a team to tackle big projects.