Stories

"I came to SCU as a transfer student in the fall of 2020 (impeccable timing, I know!). My first impression of the History Department was when Prof. Amy Randall, then department chair, reached out to give me a personal welcome to the department and scheduled a Zoom meeting to discuss my interests and goals as a student. Coming from a much larger institution, I was shocked by this expression of care and connection, but this would come to be representative of the connections I made with students and faculty in the History Department.

During my time as a student, I attended lots of fun events organized by the History Club, had the opportunity to attend a conference on local community history at Stanford, and had one of my papers published in Historical Perspectives. I was also selected as a Berks Fellow, along with several of my classmates, and we organized the first annual History Day event in 2023. I'm so happy that this event has continued and has now expanded to showcase student research. My fondest memories, however, are simply from attending my classes and the discussions I had with my classmates and professors on topics ranging from gender and politics in postwar Europe to the legacy of the Progressive Era in the United States.

After graduating, I completed the Cleveland Foundation Public Service Fellowship, returning to my childhood hometown and working in a large urban school district. I learned so much from my incredible cohort of fellows and from local leaders in the public service and nonprofit sectors throughout Northeast Ohio. After the fellowship, however, I was eager to return to sunny California, and I found myself missing the Jesuit values I had perhaps taken for granted during my time as a student.

I was fortunate to return to SCU in a position with the Center for Student Involvement, where I had previously worked as a student employee. There, I supported student organization leaders, coordinated Orientation, Welcome Weekend, and Family Weekend programs, and helped thousands of new students and their families navigate the transition to SCU.

I did not expect to find myself back in the History Department so soon after graduating, but I am grateful that I did. In my current role, I get to support the faculty who shaped my education, help organize the events and programs that I remember attending, and work with the next generation of history students. As someone who first entered the department as a transfer student six years ago, it's especially meaningful to now be in a position to help create the same welcoming, supportive environment that had such a large impact on me.”

The History Department is also proud to announce that Julia Kovatch has recently published, with fellow Santa Clara University co-authors, an article in College & Research Library News entitled “Peer Reviewing Sources: A Framework-Informed Approach to Information Literacy in First-Year Writing.” The article has been viewed over 1,000 times since its publication! Massive congratulations, Julia!