The following stories come from recent graduates of the History Department who, after receiving their bachelor of arts degrees, are following a variety of careers. They talk about their current lives and the paths they took to get there. They share their insights about the value of their history studies in their careers and what they did during and after college that led them to their current positions.

Literacy Education Policy
Richard Holdgreve-Resendez (Class of 2000) entered college as a chemistry concentrator headed to medical school but discovered a new direction from an experience teaching in his freshman year. He learned that his real passion was education. He chose history as his field thinking it would be great for a career in education.

After working with children in various settings, he realized that he wanted more intellectual challenge than the traditional classroom could offer while still working in the realm of education.

His B.A. in History and teaching experience gave him the expertise necessary to work for a non-profit organization, Arts of Citizenship, which worked with elementary school children, teachers and district coordinators to make History education more meaningful. The organization worked to provide resources to “bring history alive.”

This experience led to his interest in learning and its impact on all aspects of education within schools. He completed his M.A. in Education Foundations & Policy at U of M in 2006, doing research in the “Pathways to Literacy Lab” in the U of M Psychology Department where he examined children’s literacy development skills, self-regulation, and literacy policy.

He is currently in an Educational Policy Ph.D. program at Michigan State University pursuing his interest in K-12 literacy/language arts policy. “You must be passionate about grad school; it takes lots of time, hard work and lots of writing which is why being a History major is a plus.”

Richard recommends that students go out of their way to find something on campus that is important to them and actively find opportunities to carve a niche. Talk to professors to find out what you can do for them to give you real experience that will make you marketable.

He says that actively putting yourself out on the job market is vital. “A U of M degree doesn’t get you the call from employers, but if you are persistent, it will get you noticed.”

Journalist
Like many freshmen, Jeremy W. Peters (Class of 2002) was unsure of where he would end up after graduation, perhaps law school. He eventually chose a double concentration in history and political science. “History majors choose it because they like history, not because they are looking for a clear path to a job.”

Jeremy’s path led him to the office of the Michigan Daily student newspaper which became his second home for the next three years. The many hours he spent there paid off when an editor from the New York Times dropped by. Jeremy introduced himself and gave his card. Although he was not offered a job on the spot, his assertive approach to job searching led him to become a writer for that paper a few years later.

CNN came to campus to interview students about the UM affirmative action lawsuits, a meeting that led to a CNN internship. “Internships show employers that your experience isn't limited just to academia.”

After graduation, he became his own career center, going from office to office in places he wanted to work, handing out his resume. His strategy was to find the right people, contact them, and let them know he wanted to work for them. “Call and call and be a pest.” Networking is key to getting the job over the other thousands of good writers out there.

He recommends doing things in college that make you stand out, such as internships and extra-curricular activities, to show potential employers that you have something to give the organization. He notes that few of the reporters he knows earned a journalism degree, but most wrote for their college newspapers.

His persistence paid off with a job writing for a small newspaper in the Virgin Islands where he honed his skills writing every day for the next two years on the whole range of local issues.

Today Jeremy is a writer for the New York Times. He was originally based in Detroit, covering mainly business issues, as well as local events of national interest before moving to New York to cover business, economics, and regional news in that area.

History was a good teacher of writing. “Although I don't necessarily call on my history knowledge while I am doing my job, I find my degree is helpful in structuring and organizing my stories. History teaches you how to look for broad themes and tell a story about why those broad themes are relevant. Journalism is the same way. You take
an issue, boil it down to a few relevant points and then tell a story letting people know why they should care.”

Museum Administration
Heather Piegza (Class of 2002) became interested in the field of museum administration while an undergraduate at UM and working as a docent in the Exhibit Museum of Natural History on campus. This led her to the Museum Studies Graduate Program at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. As a graduate student at GWU, she completed two internships (one at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History and one at the Gettysburg National Battlefield Museum Foundation) and worked at the Montgomery County Historical Society (Rockville, MD) as a weekend coordinator and The Phillips Collection as an
administrative assistant.

After working, interning, and volunteering at various museums, foundations, and historic houses, she discovered that she belonged in a large museum, working in public programs. Her own internship experience as the Assistant Intern Manager at the National Museum of American History cemented her desire to work with interns. These kinds of varied experiences are important to discover the appropriate education and best route to a career in one of the various aspects of the field (administration, exhibit design, collections management, or education).

"An unpaid internship or volunteer experience at a museum often leads to a permanent position. Many interns and volunteers continue as paid staff in the same museum in which they worked or are recommended by their supervisors for positions in other museums. The museum community is very close-knit, especially in Washington, D.C., and offers rewarding careers for those interested in sharing new and challenging ideas with the world -- a very fitting position for a history student."

Heather has been a program assistant in the Smithsonian Institution's Office of Research Training and Services, where she administers several highly competitive internship programs. Communication skills are essential in her position in order to work effectively with the many museums and offices within the Smithsonian, as well as with outside applicants and researchers. She uses her background as a history student every day when conducting research or creating well-developed reports.  She has also held positions in museum administration and as Library Coordinator for the museum’s collaborative library learning program.

“My years at Michigan prepared me for graduate school and the years beyond in more ways than I could have known. I learned how to really read and write history, and this proved invaluable in my graduate studies as well as in my professional museum career.”

After enjoying five years of working in Washington, Heather looks forward to returning to Ann Arbor to take a position at the University of Michigan Exhibit Museum. She is happy to share her tips and answer questions about museum work by email: hpiegza@umich.edu. (2008)

Small Business Owner: Home Health Care
From an early age, David Kennedy (Class of 2003) was interested in health care so he thought pre-medicine would be his undergraduate focus. But as a freshman, he realized that his passion was for studying history, not medicine, and that there were ways other than being a doctor to help those in need. Volunteer work during college provided him experience working with senior citizens. He led a group of students on weekly visits to a local nursing home through a campus group (V.I.E.W.), developing relationships with the residents and, through Neighborhood Senior Services, helped a home-bound senior with shopping and meals.

With no formal experience in the field, on graduating at age 20, David opened his own home health care business, Kennedy Care. “By owning and managing my own company, I can organize my employees to effectively serve many more individuals that I could do on my own.”

Start-up funds were one of the challenges he faced. He used his small savings to print marketing materials and pay fees to register his business as a legal entity. David did much of the work himself to save on the expenses of starting a business. He compensated for his inexperience by networking through the Office of Services to the Aging and local non-profits. “I cannot emphasize enough how valuable networking and being inquisitive were for me.” He pursued numerous contacts to learn all he could from many people, asked for more names and numbers at each meeting, and developed relationships with four mentors in the field.

He recently completed two relevant masters programs while running his business. In the School of Social Work, his concentrations were “Aging in Families in Society” and “Management of Human Services”. He was also in the Health Services Administration program in the School of Public Health which allowed him to understand the details behind how the US health care system operates and how to effectively manage his organization.

David believes his background in history enhances his ability to run his business. “My experiences in learning about early to mid 20th century American history have enabled me to better understand the older adult population that I work with. Their life experiences have formed many of their beliefs and attitudes and by understanding this I have been able to know how many older adults should be approached and how to gain their trust.”

Communication and writing skills are other essential tools he developed as a history student, but some courses outside the liberal arts can offer other skills necessary for business.

“My recommendation to any current history students interested in starting a business would be to utilize the opportunity take classes that would be helpful for their desired venture. There are so many other classes needed to fill up the 120 credits at the University, so don’t be afraid to take challenging classes in the schools of Business, Engineering, etc.”

If you want to learn in greater detail how David utilized his education in the History Program to start his business, feel free to contact him directly at david@kennedycare.net.

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