Student Reflections from the Washington, D.C., Spring Break Trip 2024!

Nora Culver: It was wonderful to spend a few days in Washington, D.C., with other (mostly) history students. Often, studying history can feel like a very personalized, individualized undertaking, with everyone on their own separate path. While this is true to some extent given the sheer flexibility and range of the discipline, it was eye-opening and fulfilling to share in the experience of archival research with other passionate students. Even though we are all pursuing very different projects, the trip allowed us to navigate the process together while still leaving room for autonomous exploration. Spending hours combing through primary source journals on my topic and then hanging out and talking with my classmates about it at museums and over meals created a sense of larger community and support. I feel much more confident in and excited about writing a thesis, as well as personally closer to the other students in the program. Having the opportunity to speak with alumni really cemented the feeling of being part of a department with its own history and continuity through past and present, and we felt immensely encouraged and inspired by these meetings. I will look back fondly on this trip and I hope that I can contribute to supporting the next group of students that go.

Matthew Freeman: The Washington, D.C., trip was amazing! The trip revolved around doing research at the Library of Congress. Being able to explore the collections there and do some research on my proposed thesis topic was really helpful, and provided a good introduction to archival research. It was also a lot of fun exploring D.C. with my classmates. We were able to visit many of the museums in the area, and bond as a class. Another highlight of the trip was the alumni dinners, where we got to meet local History alumni and learn about what we can do with a history degree. The trip was a great experience, and one that I am happy to have been able to participate in through the department!

Evan Gravdahl: The trip to D.C. was a valuable experience and a productive first step in the honors program. The early exposure to the intricate processes of the Library of Congress helped establish a working familiarity with their system and archival research. As a group we were individually allowed to explore the libraries and reading rooms pertinent to our field of study, accessing critical preliminary sources. We were also afforded valuable opportunities to connect with UR History Department alumni who each offered a guiding hand in both understanding our imminent steps at the university, and our plans post-graduation.

Jay Kinde: I am a history and English double major with a minor in digital media studies. Our trip to D.C. was a wonderful experience, opening my eyes to the full resources of the Library of Congress and other archives nearby. In my research, I am investigating the history of transgender men in the United States before the solidification of the transgender liberation movement. In looking at my possible archival sources at the Library of Congress I was connected with the librarian, Meg Metcalf, who created an LGBTQ+ research guide for the collections. I set up a meeting with them while in D.C., allowing me to access many unprocessed collections that are normally unavailable for regular researchers walking in. These collections proved fruitful and provided many new leads for my research. Before this trip, I hadn’t expected the Library of Congress to be a huge resource in my case but now I am considering returning this summer. In addition to my time at the Library of Congress, I found meeting with alumni particularly enlightening. I hope to connect further with some of them and utilize their expertise and connections to the D.C. area.

Ellis Siepel: I'm so happy I got the opportunity to go to Washington, D.C., with the History Honors program. I think my favorite part of the trip had to be getting to experience the Library of Congress - the feeling of stepping into the grand and beautiful Main Reading Room is one that will stick with me for awhile. I was also thrilled to be able to view some really interesting manuscript collections. Since I work in Rare Books and Special Collections at the UR, and I'm interested in going into archival studies after college, it was especially cool for me to get to experience what researching at such a huge archival institution was like, as well as talk with some librarians with a lot of knowledge in the areas I'm interested in. It was especially cool getting to listen to some digitized audio recordings from the 50s and 60s in the Recorded Sound Center, and as an added bonus, I got to speak with some of the recorded sound reference librarians about how digitization, storage, and cataloguing works in recorded sound archives. Outside of the research aspect, the trip was a great opportunity to explore D.C., look at some cool museums, and connect more with my peers in the Honors Program! I definitely came out of the trip with a lot of good memories, as well as some new connections and resources thanks to our two alumni dinners. I think this trip is a fantastic way to allow new honors students to learn how to conduct archival research and gain more experience and knowledge about how to use our history degree in career paths after college, so I hope the Department is able to continue this experience for future years!

Thanks for reading!