History Possibilities
One of the most commonly asked questions among undergraduate history majors is, "What can I do with a history major?" So if you're a liberal arts student at Bucknell who has yet to decide upon a career path, you're probably not alone. Career possibilities for history majors are wide and varied. Though many students of history choose to enter the world of education, that is not the only window of opportunity. As liberal arts students, history majors acquire skills that will give them what is needed to think critically, argue logically, and write analytically. It is these skills that allow history majors to choose from a very diverse career track.
Whether it is as an educator, researcher, writer, editor, manager, business person, or professional historian, if used to its full advantage, a major in history can get you a foot in the door in almost any profession. If you're still not convinced, call the Department (570-577-1123) and set up an appointment to talk to, or visit with, a professor.
You are welcome to borrow the Department's copy of the American Historical Association's Careers for Students of History, which is roughly summarized here.
Past History Majors
- Jillian Rolen '11: Greenwich Country Day School (GCDS) in Connecticut, teaches kindergarten at GCDS which is an independent, co-educational school that encourages creative teaching to motivate students and to foster a love of learning.
- Hayden Pirkle '10: is studying Arabic and working as a part-time journalist in Cairo. Click here to read his blog
- Stephanie Quinn '10: Peace Corps volunteer in the village of Masida, in northeastern Namibia; teaching English and arts, grades 5 through 8.
- Brett Reilly '10: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Master's and PhD program in Modern U.S. foreign Policy, Southeast Asian History and Imperialism; traveling to Vietnam in the summer of 2011 to continue studies in Vietnamese.
- Gabrielle Skovira '10: Associate, Service to the Armed Forces, American Red Cross National Headquarters, Washington, DC, Wounded Warrior Project.
- John Whitten '10: The Nielsen Company, Research Analyst; and Market Researcher for consumer product companies.
- Thomas Izard '09: Sales Assistant, CRT Capital, Boulder, Colo.
- Lauren Jaeger '09: George Washington University, pursuing a Masters of Arts in Museum Studies; working with the Smithsonian National Museum of American History as a participant in the Military History Collections Project-National Air and Space Museum; and a teacher at the Dumbarton House in Georgetown.
- Lauren Perez '09: Niskayuna, N.Y., pursuing a Master's degree in Political Science at James Madison University, in Florence, Italy, and will continue towards a doctoral degree in Political Science in the Fall of 2011.
- Elizabeth Cavallari '08: Assistant Director of Admissions and Bucknell University, and pursuing Masters of Education, College Student Personnel.
- Alexander DeOteris '08: Investment banker, Macquarie Group, New York, N.Y.
- Ariel Farrar-Wellman '08: currently at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, Chula Vista, Calif., training for the U.S. Olympic team in 2012; Research Assistant for the American Enterprise Institute--Foreign and Defense Policy Department; and a private researcher for AEI's Iran Tracker.org
- Brett Irwin '08: United States Army, Intelligence, stained in Germany and deployed to Afghanistan.
- Laura Leviski '08: University of Virginia, 2010 Master's in Speech-Language Pathology, with a hospital career planned in Baltimore, Md. or New York, N.Y.
- Timothy Mauritz '08: Wake Forest University School of Law
- Hayden Pirkle '08: University of Damascus, studying Arabic Language and Culture in Syria and Egypt.
- Trevor Gibson '03: Graduate school in Public Policy at the George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
- Rebecca Morrissey '00: Research Specialist, AMR Research
- Jon Stephenson '97: Research Associate, State Street Research and Management One
- Robert Borham '96: District Marketing Manager, Merrill Lynch & Co
- Heather Focht '95: Resident, Yale New Haven Hospital
- Philip Laffy '94: Senior Vice President, First Business Group
- Phillip Elliott '93: Business Analyst
- Matthew Ulterino '92: Urban Planner, Earth Pledge Foundation
- Andrea Falcione '92: Attorney, Brody and Fabiani
- Richard Chew '90: Resident & Post-Doctoral Fellow, Library Company of Philadelphia
- Benjamin Del Vento '90: Ass't Prosecutor, Essex Co
- Philip Cox '88: Director of Admissions, Greenhill School
- Steven Lichty '85: Director of Client Management, Investors Bank & Trust
- Christopher Gallup '70: Psychoanalyst
- Susan Crawford '69: Chief judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for Armed Forces; Chair, Bucknell Board of Trustees
- Robert Brush '68: Gen. Manager, Shoe Box Greetings
- Frank Skidmore '67: Director, IBM Networking Systems
- Robert Seigel '66: President, Gotham Organization
- Russell Dennis '64: Assistant Professor of Education, Bucknell University
- Burnadette Budd '64: Editor and Publisher
- Bruce Bonta '63: Librarian, Penn State University
- George Young '52: Senior Vice President, National Football League
Jillian Rolen, Class of 2011
Gaby is now working in Washington,DC at the American Red Cross National Headquarters. She an associate for the Service to the Armed Forces department and working on the development, organization, and scheduling of Red Cross courses for military families along with supporting some of the other projects the department is working on. 
