I live in Bryan, TX, with my wife, Helen, a high school math teacher, and daughter. We own a house and enjoy renting out the spare bedroom on Airbnb. I am a PhD student in the Nautical Archaeology Program of the Anthropology Department at Texas A&M University. I am currently studying an assemblage of Civil War Artifacts dredged out of Buffalo Bayou in Houston, TX. Part of the collection was on display as the centerpiece of a museum exhibit at the Heritage Society this past summer. Additionally, I have been in the Texas Army National Guard about 4 years. I received my commission in August 2017 and just returned from 3.5 months of Quartermaster Corps training at Fort Lee, VA. Just in time to start the new semester! I am currently on track to graduate from my PhD program in May 2020.
My experience as a history major at SPU prepared me for my current position(s) in every way imaginable. I firmly believe that my history major taught me to read, write, and think critically. As a graduate student I do all of those every day. In the Army, I read emails, orders, etc.; I write procedures and reports; I make evidence-based decisions; and I issue orders. My history degree taught me all of those things.
My history degree helped me get into graduate school in a related field (archaeology), and my success within the history major helped me receive full funding and a stipend. For the last three years and for the next two years, I literally have gotten and will get paid to go to school! How cool is that? A college degree is necessary for becoming an officer in the military, so my history degree was useful for my military goals as well. Including, but also moving beyond my current work positions, my history degree provided three basic overviews that have helped me as a person in all facets of life (faith, work, marriage, parenting, finances). Through four years of hard work I received perspective on: (1) American history, (2) church history, and (3) human history.
Because of my history degree at SPU, I have historical grounding on many current events and issues. Whether it is a political debate, church scandal, question of cultural diversity, etc., I feel that my history degree provided me some semblance of balance, which has helped me weather modernity’s storms and keep my joy in Christ.
One of my favorite campus experiences was sipping tea, listening to classical music, and talking about life in Dr. Stiling’s office. I didn’t know how special that was until it was gone. I also remember Dr. Holsinger talking about creating a rubbing from the Vietnam Memorial with the name of a friend with whom he had had a great summer in 1969. I have never been able to listen to Summer of ’69 in the same way since.