History's Calling: Former Guests

Pam, a current student in Family History, just completed an internship with The Society of Genealogists, a United Kingdom-based educational charity, founded in 1911 created to "promote, encourage and foster the study, science and knowledge of genealogy." Pam is a non-traditional student who came back to school to learn something she loves. She talks about what she did to prepare for an internship and how this experience and her coursework has prepared her for her dream job at FamilySearch.

Hailey Wentz is a Syracuse, Utah native and a recent senior studying family history and genealogy. She completed a minor in linguistics and a minor in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). She served Spanish-speaking in the Washington DC North mission and began studying both Spanish and Russian at BYU upon her return. Because of her love for each of those languages and cultures, Hailey devoted her studies in family history to Latin American and Slavic research. She was an intern at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, where she trained to help guests with research in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, and Russian. She talks with students about her decision-making process in choosing a major, and the steps she took to gain qualifying experiences for internships and future career plans.

We interviewed Krishna Aniel, Community Services Specialist and Internship Coordinator and Rachel Moore current intern, who both work for the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian. Both BYU grads, they gave insight into the choices they made to work at a prestigious museum and organization, discussed the value of experiential learning and mentorship, and offered tips on how to apply to be an intern with the museum and also the Smithsonian.

Leslie Hadfield, Associate Professor of History and coordinator of Africana Studies at BYU, talks about her journey becoming a professor. She speaks to students about how she decided to pursue her education, the experiences she had to find the research area she cared passionately about, and encourages students to "try on" varying experiences to expose them to future possibilities.

Wayne Parker, Chief Administrative Officer at the City of Provo, received his bachelor's degree in History from BYU. He speaks with students about how History prepared him for an MPA and how he uses a majority of the skills he learned through his coursework in his current role. He talked about how his desire to be an attorney changed as he experienced different courses. He also explains how his degree prepared him to ask big questions and figure out context before making major decisions.

MacKenzie DuBois, 2021 BYU graduate (BA in History Teaching), is currently living her dream as a history teacher at Mountain Ridge High School in Arizona and talks with BYU students about her experience getting a dream teaching role in her former community, how critical race theory laws impact her everyday teaching, and gives examples to students about being qualified and how to approach the job search as a future teacher.

MacKenzie was accepted to ASU for a Master's program in History beginning Spring 2022, and hopes to pursue a PhD and teach at the university level.

Jedediah Rogers, Senior State Historian and Co-Editor of Utah Historical Quarterly, discusses the path he took to become a Historian who works for the state of Utah, experiences he recommends for students, and additional learning that qualified him for multiple roles from working at the Arizona Department of Water Resources, to the US Bureau of Reclamation, to working multiple faculty roles. He explains that his entrepreneurial spirit and his inspired mentors played a huge factor in where he is today.

Dr. Dean Rehberger, a graduate of American Studies and Associate Professor of History at Michigan State University (MSU), discusses the intersection of technology and history. His work has been pivotal at helping students ask the question of how to “deal with” the deluge of data from the past. He also discusses his work in digital history, public history and big data and how this cutting edge technology is changing the way historians do and present their work.

Tyler King, a graduate in History at BYU, is the Senior Social Media Manager at BambooHR, one of the fastest growing HR software companies nationwide - located in Utah. Tyler speaks with students about his career trajectory and how his history degree qualified him for graduate school, and also helps him with his job everyday. He talks about the value of experiential learning and gives tips to students as they see how a degree in history can benefit and open multiple opportunities.

Alan Barnett, Local Government Archivist at the Utah State Archives visits with students about how he got into the field of history, describes his day-to-day job and the collaboration that it takes to complete projects, and what students need to do to be qualified for the work he does. He also talks about evaluating personal biases and keeping them in check in record keeping.

Holly George currently works for Utah State Historical Society/Utah Division of State History, which is part of the State government, where she co-edits Utah Historical Quarterly. Holly talks with students about how she grew up in a farm town and loved escaping her passion; learning. Her motivation for working on her dissertation was to get all the information she learned out in the world. She talks about how she has not had a plan but her love of learning drove her ambitions and the work she does. She also talks about how the world needs more humanities majors, the skills she recommends to do similar work like navigating state government, and gives personal recommendations to students interested in pursuing graduate studies.

Dr. Matt Grow, Managing Director of the Church History Department for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, shares his passion for History. His goal was always to become a historian even though he didn't understand what that meant at a young age. Aside from his current work in preservation and conservation of records and recovering and publishing stories from the early saints, he is heavily involved managing the many Church history sites around the globe. As he shares his story, he gives advice to students about things he wish he would have known as an undergrad and how to be prepared to move from research and teaching into a management role.

Farina King, a citizen of the Navajo Nation, is Assistant Professor of History and affiliated faculty of Cherokee and Indigenous Studies at Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. She received her Ph.D. at Arizona State University in U.S. History. King specializes in twentieth-century Native American Studies. She is the author of The Earth Memory Compass: Diné Landscapes and Education in the Twentieth Century. Farina discusses the value of finding love in what you do, the realities of pursuing a doctorate in History, and provides encouragement to those who have many interests to explore and try different and new things.

Virginia McAlister, Senior Genealogist Research Manager with Ancestry ProGenealogists speaks to students about her less than linear path to a job that she loves. She discusses opportunities and trends in the field, what experiences she gained to qualify for her job, the value of mentorship and networking, and provides tips for others interested in genealogy.

Dr. Gregory Jackson, Creator/Host/Head Writer of the US podcast, History That Doesn't Suck (HTDS), and Assistant Professor at UVU discusses his journey creating one of the most nationally recognized podcasts. He talks about how he is using his talent, expertise, and perseverance to bring his passion to the market. In this webinar, students will see the value of taking chances to follow their dreams, as well as learn some practical advice about how to qualify for opportunities.

Abraham Driggs a senior in the history program at BYU discusses how he used his history degree to enter commercial banking. Abraham talked about how he used the resources available on campus to connect and articulate what he was learning in history to what he wanted to do for a career.

Scott Dunaway, the Assistant Dean of FHSS and Director for Washington Seminar discusses an incredible opportunity for students from all majors to have an applied learning experience in Washington, D.C. Scott talks about how quality internships, briefings on current national issues, tours, and excursions, help students gain a valuable supplement to their academic training and the chance to be better prepared for their careers.

In this webinar, Jeremy Johnston, Historian of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, said he often feels like “Indiana Jones” using his “detective” skills to uncover unknown pieces of the past. Johnston’s passion for history goes beyond working at the Buffalo Bill Center as he passionately expressed how history demonstrates who we are and where we are heading. Johnston relays to students how working as a historian allows him to question his own biases, collaborate and work with others who have differing views, and bring history to life. He offered practical advice, discussing how his internships, experiential learning opportunities, and skill sets were necessary to help him fine-tune and focus on what he wanted to do with a History degree.

David Rencher, Director and Chief Genealogical Officer and Ed Donakey, Vice President of Strategic Relations and Deputy Chief Genealogical Officer at FamilySearch discuss how they entered the Family History and Genealogical fields, what students can do to prepare for internships and careers in this field, and exciting trends in the industry.

Ira Pemstein, the Supervisory Archivist at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library joined us at our first History’s Calling event speaking with students about how he obtained his degree and gained work experience through volunteer and internship opportunities. He discussed the need for qualifying candidates of similar jobs to be well-rounded in education, technology, experience, and policy writing/reading. Ira’s examples of his drive, perseverance, networking abilities, and love of preserving accurate historical documents, provides a baseline framework for how students can approach their area of study and achieve their career potential.