Genealogical Researcher at HeirSearch and PhD Candidate in History at the University of Toronto
Last week, I gave a short lecture for a third-year university class about public history and local history. The presentation went well, with some engagement from the students who were brave enough to ask questions at 9am on a Monday morning (they really are the real heroes). Thirty minutes into my presentation, I had clearly lost the room. The professor -- who I have known for some time and is familiar with my current full time position -- then asked, on behalf of the class, what I did for a living, and how I apply my historical thinking to that role. Relying entirely on my improvisation skills, I gave a five-minute introduction about my current role at HeirSearch, including the kinds of research I do, how I interact with clients, and how many of the skills I learned as a history major -- and later, graduate student -- helped me make a successful transition from history in the classroom to history in the workplace. I asked for questions, and the room came alive! The students were incredibly engaged and had really thoughtful questions about how they can apply the skills that they learn as history majors to the real world. We had an excellent conversation for forty-five minutes! I could tell that the students were not interested in my job specifically, but they were finally seeing an example of someone who did a history program translate their skills to employment, something that I wish I had as I went through my programs. If you are a social science or humanities student looking for a way to articulate your skills in a way that transitions to the real world, please send me a message!
