Student biographies – HIST 380: US Since 1945

Julia Smith’s Biography

jsmith37 — Tue, 17 May 2016 22:12:34 +0000

Hello,
My name is Julia Smith and I have lived in Spotsylvania all of my life. I have two children. My little boy is eight years old and his name is Julian. My daughter, age four, is named Delia. Presently, I work at CVS for a living. Between work and children I am striving to succeed to become a Forensic Psychologist.
I transferred from Germanna Community College after receiving my Associate’s Degree with a specialization in Psychology. I plan on graduating from Mary Washington next year in the fall, but am still unsure as to where I would like to go next. I was actually hoping to find a school that was closer to my home so the commute would not consist of a lot of traffic as I will be driving to and from class. On another note, I consider myself a southerner, so I would like to find a school that is not too urban.
Growing up, I did not know what I wanted to do for a living, but I was always interested in science. Marine biology was one of my first interests, but that soon changed. I then became interested in the psychology behind behavior, which has led me to where I am today. It has not been particularly easy, but I do not let that stop me. In my opinion, every day is a new day, and presents opportunity.
(235 words)

Shauna Sanford Introduction

ssanfor3 — Tue, 17 May 2016 01:52:55 +0000

http://hist380.ferrellhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Introduction.pdf

Greetings Classmates

jbaker8 — Mon, 16 May 2016 23:22:43 +0000

http://hist380.ferrellhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Hist-380.pdf

Intro Bio for David W-K

dwienkan — Mon, 16 May 2016 21:51:25 +0000

Bio for David W-KHello everyone. My name is David and I am a rising junior at Mary Washington. I moved to Arlington, VA from Washington D.C. at the age of four. My family history and racial heritage is central to my character and plays a large role in my decision to pursue a degree in International Affairs. I attended high school at H-B Woodlawn, a very small school with only 80 kids in my graduating class. I chose Mary Washington because I felt comfortable the minute I set foot on campus. Being consciously aware of my identity and an ability to make lifelong friends anywhere I go has truly enriched my life. The roots and branches of my family tree stretch from New Zealand to Eastern Europe to North Africa. I do not have just one identity, but several. While this might seem like a source of confusion, I find it helps me be flexible and adapt to cross-cultural settings and groups.
Born in Egypt, my Muslim father immigrated to Washington, D.C. at the age of 21, where he met my Jewish-Christian mother. My father and I have returned to Egypt multiple times so that I can have a relationship with my extended but distant family. I feel fortunate to experience Egyptian culture, observe the lifestyles, and witness their struggles, which have been many and severe (including multiple uprisings or revolutions since 2011). My relatives are resilient and have overcome so much. I am astounded by the adversity they have faced, as their struggle is an integral part of my identity and my ultimate goal of joining the Foreign Service. (Word Count 267)

Jeffrey Conger

conger87 — Mon, 16 May 2016 18:35:09 +0000

http://hist380.ferrellhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Bio1.pdf

Introduction

cortiz — Mon, 16 May 2016 17:11:16 +0000

Hello, my name is Christine Ortiz. I am a native Californian who met and married a
young Texas Marine in 1990 while he was stationed in Southern California. Being a
Marine wife of over 25 years I have had the pleasure of meeting some wonderful
people and experienced different places along the way. I found my way here to
Fredericksburg in 2006 due to my husband being stationed at the Pentagon. I am a mother of four children; Allysa 24 years old (graduated Texas Tech/Biology major),
Isabella 18 years old (heading off in the fall to West Virginia/Journalism major),
Hannah 15 years old and Austin 9 years old. My children have always been my main
focus. I went to school over the years and never stayed put long enough to finish
my degree due to moving from place to place. Starting over each time was actually a
big challenge. I waited until the right time to go back to school.

I started going to Mary Washington in 2013 when we moved back to
Fredericksburg for our last move and have never stopped. I hope to graduate in the
spring of 2017. If nothing changes, I have one last semester with three classes to
go in the fall and my senior thesis in the spring. I have enjoyed being a student and
have met some wonderful kids and adults (students and Professors) who have had a
great impact on me.I am a business woman as well and have had an online retailing
business for over six years now. By working from home, my business has afforded me
the time to devote to my kids and to school. I always loved history… reading history,
anything I could get my hands on, so being a history major was a given.

I am starting a new chapter in my life with my husband having retired from the
Marine Corps after 30 years of military service. Looking forward to new
challenges and experiences. I have found that you are never too old to learn
new things. I have never taken an online course before so this is going to
be interesting. Good luck everyone and look forward to everyone’s comments
and discussions.

Introduction

rhasting — Mon, 16 May 2016 15:32:33 +0000

My name is Ryan Hastings and I was born in Hyannis, MA. However, I currently reside in Fredericksburg, VA with my wife and four children, along with one cat and one dog. I retired from the U.S. Army in 2015, having been a member of the 3d U.S. Infantry The Old Guard (TOG) Fife and Drum Corps for the past twenty years.

When I was around three years old, my family moved to the Northern Virginia area from Massachusetts, where my father was a public school music teacher in Fairfax County. We primarily lived in the Burke/Springfield areas of Northern VA, where after graduating high school in 1988, I attended George Mason University. While at GMU, I pursued a degree in Trumpet Performance, with the goal of joining one of the U.S. Army’s premier musical ensembles in the Washington D.C. area. Then, in 1994, a bugle instrumentalist position became available with the FDC, and the rest is history.

In 2006, with military retirement getting closer each year, I returned to college. In 2012, I earned my Associates of Arts and Sciences Degree, graduating Summa Cum Laude. Then in 2014, I earned a Career Studies Certificate in Accounting, both coming from Germanna Community College. I am currently enrolled at the University of Mary Washington, in the Bachelors of Liberal Studies program, pursuing a degree of my own design, in History and Communication. I hope to graduate this December. (237)

Brian Branigan’s Bio

Brian Branigan — Mon, 16 May 2016 13:42:44 +0000

Hello all, my name is Brian Branigan, I am the father of two boys, Liam 13 and Orin 10, I have a wonderful wife (Melissa) who just graduated from ODU. I was born in a small town (Smithtown) on the north shore of Long Island, NY. I grew up on the beaches and in the suburbs about an hour outside of Manhattan. Long Island is a beautiful place full of lush farmland and county parks.

After the birth of our first child we headed south to find a new home. We landed in Fredericksburg because of my employer GEICO. I have worked at GEICO for the past 13 years, through the years I have worked in three different regions (Woodbury NY, Fredericksburg VA, and Buffalo, NY) and held every position in the claims department. Currently I am the supervisor of the performance monitoring team within the claims department.

History 380 is the last class I will be taking at UMW once complete; I will graduate with a BPS in Business with a concentration in Leadership Management. Currently I have a 3.74 GPA which means I will obtain the Magna Cum Laude honor but my goal is to increase my GPA to 3.75 and graduate Summa Cum Laude. I want to show my boys that continued hard work always pays off.

When I am not in school or at work I love to volunteer in the community, recently I had the pleasure of being the announcer for the Special Olympics All-Star Friday Night. My wife, boys and I love to explore the many great state parks and historical sites throughout Virginia.

Introduction

cmontgo2 — Mon, 16 May 2016 12:35:28 +0000

Hi my name is Crystal Montgomery and I am a transfer student from a community college in Maryland. This is my first time taking online courses at UMW. I am a Studio Arts major and my main focus is in photography. I prefer film photography to digital photography. I am originally from Waldorf, Maryland and moved to King George about two years ago with my boyfriend of six years, Austin. We have one dog and one cat and we always take care of two bearded dragons that were my Uncle’s because he passed away last year.

I am currently a teller at a bank in Dahlgren and my boyfriend works two full time jobs- one with local 26 and the other is a business that he owns where he services and sells pellet, gas, and wood stoves. So it is rare for us to get a vacation. Last summer we were able to see Motley Crue and Alice Cooper in Raleigh NC and this year we are taking it a little easier and staying at Lake Norman NC for a few days with family. I hope to finish up my degree this year and my goal is to become a teacher as well as run my own business. History has always been a subject of interest for me and I hope to take new information from this course and perhaps get some inspiration from it to put towards my art.

Introductions

rpratt — Sun, 15 May 2016 18:49:31 +0000

Hello!

My Name is Robbie Pratt and I am a Senior here at the University of Mary Washington. I am from Lovettsville, VA (a small town by Leesburg). I am a History major with a minor in Business Administration. I am Devil (reigning champs!) so I plan on graduating May 2017. I am the youngest of three. My older brother is named Andy and my sister is Megan. Both have graduated from college and our starting their careers. Andy went to Virginia Tech and is now an Assistant Portfolio Manager. My sister, Megan, went to JMU and is now a teacher. I hope to enter the business world like my brother. I picked history because of my passion for it and the skill sets that it would teach me.

For fun I like to play a lot of Ultimate Frisbee. I am a current player for the club team here at Mary Wash and I play for Tyrannis during the summer. Tyrannis is a summer team that competes in tournaments all over the country. My other passion is to travel. I have been all over the world. Last summer I took a trip to the UK, more specifically Wales, to study Arthurian Literature with Dr. Rochelle. This trip was one of the best decisions I have made during my time here at UMW. I met a bunch of friends and learned all about the Welsh culture. I highly recommend traveling to Wales, it is the cooler than the rest of the UK by a long shot. I hope that you all enjoyed the bio and I look forward to reading yours as well.

This is one of the pictures from Wales. In the background is one of the houses we stayed in before reaching Bangor University.

Robbie Pratt

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Prof. Ferrell’s bio

admin — Wed, 11 May 2016 21:29:54 +0000

http://hist380.ferrellhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/My-bio-2016.pdf