Explore the Past with STU’s History Program

At St. Thomas University’s end-of-year history program info session, students got a glimpse into the exciting opportunities that await them in the field of historical study. From hands-on research projects to engaging coursework, the program offers a wealth of options for those with a passion for the past.

Students who have never taken a history course before, to those who are honouring in the program were present to discuss the future of the program.

During the session, attendees had the chance to meet current professors and other students in the history program while eating free pizza that was available for all at the event. Students also learned about the various areas of study in the program that is available in the next academic year.

Chair of the history department, Karen Robert, believes that the opportunity to introduce students to the current roster of history faculty at the university could help them become more comfortable around their professors.

“Mostly I wanted to break down any barriers and make students feel welcome talking to faculty members”, said Robert following the event.

That goal was certainly accomplished with plenty of informal conversation between faculty and students after the official part of the session had ended. Robert stressed that all it takes is that one little step for students to feel more at ease when it comes to engaging with their professors, even when it comes to a simple email.

 

Robert also felt that it was important to inform students about what STU’s history program can offer in the next academic year. The program is highly looked upon nationwide, according to Robert.

“We think we’re pretty cool, we’ve done some interesting things together but it’s nice when someone comes from outside, cold, and says ‘Oh my goodness, you have the most interesting undergraduate curriculum that we’ve seen in Canada, so that was lovely”, says Robert.

The program offers a wide variety of experiential learning opportunities in an extremely wide variety of courses. Those courses range from ones surrounding Disney to those that look at times of mass genocide, according to Robert.

Many students expressed their enjoyment of the event, with it giving them the ability to prepare for their studies next year.

“For me, it was just to get to know some of the professors that I hadn’t met yet…then kind of get to know more about how the seminar next year is going to be structured”, said history honour student Kaitlyn Chappelle.

Students mentioned how the event was both informative and enjoyable, as it helped take some of the stress away from the end of the school year. Whether students are interested in majoring in the history program or not, it seemed as though everyone was able to learn from the event.

“And free pizza is always nice”, said Chappelle.