This week’s Project 100+ memory comes from Kate Sullivan.  She was born in Philadelphia, but grew up in Stratford, New Jersey.  Her mother worked for a mutual fund company before Kate was born and her father is an alarm technician. Kate is an only child who attended public schools and graduated from Sterling High School in Somerdale in 2011. In 2015, Kate graduated from Rowan University Summa Cum Laude with dual Bachelor’s degrees in History and Philosophy & Religion, a minor in Anthropology, and concentrations in International, Asian, and Honors studies. One of the Department’s most decorated history majors, she graduated with a 4.0 GPA, received the Dean’s Senior of Distinction Award, the Marius Livingston Scholarship, and the Lawson J. Brown Senior Scholarship Award – 4.0 GPA Medallion for Academic Excellence, among other awards. After graduating, Kate worked a few temporary jobs before joining the International Center at Rowan in 2016 where she remains. Her current title is International Student Adviser, and she advises international students on a wide range of issues including immigration, social and cultural adjustments, and employment. She serves as a Designated School Official (DSO) which includes processing and advising new students regarding the Form I-20 and other immigration requests. In 2019, she earned a Master’s degree from Rowan in Higher Education Administration. She is currently pursuing a second Master’s degree from Rowan in Writing.

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I applied to ten colleges and universities. It came down to Rowan University and Gettysburg College. Rowan allowed me to commute, and it was the most affordable. However, I was still torn. I had visited Rowan for open houses, and I had an idea that the History Department was particularly good. At the time I wanted to be a high school history teacher, and the quality of the College of Education also was a factor. However, one of the key moments that informed my decision was meeting sociology professor Jay Chaskes during a trip to tour the campus. We had not scheduled any formal meetings, and we just happened to run into him on this trip. He was extremely generous with his time and assistance to us, despite us showing up to Robinson completely unannounced, and he gave a glowing endorsement of the History Department, which helped me with my final decision.

As a commuting student, it took extra effort to get the full experience of college life. I ended up joining several clubs, including the Student History Association and Phi Alpha Theta. The highlight of my extra-curricular activities was the equestrian team.  I had always wanted to learn to ride horses, but I had never had the opportunity. Rowan gave me the chance, and my coach and everyone on the team was very supportive of beginners. I found it intensely challenging, but in a good way. I had to work really hard as it did not come naturally. Although I never placed particularly high in any of the competitions, I ended up being very proud of what I learned and how much I improved. 

I loved my history classes. I had United States History to 1865 with you, Dr. Carrigan. It was a great experience. I loved your readings and I remember taking furious notes as you wrote all over the board. I also took Dr. Heinzen’s Western Civilization to 1660. I loved the class for a variety of reasons, but one of my favorite memories was when he showed us his appearance on the game show, History I.Q. For those who have never seen it, he advanced to the final round but came up one or two seconds short of completing the final timeline puzzle, depriving him of thousands of dollars. I can still see his facial expression at the moment when he realized that he had lost. He had a great sense of humor, and his showing us this video is a prime example of that. I also have to thank Dr. Heinzen for putting up with grading my Methods paper over Thanksgiving, which ended up being 30 pages, twice as long as what was asked for, and probably one of the longest Methods papers ever submitted. I ended up presenting this paper, which explored how the Cold War shaped the Civil Rights Movement, at the 2013 regional Phi Alpha Theta conference. I obviously loved Dr. Heinzen’s teaching because I also took him for Senior Seminar. For that course, my paper examined the Hungarian Refugee Crisis of 1956 using primary sources from Rowan’s Leo C. Beebe collection in the university archives, which I helped preserve during an internship with the library. I presented that paper at the Phi Alpha Theta conference at George Washington University in the Spring of 2015 where it won the Best Paper Prize. 

I never had a bad class or a bad professor in any history course and I have nothing but the highest praise for all of the classes I took, but one of the highlights was the Internship in History class with Dr. Janofsky, where I had the opportunity to conduct research on midwifery and yellow fever for an exhibit at the Whitall House and Redbank Battlefield Park. I also conducted tours for visitors to the house. Another standout experience was Dr. Blake’s fantastic course on the Ottoman Empire. I loved the cultural history that she infused into the class. I still remember details about the coffee shops and fireworks displays that made the past feel relatable. I knew nothing about the topic before that class, so every session was one of great discoveries.

Dr. Blake was also instrumental in encouraging me to apply for the Fulbright UK Summer Institute program in 2013, which allowed U.S. undergraduate students to study in the UK with full funding over the summer. The program was open to students across the U.S. and the application process was extraordinarily competitive; it remains one of my proudest achievements that I was selected to study at the University of Exeter in England. Without the generous funding of the Fulbright Commission, I would have never been able to afford to study abroad. It was one of the best experiences of my life and a transformative, life-changing experience for me. I had the opportunity to study with other international students from all over the world and ended up influencing my career path to become an international student adviser.

During my senior year though, I was still unsure of the future and weighing all my career options; at that time, I thought I might pursue graduate study in history, so I took a graduate class with Dr. Morschauser on Ancient Egypt. It was amazing. The topic had fascinated me since I was a child.  To have that course with an expert in the field who knew all the ancient languages and could guide us through the primary sources was remarkable.  He offered to teach hieroglyphics to anyone who wanted to stay after class to learn. He did not have to do this and it shows you how committed he was to sharing his knowledge of the subject. In hindsight, I wish that I had been less busy or had simply made more time to take even greater advantage of his generous offer. 

I was active in Phi Alpha Theta, serving in multiple officer roles. I especially loved the field trips that we organized, including the one to Gettysburg that you led Dr. Carrigan, but also the trips to the Smithsonian Museums in Washington, D.C.  I also loved the end of the year banquets, where I have great memories of your serving as our auctioneer.

I additionally majored in Philosophy & Religion and had a wonderful experience in that program as well with every class I took. One of the highlights was Dr. Miller’s fantastic Contemporary Moral Problems class, which was my first foray into ethics. Another standout was Dr. Witonsky’s Intro to Philosophy class. Only four students registered and that extraordinarily small class size meant we had interesting, in-depth discussions tailored to our interests and projects. I also have fond memories of the conferences the department held each spring. 

I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention the wonderful experiences I had with the Anthropology minor and one of my most challenging and memorable classes at Rowan, Forensic Anthropology, which was team taught by Dr. Rosado and Dr. Hill. The culminating project of that class was exhuming and analyzing two (replica) skeletons that had been buried on campus. 

It's safe to say my four years as an undergraduate were hugely influential on my life. I became a more critical thinker as a result of my majors in history and philosophy. The research skills I developed as an undergraduate continue to help me in many ways today. I loved the academic environment so much that I knew I wanted to work at a university. Constantly seeking new knowledge, being a life-long learner, is a big part of who I am, as evidenced by my working right now on my second Master’s degree.  That love of learning has always been with me, but it certainly blossomed at Rowan. My time studying abroad also shaped my professional life deeply and I would not be in my current role if I had not studied abroad. It literally changed my life and I have Rowan to thank for that.

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This is part of the Department of History’s “Project 100+,” an ongoing collection of memories by Glassboro State College and Rowan University alumni and staff that began as part of the celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the founding of Glassboro Normal School, later Glassboro State College, and now Rowan University.  Due to interest in the project, the number of interviewees continues to grow.  Thanks to Laurie Lahey for helping proofread and edit the final versions.  Email carrigan@rowan.edu with questions or corrections.  You can find the Link to all of the Project 100 and Project 100+ entries on the Web:  https://chss.rowan.edu/departments/history/alumni_highlights/project_100/