What is your job/position?
PhD Student in Religious Studies at the University of Virginia. I study American Religious History.
Describe the path that took you from your American Studies degree to your current career or life situation.
During my American Studies degree at BYU, I developed an interest in American Religious History. The program helped me secure an internship at the Joseph Smith Papers, which led to my first job after graduating at the Latter-day Saint Church History Department. During that time, I learned that Religious Studies as a field and American Studies had a lot in common and so I have sought to mesh the two in my graduate work. I earned an MA in Religion at Yale Divinity School and am now pursuing a doctorate in Religious Studies and a certificate in American Studies at the University of Virginia. BYU American Studies was a great place for me.
What are the specific competencies you cultivated as an American Studies student that you now use in your professional life and that set you apart from your colleagues?
American Studies teaches critical thinking skills, and of course clear, persuasive writing. Using historical methodologies as my primary disciplinary orientation, I was also prepared to engage in historical research for a number of employment opportunities. I worked for a few years as a research assistant on a history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Young Women Organization at the Church History Department. My courses in history and the core courses in cultural theory, methods, and writing prepared me well for that job.
What are some of the surprising ways in which your American Studies degree has helped you in your professional or personal life?
My American Studies degree has helped me in my personal life by developing a more keen awareness of class, race, and gender/sexuality, and how power operates and is constructed in society. While much of cultural theory is indeed only theory, it does provide a helpful lens through which to view current events, especially in a very difficult and divisive political and socio-cultural climate. It has also helped me develop empathy and compassion for those that have been pushed to the margins of society. There are many stories out there that are not heard nor appreciated, but my American Studies degree and subsequent academic career has helped open my eyes to how many experience life in the United States.
What do you wish you had known as an American Studies student? What advice would you share with current students?
Take courses widely and take advantage of internship opportunities. The flexibility of the American Studies degree at BYU is one of its greatest strengths. I loved taking courses in geography, English and literature, political science, history, folklore, and art history. As an interdisciplinary degree, ensure that you explore many different subjects and push yourself to see how they overlap.
*You can contact Nicholas with questions about his American Studies story at nbs3wp@virginia.edu.