These introductions offer a view of the diverse professional paths that History and American Studies alumni have successfully pursued after completing degrees at Mary Washington.
A training in History and American Studies provides diverse skills that are much in demand in today’s information economy, including hard skills in research, analysis, public speaking, digital media, and more. Click the intro links below for more on how our majors have put these skills successfully to work in diverse careers.
Jack R. Manning
Position: US Department of State – Diplomatic Security Service Special Agent Candidate
Field: Law Enforcement
Thesis: “Captivity and Consequence: How Captivity Narratives Explain the Clash of Culture Between Iroquois and Colonial Societies”
Graduated: 2015
Todd Casey
Position: Screenwriter and Producer
Field: Media
Graduated: 2003
Elizabeth (Liz) Eiseman
Position: Tufts Health Plan, Customer Relations
Field: Health Care
Thesis: Lacrosse, the Bridge: How Sports Can Benefit Native Americans
Graduated: 2016
Caitlin Murphy
Position: Senior Program Associate in Post Production at PBS.
Field: Media
Thesis: I Am Ready For My Close-Up, Mr. Xunling: The Many Faces of the Empress Dowager Cixi in Qing Court Photography.
Graduated: 2012
Woodie Walker
Position: Master of Arts degree in History and a Certificate in Public History (VCU ’20)
Field: Oral history, ethnohistory, environmental history
Thesis: “Land of Transition: A Bioregional Discussion of the Fall Line of the Rappahannock River, from Pre-Contact through the Early Colonial Era” (UMW 2018, BLS in History with Highest Distinction)
David Taylor
Position: County Court Judge for Gilpin County (CO), First Judicial District.
Field: Law
Graduated: 2002
Photo: David Taylor (right) is also a volunteer Fire Lieutenant and wildland Squad Boss with the Clear Creek Fire Authority.
Rebecca Erbelding
Position/title: Archivist/Curator at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Thesis: “Assignment: Rescue,” about the rescue efforts of Varian Fry and the Emergency Rescue Committee in France, 1940-1941.
Graduated: 2003
Eric D. Halsey
Position:Content Creator at Hop Online; Founder of the Bulgarian History Podcast; freelance teacher of English, Writing, and History
Field:Search Engine Optimization, Podcasting, and education
Thesis: “The Influence of the Macedonian Question on the Development of the Bulgarian National Identity.”
Graduated: 2011 with a B.A. in History and Political Science
Maggie Greene
Position: Assistant Professor of History, Montana State University
Field: Higher Education
Thesis: Frederick Townsend Ward & Charles Gordon in China’s 19th Century Taiping Civil War
Graduated: 2006
Ryan E. Wind
Position: Trial Attorney at Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen
Field: Law
Thesis: The Secession of the South
Graduated: 2005
Noah Cincinnati, Ph.D.
Position: Associate Professor of History, Northern Virginia Community College
Field: Higher Education
Thesis: “‘Health Here—Heaven Here!’: Eugenics and the Advocacy of Extermination in New York, 1900-1945.” Received Joseph C. Vance Award for Excellence in Historical Research.
Graduated: 2005
Marissa Allison
Position: Regional Head of Technology (MENA), Financial Intelligence Unit, HSBC
Field: Banking
Thesis: Militants Seize Mecca: The 1979 Siege of Mecca and its Strategic and Ideological Influence
Graduated: 2010
Jessica Lewis
Position: Marketing Director at Sportrock Climbing Centers and pursuing a Masters in Counseling at George Washington University
Field: Counseling
Graduated: 2003 with a B.A. in American Studies and Sociology
Brian Auricchio
Position: Student at St. John’s University School of Law
Field: Law
Graduated: 2012
Sharon Dobie
Position: Teaching and Practicing Family Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine
Field: Medicine
Graduated: 1969
Peter Collins
Position: Graduate Assistant for Florida International University’s Football Team
Field: Athletics
Graduated: 2007
Katie Werner
Position: Associate at Dorsey Law Firm
Field: Law
Graduated: 1984
Sarah Eckman
Position: Graduate Student at George Washington University and Researcher at Congressional Research Service
Field: Political Science
Graduated: 2007 with a B.A. in American Studies and History
Daniel “Dino” Reschke
Position: Social Studies Teacher at Stafford High School
Field: Education
Graduated: 2017 with a B.A. in History
Anne Greever
Position: Retired Lawyer
Field: Law
Graduated: 1971
Allyson Kinnard
Position: City Planner for La Mesa, California
Field: Historic Preservation and City Planning
Graduated: 1994 with a B.A. in American Studies and Historic Preservation
