RACHAEL LOWREY

I chose American Studies as my major because of the combination of studying history and society concurrently through culture. Fall 2018 I was recommended by the Department to apply for our Accelerated Masters Program in American Studies and it has been the greatest experience. The Accelerated Program has allowed me to connect deeper within American Studies and allow me to obtain a multi-dimensional education that prepares me for a career in federal law enforcement. In American Studies, you don’t just learn about American history; you are immersed in the cultural atmosphere of the nation since its inception until the present. Through undergraduate and graduate courses, American Studies has taught me to question sources, understand and share my opinion, and seek-out and allow diverse voices to be heard. No one in the AMS department has had the same academic experience or classes, but we are all passionate about what we do. I would highly recommend a major in the American Studies program to anyone with a multidimensional interest encapsulating the spectrum of gender, race, politics, language, inequality, academic opportunity, poverty, commerce, slavery, geography, religion, corruption, how others’ opinions were formed based on their culture and biases, and so much more. The American Studies curriculum teaches students to learn with an open mind; to try and understand the other person’s point of view, while still understanding your own.

Rachael Lowrey