Brandi Hilton-Hagemann
Class of 2006
History Ph.D Student, University of Oklahoma
Hometown: Hershey, Nebraska
One of the attractive things about Hastings College is that it is a place where the diverse meets the traditional. Far from a stuffy private liberal arts school, HC fosters a learning environment in which students can use more traditional degrees, like history, in a variety of successful careers. Faculty members help develop essential skills like researching, writing and critical thinking, that can then be used in any number of professional occupations.
History degrees are not only for those who are graduate school bound. Many of my peers earned their degrees and achieved considerable success outside of academics. On the other hand, I wanted to go to graduate school, and the faculty at HC helped me get there.
In 2006, I graduated from Hastings College with a degree in history and communication studies. My husband and I moved to Laramie, and I entered the history M.A. program at the University of Wyoming. In 2008, I earned a Master of Arts degree from UW. During my last semester at Wyoming, I was accepted into the Ph.D. program at the University of Oklahoma, and named a Hudson Fellow. The last three years at OU reaffirmed my profound belief in the teaching practices at Hastings College. Classes at HC prepared me for the intellectual rigors of graduate school. I attribute a large portion of my academic success to the faculty members who mentored and encouraged me to seek out additional degrees. As I now develop classes for undergraduate students, I strive to achieve the same level of individual attention and challenging coursework epitomized by the classes that I took at Hastings College.
