Alumni Feature: Claire Barrett, '15: "Do What You Love"
Authored by November 28, 2017 November 28, 2017 1 Comment on Alumni Feature: Claire Barrett, '15: "Do What You Love"
High Tatras, Slovakia
I grew up in a family that loved history. As a child I would attempt, in vain, to keep up with my father and older sister at dinner as they jumped from topic to topic, war to war. Tired of not contributing, I began to read. What began as an earnest desire to be part of my family's dinner conversations became a lifelong passion. History has been and is a central point within my family. My first real conversation with my grandfather was on the topic of William Manchester's semi-autobiographical book, Goodbye, Darkness. History not only influences the way I view the world, it is also a very real link to my family. Because of this, I grew up loving and respecting history, and in particular, military history. It enthralled me like no other subject could, and so, despite many well-meaning "what are you going to do with a history degree?" questions, I pursued a history major.
Thus, I graduated from Hope with a degree in history and then a MA in the History of War from King's College, London. In college, I had no real clue what I wanted to do with my degree, and to be honest, I had no real idea in graduate school either. I just knew that I wanted to work in some capacity in or around the subject of history. My introverted self-delighted in the hours spent in the stacks, and in the British National Archives. Yet despite the welcome solitude, my degree path also gave me countless opportunities, from interning with the U.S. State Department in London during my time at Hope, to working with a NY Times bestselling author while at graduate school in London. A history degree can seem niche if you let it. However, as I found out, there are always places in the work force for curious, critical thinkers who know how to do serious research. My current job is a product of that.
Isle of Wight, UK
I landed my job as the associate editor for MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History and Military History magazine because of my work while in London. I am lucky that I get to engage in the material that excites me the most every single day.
Military Aviation Museum, Virginia Beach, VA
My sister Esther Barrett Wloch ('12), another Hope College history major alum, went in the opposite path of me. She worked for several years at the University of Michigan Musical Society and now currently works for Duo, a cybersecurity firm. She is thriving, despite having no background, I mean literally zero background, in the tech world due to her strong analytical and communication skills that she sharpened from her studies of history.
To be a historian, one engages with current events with a critical eye and a deeper understanding of that history, whether it be political, social, or military. The somewhat tired and oft-repeated line by George Santayana "those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it" still rings true today. For, as Churchill's biographer Manchester wrote, "history is more than a time line, more than the sequencing and parsing of collective memory."
My father, a musician (someone who has followed his own somewhat unique path), always said to me, "Honestly Claire, do what you love, work hard at it, and it will come together." So that is my advice, and it is simple: Do what you love, for a degree in history means to have a thorough knowledge of the past, which cultivates one's intellect, teaching one to know how to think, not what to think. The nurturing of one's mind is invaluable, and trust me, imminently transferable to the world of work.
Authored by November 28, 2017 November 28, 2017 Posted inAlumni, Faculty, StudentsTags: alumni, faculty, history, Hope College
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Janis Gibbs says:
Great to hear that all's going well, Claire! And Esther, too!
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