Photos from the Opening of Diana Phalon's Exhibit at the Quick Arts Center

The first visitors to the exhibit!

Exhibit curator with her advisor, Dr. Philip Payne

Diana and the entire History Department faculty.

Diana and her biggest supporters!

More from Our Graduating Seniors: Amber Cheladyn (Class of 2012)

History has always held a special place in my heart. I love learning about the past, the individuals that came before me, and the important events that have shaped the world. I knew I wanted to study history in college. When I came to visit St. Bonaventure as a junior in high school, I was able to talk with a member of the history department, Dr. Horowitz. As I walked into a Plassman classroom that day, I had no thought about any other career besides a history teacher. Then, Dr. Horowitz began discussing the other possible career paths a history major might take. After hearing about the numerous options I had, I walked out of the classroom confused. Was a history teacher what I wanted to become?

I went through high school still knowing I wanted to major in history but unsure of what my future career would be. I went to Jamestown Community College and got an Associates Degree in Social Sciences. While at JCC, I took an education course and finally realized I did not want to be a middle school or high school history teacher. I began to question my course of study and what I wanted to do after college.

SBU History Newsletter no. 8 (Year 17)

SBU HISTORY NEWSLETTER

YEAR 17, NO. 8 11 MARCH 2012

BY DR. THOMAS J. SCHAEPER

St. Bonaventure University has had many legendary figures during its more than 150 years of existence. One of the best was Father Irenaeus, who devoted 50 years of his life to serving as library director and university archivist. Bona students today know of Irenaeus as a mountain retreat, and thus it is good to remind them of the gentle spirit after whom it is named. "Irenaeus" comes from the word for "peace." Father Irenaeus was the personification of that word. Those on campus who are old enough to have known him will never forget his quiet, generous spirit and his ever cheerful disposition.

HISTORY MAJOR’S EXHIBIT IN QCA

The Department of History is proud to announce the opening of a new exhibit in the Quick Center for the Arts. The exhibit is entitled "World War II Through a Soldier’s Eyes." This exhibit was created by senior History major Diana Phalon. This project constitutes her Honors Program capstone. In the exhibit she tries to convey the feeling of what war was like for an ordinary soldier. To achieve this sense of immediacy she has included oral histories from some World War II veterans, plus pictures, weapons, parachutes, uniforms, ribbons, medals, and other artifacts. To celebrate the opening of this exhibit the department will sponsor a reception in the Quick Center atrium at 6:30 tomorrow evening–that is, on Monday the 12^th. Everyone is invited to attend. The exhibit will be on display in the Branch Family Gallery until 12 April.

“World War II Through a Soldier’s Eye" by Diana Phalon

After interning at the Eldred World War II Museum for over a year and building one exhibit there, I thought it would be interesting to bring an exhibit to the Quick Center for the Arts here at St. Bonaventure to educate high school students and those who might have an interest in the war. After discussing it with my advisor, Dr. Payne, and Steve Appleby, the director of the Eldred WWII Museum, I decided I would pursue this idea for my Honors Capstone Project.

The goal is to make history more fun and even more interesting and personal to those studying it. The exhibit is titled “World War II Through a Soldier’s Eye.” Essentially, it is an exhibit to educate people about the European Front of World War II, but the idea is to do it on a more personal level. Instead of just offering facts, dates, and battles, the exhibit focuses more on the personal stories of veterans from the war and uses different artifacts donated by the Eldred World War II Museum.

Another Graduating Senior Shares Her Story: Lauren Perkins (Class of 2012)

Before coming to St. Bonaventure University, I already loved history. I can remember sitting in my Global History class in ninth grade, wishing that I could take history classes all day, every day. From that point on, I decided that I would make history a part of my everyday life and share my passion for the subject with others by becoming a history teacher. Although I didn’t think it was possible, after spending four years at St. Bonaventure, my love of history has grown exponentially, all thanks to the wonderful professors in the SBU history department.
The history professors here are kind, understanding, and patient people who really care about their students. Admittedly, I’m an overachiever and a huge history nerd, and the professors here have always been patient with my tendency to write long papers. During the fall semester of my freshman year, when I was taking a history of Mexico class with Dr. Horowitz, I remember being extremely nervous about having gone over the page limit for a paper. I asked Dr. Horowitz if I would lose credit for going over the limit. He smiled and said, “Lauren, as long as it’s good, I will read every word that you write.” Dr. Horowitz reassured me that my enthusiasm was appreciated, and that the professors here cared about me as a person. 

The history department faculty here will go the extra mile so that students can have more academic opportunities. Despite being busy writing two books and an article, Dr. Robbins made time to do an independent study with me in African American history. This enabled me to study a subject in greater depth than I would have in a normal class, helped me to become a more careful and critical reader, and allowed me a considerable amount of academic freedom.

More From Our Graduating Seniors: Stephannie Cravatta (Class of 2012)

My experience here at St. Bonaventure studying history has been very rewarding and full of new experiences. When I first got here in 2008, I was very worried. I was worried because I had heard all the “college horror stories” in which professors don’t care about you or don’t care about whether or not you show up to class. This is hardly the case with the history department here. I first started with a class taught by Dr. Huddle, Pan-Africanism. While that class was extremely interesting, it made me wonder if I was in the right major. That feeling changed when I had classes my sophomore year with Dr. Horowitz. I remember when I wrote my first paper for him. I got the paper back, and I just started crying. It was full of red marks, and it seriously put a bruise on my ego. I went into his office and explained my situation (I had never received lower than a “B” on a paper before), and he reassured me that that is what happens when you get him as a professor for the first time. Instead of dropping the class and deciding never to take a class with him again, I decided to stick with him, and I am very happy with that choice I made three years ago. His classes have taught me how to be a better writer, look at history in a new way, and always ask questions. History here at St. Bonaventure is not boring. The department offers many choices for students because this department has professors for just about every subject. I can honestly say, I did not have one dull history class, just because I was able to pick which ones I wanted to take, besides introductory-level courses like History 101, 102, 201, and 202.