The social concerns that many History majors explore as students find fuller expression in non-profit work. As Eliza Blanchard ’12 states, “My job entails doing research for these presentations as well as writing blog posts and official correspondence, taking notes at meetings, and proofreading materials—all skills I developed as a history major.” Sasha Albert ’08 finds regular connection between her History major and her current work: “I’m doing fundraising and communications for a small nonprofit, but I think that having been a history major helps me all the time. I work for Boston Workmen’s Circle, which is the Boston branch of a 113-year-old mutual aid organization founded by Jewish immigrant sweatshop workers, and I often need to call on the history of the organization in either writing or talking about our work. And more generally, I use the writing, information-gathering and information-synthesizing skills I practiced so much at Vassar every time I write for work. And to speak more generally, I think having studied history has made me better able to exist in the world as an informed, engaged, and thoughtful person.”

MR Myrtetus ’09 also writes about her trajectory after graduation from one internship dealing with domestic violence issues in Philadelphia to another in Washington D.C.: “Wanting to learn more about social policy development on the macro level, I entered the White House Internship Program where I worked with Vice President Biden’s domestic policy team on initiatives to prevent violence against women. In summer 2011, I moved to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue to work for Senator Tom Carper of Delaware where I now work on the investigations team in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. This summer I will move to New Haven to attend the Yale School of Management to study innovative public-private partnerships that can be tools in affecting social change. Through all of these adventures, Swift Hall has held a special place in my heart and I am grateful to the tremendous support I continue to receive from the Vassar community.”