Casey Terry

My project centers on the history of fraternity life at Valparaiso University. This entails the changes of where the fraternities were located over the years, when the local chapters transitioned to national fraternities, and which fraternities have existed on this campus. The research question which I am focusing on is what were the driving forces of social changes within the fraternity community at Valparaiso University and when did those changes take place?  In this photo, I am looking a document from the Indiana House of Representatives thanking the Theta Chi Fraternity for their philanthropic work after one of their brothers was diagnosed with cancer. This document puts a different lens on fraternities in the late seventies.

I decided to do this program because when graduate I want to work in a historical profession in which I get to work with primary documents and artifacts to help educate others about history. Through this internship with the archives, I get real hands on experience using primary documents to investigate and piece together a historical narrative. I feel like with the archives internship I am gaining valuable professional experience which I will able to take with me into jobs in the future.

UPDATE:  I will be graduating with my Bachelors Degree in History and Digital Media, and in the fall I will be starting my first year of graduate school at Loyola University for a Masters Degree in Public History.