During an Introduction to History class that Jamie Raczynski took her freshman year, her professor, Jessica Taylor, encouraged students to attend a History Club meeting. Jamie quickly took Taylor’s advice and got involved with the club, later becoming a part of its leadership as their social media manager. 

Not only did she find a strong sense of community within the History Club, but Jamie and her fellow leadership members revived the club and gave it new life after a lull in student engagement during covid. 

Jamie, who wants to be a history teacher, has learned a lot through this leadership role. “Having this experience in club leadership gives me confidence that I will be able to act as a club sponsor for clubs started by my future students,” she said.

In addition to her role with the History Club, Jamie works on the Calfee Center’s 23/54 project as part of her internship with Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia (MAAV). The project aims to highlight 23 families and 54 children who were signed onto the 1947 lawsuit Corbin V. the Pulaski County School Board to fight for education equality for African Americans in Southwest Virginia. “It has been incredibly rewarding to work with the local community to highlight their history,” said Jamie. “I’ve had opportunities through the history department that I would have never had in a bigger department.” 

To learn more about Jamie’s work with the History Club and her internship, read the full Q&A below! 

What has been the most rewarding part of reviving the history club? 
The most rewarding part about being a part of the history club is having a community at Virginia Tech that shares similar interests and experiences. Sometimes at a big university, it’s hard to find where you belong, so the club really makes me feel like I found my community.

What is one of your favorite activities the history club has hosted? 
I really enjoy Stump the Chumps! It's a trivia competition that the club hosts every year where undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty all compete against each other, and the winner gets a dinosaur trophy. It's always really fun and competitive and such a good time!

What do you enjoy most about being a student in the history department? 
I love being a student in the history department because of the small class sizes and relationships I can build with my professors. Having resources available that a big university like Virginia Tech offers while also having small class sizes is really important to me and is one of the reasons I love being here. I’ve had opportunities through the history department that I would have never had in a bigger department because of our student-professor dynamic. 

What is an opportunity you've had because of history club that you might not have had otherwise? 
Last semester, our club officers attended the Virginia Digital History Conference in Richmond. We went to support our Vice President who was presenting at the conference and to network for potential guest speakers for the club. It was such an amazing opportunity –  we learned about many historical projects all around Virginia while also meeting potential guest speakers. It was a very fun and interesting weekend that I am very grateful to have experienced! 

Tell me about your internship experience. 
I intern with Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia (MAAV), which is an organization that sponsors nine different community-based projects around Appalachian Virginia with a focus on underserved or underrepresented communities. I work directly with the Calfee Center on their 23/54 project. We are highlighting 23 families and 54 children who were signed onto the 1947 lawsuit Corbin V. the Pulaski County School Board to fight for education equality for African Americans in Southwest Virginia. 

This opportunity was introduced to me by Professor Taylor. Without her connection, I wouldn’t have even been aware of the project. This internship is one of my favorite things I have ever been a part of. It has been incredibly rewarding to work with the local community to highlight their history that has been ignored for a long time.