Principal Investigator
Dr. Andrew Offenburger is Associate Professor of History at Miami University. He specializes in cultural connections along frontiers and borders, as well as the history of the Midwest and greater American West. He has published Frontiers in the Gilded Age (2019), The Aimless Life (2021), and a number of articles. He received his Ph.D. from Yale University, and his alma mater is Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa.
2022 Participants
Joey Belmonte is a junior Political Science major with hopes of going to law school after Miami. Alongside his interest in First Amendment law, he hopes to do litigation for the federal government. Besides school, he likes to spend time with his fraternity brothers, play hockey, or read.
Tim Bredemeier is a junior history and integrated social studies education major. He enjoys film and music as well as American and local history. He is a member of the Miami Council for the Social Studies and the Honors History Colloquium on campus. In his free time, you can find him in downtown Cincinnati at the local sports game or playing games with his friends. After graduation, he hopes to work as a high school social studies teacher or an archivist in Cincinnati.
Alex Dyer is a Political Science and Educational Studies student who greatly enjoys studying educational finance. Following graduation in May of 2022, Alex will be attending graduate school at John Carroll to pursue teaching in the social sciences and continue research on educational policy. Outside of classes, Alex is involved with Miami’s band as a saxophone player and plays broomball in his free time.
Paidamwoyo Hakutangwi is a Zimbabwean second-year Master’s student in the Department of History. Her research area of interest is women’s history in Southern Africa in the nineteenth century. Paida is very interested in showcasing the importance of women’s roles and how they significantly contributed to the independence of most Southern African countries. Away from studying, Paida enjoys outdoor activities. She is a marathon runner (thanks to her loyal four-legged training partner, Maxie, a Rhodesian Ridgeback). She also loves traveling, hiking, skiing, and scuba diving.
Cristian Hudson is a senior history major. He enjoys video games and baseball. Outside of class he likes to go out with his friends. After graduation he hopes to go to OCS and become a naval officer to fly jets.
Jacob Knight
Haley Knuth is a second-year graduate student in Miami’s History Master’s program, with a focus on Public History. Her thesis work, an exhibit titled, “Who Controls the Narrative: Newspapers and Cincinnati’s Anti-Black Riots of 1829, 1836, and 1841,” recently opened at the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Cincinnati. Her research interests, apart from race relations in the urban Midwest in the antebellum period, include German settlers in American history, the history of abolitionism, and Women’s and Gender History. When not working on her research and history projects for the public, Haley is likely to be baking, a hobby she enjoys.
Logan Kronstain is a senior majoring in history. He is particularly interested in international political history and geopolitics. After graduation, he plans to enter the workforce as a paralegal before a potential career in law. Logan is a member of the Miami University Pep Band, amongst other clubs, and enjoys visiting local parks.
Rachel Mancuso is a junior History major from Cleveland, Ohio with an interest in Midwestern history. She plans on going to law school after college. She is also an intern with the Office of Institutional Relations on campus. In her spare time, Rachel enjoys reading, cooking, and hiking.
Charlotte Moore is a senior who is from Boston, MA. She is double majoring in Strategic Communication and History with a minor in Community Based Leadership focusing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. In her free time she enjoys spending time outside in nature on runs and walks, baking, and spending time with her friends and family. She is planning on moving to Chicago after graduation to hopefully work in Marketing or Advertising.
Garrett Moyer is a junior from Dayton, Ohio, studying History and Political Science. In his free time he enjoys sports, especially his hometown Cincinnati Bengals. He is pursuing education and wishes to teach here in southwest Ohio.
Timothy Moyer is a senior from Findlay, Ohio. He is majoring in History and minoring in Geography. He loves learning about all eras of history but has a soft spot for the era of the World Wars and sports history. He likes watching movies, Cleveland, and Ohio State sports and spending time with friends. He is a member of the Miami University Newman Center and has participated in several intramural sports, his favorite being softball. He isn’t set on a specific career beyond knowing he wants to coach Track and Field.
Laurel Myers is a junior History major with a minor in Museums and Society. She is currently a member of the History Honors Program on campus and is interested in researching World War I and the interwar period. Outside of class, she is active in her music fraternity and enjoys watching documentaries, playing board games with friends, and finding new hiking trails. After graduating from Miami, Laurel plans to attend graduate school to continue studying history.
Piper Nicely
Madeline Phaby is a senior majoring in history and sociology with a minor in political science. Her research interests include the American West, Indigenous history, and Latin American history. She currently serves as an editor at The Miami Student, Miami University’s student-run newspaper, and she loves that the Storm Lake class combines her interests in history and journalism. In her spare time, Madeline enjoys watching baseball, doing crossword puzzles, and reading. She hopes to eventually go to law school and become an immigration lawyer.
Sam Purkiss is a second year Master’s student in the Department of History at Miami University. Their research interests revolve around twentieth-century American History, specifically the intersections between gender history and media studies such as film and theater. When not studying, Sam enjoys watching and discussing movies with friends, playing Dungeons & Dragons, and long walks on the beach. After graduating, they intend to move to Pittsburgh and pursue a career in academic administration.
Gina Roth is a freshman majoring in journalism and individualized studies. She likes to focus her second major on researching underrepresented voices in history, just like the voices of Storm Lake. She also enjoys painting, drawing, writing, and getting lost in the forest.
Rachel Smith is a freshman with an anthropology major and archaeology minor, and plans to add an art history double minor. She plans to be an archaeologist in the future, working on dig sites and excavating. Outside of class she is a part of CRU and the sorority Phi Sigma Sigma. She enjoys reading, going for walks, and traveling.
Sam Sutton is a senior from Bowling Green, Kentucky, majoring in Finance and minoring in Accounting and History. Outside of class, she is a part of the Miami University Varsity Swim team, is a member of the Asset Management club and enjoys traveling and going to the lake. After graduation, Sam will be working at Fifth Third Bank in their Commercial and Credit Leadership Program.
Hayden Uribes
Joe Yeager is a senior History major and Anthropology minor from Cincinnati, Ohio. He enjoys punk rock and heavy metal music, Godzilla movies, Dungeons and Dragons, and learning new things about history. He is currently writing his honors thesis about Godzilla and its reception as a Japanese piece of media in post-WWII America. After graduation, his current plan is to work in the Cincinnati libraries.
Caitlin Zawodny is a sophomore at Miami double majoring in diplomacy and history with a minor in Chinese. She enjoys spending time with her family/friends and reading. After graduation, she plans on attending graduate school to pursue her master’s degree in history or international relations.
2021 Participants
Gillian Davis is a history and American studies double-major, who plans to enter law school in the fall of 2021. She anticipates specializing in international law. Gillian is currently involved in the History Department’s Honors Program and is researching hair shearing in post-Occupied France from 1944-1945. She enjoys women’s and European history, as well as American history (any era).
Nathaniel Hieber is a second-year MA student in Miami’s Department of History and is researching the development of transportation networks in the American Southwest. Nathaniel aims either to teach history one day or to have a profession in researching and writing.
Justin Hobart is a history major who enjoys studying ancient Rome as well as medieval Europe. After graduation, he plans to continue his education and earn a master’s degree so that he may teach history.
Katie Johnston is a sophomore Theatre and Arts Management co-major with a minor in History. She enjoys film, early American history, and ice hockey. After college, she hopes to go on to be a performer, either on stage or as a historical re-enactor, a stage manager, or a youth programmer for non-profits.
Logan Kelleher is a junior history major and enjoys learning about Native American history. After graduating from Miami, Logan plans to attend law school and concentrate in environmental law. On campus, he is involved with the Amicus Curiae Pre-Law Society, where he serves as the Vice President of Programming, and is a member of the Miami University Men’s Glee Club.
Adam Kimble is a history major with a German minor. He enjoys industrial and medieval European history, as well as the American West. After college, he plans to go on a year-long backpacking excursion along the Appalachian Trail, after which he will apply for law school.
Hunter Kolbus is a junior Political Science major with minors in History and Finance. He enjoys learning about American history and watching most any movie. After graduation, Hunter intends to go to law school, possibly specializing in corporate law.
Olivia LeRoux is a senior English Literature and Psychology double-major planning on attending law school in the Fall of 2021. She will be studying law over the next few years; her current focus is on juvenile and family law. She is a member of the Miami University Equestrian Team and serves as its current vice president. She also enjoys being involved in her community and helping out wherever possible.
Joey Puckett is a sophomore studying history. His interests include chess, creative writing, running, stand up comedy, reading, and technology ethics. After college, he will most likely continue his education in graduate school.
Michel Reising is majoring in business at the Farmer School of Business. He is also majoring in history, with a specific interest in American history and the World Wars. After graduation, Michel plans to attend law school with interest in constitutional law.
Rachel Rinehart is a freshman majoring in Journalism and Sociology. Her interests include running, doing yoga, cooking, and true crime. She aims to work for a newspaper as an investigative journalist in the future.
Anna Rottenborn is a freshman at Miami, double-majoring in math and secondary math education. She enjoys calculus, politics, and knitting. Anna plans to become a math teacher after her time in Oxford.
Travis Shane is a senior history major with interests in American and military histories. Beyond class, Travis also draws, reads, and likes to hang out with friends.
Talon Wolter is a junior history major with a minor in German. He enjoys early American, colonial, and Native American history. After college he plans to attend graduate school for a master’s degree in education with the hope of teaching high school history classes.
