BA in History

Sarah Petroff, 2021

Sarah Petroff

How did you decide on the history major? 

I have always been interested in history! I come from a military family where we constantly moved around in the U.S. Our family took the time to explore each new place we lived at, including visiting museums, historic sites, and even battlefields. It really sparked my interest in history, and I always loved sharing with my friends and family what I learned about from my visits. Before I started at George Mason University, I was a student at NOVA Community College where I was still undecided about what I wanted to study. My last semester at NOVA exposed all the possibilities of what I could do with a history degree, and I found myself really enjoying the class work and projects while interacting with the professors and the other students. When I transitioned to GMU, I continued taking history classes and met so many more professors who were enthusiastic about their classes and constantly challenged me in my research, questions, and ideas about history.

Are you minoring or double majoring in anything else? If so, how do the two work together – or separately?

While I am majoring in history, I am also getting a minor in anthropology and a concentration in public history. Anthropology is such a fascinating and diverse field just like history and I am always learning something new from the classes and professors. Whether it is their work experience, research theories, or from the lecture material itself I can really envision incorporating anthropology into history and vice versa. Likewise, public history really caught my eye because it ranges across so many categories, whether museums, archives, or historic preservation. I enjoy talking to others about history and incorporating it in spaces where public audiences can learn and share that information with their own friends, families, and colleagues. Plus, it is always fun to explain to my friends and family what public history is and showing them how important it is to preserve and understand history.     

What have you learned in a history class that really surprised you/changed your perspective?

I have learned so much! I would say my public history classes have really changed my perspective on what historians do and how their research is continuous. I have also learned how to approach and challenge perspectives in history, whether they’re right or wrong and how this can impact our current and future understandings for why certain things happened in our country or around the world. I also learned about the differing methods for conducting research and how to analyze historical documents, artifacts, or research from other historians from my classes.

Tell us about your dream occupation…

I would love to work in a museum or an archive! My dream is to work in person with historical artifacts and learn about them in every aspect and present them to teach the public about history. Museums and archives really allow me to expand my curiosity and ask questions about what I am seeing, reading, or even listening to. I also love historic homes which is another potential dream job with preserving and restoring historic sites,  

Have you had any internships? Or interesting jobs or volunteer experience? Tell us about it/them.

I have! I was originally going to work as a Historic Resources intern at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, VA., but because of COVID-19 the opportunity unfortunately fell through. I was lucky enough to be offered another internship position by Dr. Mills Kelly in the History department where I worked on an internship involving the Appalachian Trail and its history. I worked on digitally editing OCR scans of newsletters from the late 1930s to the early 1940s that were focused on the Appalachian Trail and its construction. I also created a digital exhibit on Dr. Kelly’s website about American Indian representation on the Appalachian Trail. While I am going to school I am also currently working at a local botanical garden.  

Any accomplishments you are proud of? Opportunities you have taken advantage of. Brag a little!

I worked with Dr. Kelly on a research project he was conducting and he invited me to come and visit an archive with him. It was one of my first experiences going “behind the scenes” with how archives operate and I discovered all types of documents and artifacts along the way. It was such a fantastic experience and I learned about how artifacts are stored, what to look for when you have a research question in mind, and how to improve my observational skills when it comes to the smaller details that sometimes aren’t always noticed. I was also able to make some connections with the staff at the archives.

Tell us something people would be surprised to know about you.

When I was in high school, I initially had thought about becoming an animator for Walt Disney’s Animation Studio. I love creating art, whether it is painting, drawing, or even trying to sculpt. I still love to watch interviews with Disney animators as they replicate drawings and concept art from the movies, but I know history is the right choice for me!