My name is John Lovingood. I am History major at Illinois Wesleyan University. I’m looking to have a career in presenting history, from research to teaching. I’m from Colorado Springs, CO, so Illinois Wesleyan is pretty far away from Home. I have been taking History and Physics oriented classes at Wesleyan. I will be traveling to London for my Fall semester of my Sophomore year. I enjoy sports and reading. Baseball is my favorite sport and The Brothers Karamazov and The Count of Monte Cristo are my favorite books of all time. I am pursuing a history major so I can become a museum curator then a history teacher after I graduate from Illinois Wesleyan University.

Over the summer I worked as a water park attendant in Oklahoma. After this summer and that experience, I have that I enjoy presenting and talking with people of all ages, as I had to interact with people of all ages and really enjoyed being able to put my own spin on the safety rules we had for the park. So after this summer, I have learned that I rally do enjoy presenting information to people, but would much rather be presenting from inside a cool building after my summer of burning up outdoors.

After my first year at Illinois Wesleyan, my love of History has only grown. I decided to study abroad in London because it allowed me to continue my study of history in one of the most historically rich countries in Europe as well as to visit other countries and expand my understanding of history to a whole new world view. The history course is on the history of tea in Britain, and because of this I am also learning a great deal of Chinese and Indian history. Because of the heavy focus on these Asian countries and their own complex histories, I have developed a further love of Asian history outside of Japan and Korea and want to learn more about the history of the Asian world.

As I moved into and through my Junior year at Illinois Wesleyan University, I have continued to evolve and grow my understanding of the diverse history of the world. In the fall I learned more about the history of modern China, the complete history of Brazil and a good look at the environmental history of the United States. In the spring 2021 semester I got to really continue my goals as a History major, working in Public History as an intern at the David Davis Mansion, working in my first museum and really opening my eyes to the experience I will have working in museums after my years in education. Working at the mansion has made me want to go into the field of public history for the rest of my life, teaching others about the amazing history the world has to offer.

Going into my senior year at Illinois Wesleyan, I was looking forward to opening my historical studies to post industrial revolution Europe with Love and Death in Freuds Vienna, as well looking way back in time to the Ancient Greeks and the end of the Roman Republic with Ancient Greece and my Honors project respectively. As I move to my final semester at Illinois Wesleyan, I will be excited to update how my outlook on being a history major changed over my four years of growing and learning in the wonder environment of Illinois Wesleyan History.

Going into my senior year at Illinois Wesleyan, I was looking forward to opening my historical studies to post industrial revolution Europe with Love and Death in Freuds Vienna, as well looking way back in time to the Ancient Greeks and the end of the Roman Republic with Ancient Greece and my Honors project respectively. As I move to my final semester at Illinois Wesleyan, I will be excited to update how my outlook on being a history major changed over my four years of growing and learning in the wonder environment of Illinois Wesleyan History.

I chose IWU because the school fit what I was looking for as an Intellectual Institution, its community and the offer of both a major in history and in engineering. This fit has come from IWU being very similar in its mission statement, its goals and desire for greatness that my high school, Thomas Maclaren Elementary, Middle school and High school. (The Elementary School is new this year, coming after I had Graduated.) Thomas Maclaren is a liberal arts, public charter school in Colorado Springs, CO. The aim of TMS is to give all its students an advanced Secondary education, with all classes being Honors level courses, making it so that students have to think critically in all courses, as the school has all students take a class called Humane Letters, which is a combination of History, Philosophy, literature and writing, as well as in class discussions on all of the readings to foster a greater willingness to learn and better ones education. (http://maclarenschool.org/) The ability to come to a college that promotes the arts as a major part of its curriculum made IWU my first choice for the college I wanted to attend, and the affordability of Illinois Wesleyan, compared to my other college choices made it a no brainier to attend IWU.

Something I have learned from the Humanities class is that I can’t force my life to take shape in the way that I want it to now, because I wont know exactly what I want to do as a post college adult, and that my experiences are what will be able to direct me to that goal. So in my upcoming years at IWU I hope to be able to travel the world so I can get an experience to learn about and become part of the greater world around us, all while still continuing my education in as a History Major,and especially using this experience to see the world of History through the eyes of many other cultures and people as I can, giving me the ability to reach higher levels in the world of History. I also want to learn from IWU how to be able to be able to think critically, picking up classes for teaching as I love to be an educator and also continue my education in the sciences.

Coming to IWU caused me to hit the ground running, as I came a week early to take part in the Pre-Orientation Program, Engaging Diversity, along with the MALANA Pre-O and International Students, allowing for me to get a feeling of campus, Uptown Normal and Downtown Bloomington before regular orientation, giving me more time to adjust to the school and life away from home. The Orientation programs also gave me the ability to learn about how I can be a better classmate, member of society and intellectual to others around me. And while many of the programs and lessons we learned may have been common sense practices, their were many exercises that helped me to realize that the world around me was bigger and more diverse than I had ever expected it to be. (https://www.iwu.edu/orientation/titan/preo.html) As far as classes have gone, I’ve had a great experience and have learned many things, especially with my writing, and at years end I’ve felt much better about my writing ability, especially coming out of high school. My most fun experiences at IWU have been my trips to Chicago with my Humanities class, and to Grand Rapids, MI, as part of the IWU envoy to the NACA Mid-American conference.

The Bean!!!!!!

SAmes

Of all my classes at IWU, my Humanities Gateway/First Year Experience class, my Latin American History and my American Studies classes have been my favorite classes. All of them have allowed me to learn about, present and become a more informed historian. These classes have driven me to research, explain, make and live history. My Latin American History class gave me a new understanding and view on the history of the Americas, the myths that came from the old world when it conquered the new. We also gained new views on Latin American societies today and how the present day experiences of many Latin Americans are heavily influenced by actions from the past. My humanities class has allowed for me to take great strides in researching and learning to formulate great presentations on the history that has affected many places I’ve now visited, Illinois Wesleyan University, the St. Louis Arch and the City and Suburbs of Chicago. And my Intro to American Studies class has opened my eyes and forced me to recon with the past of the United States of America, to see how it has changed many times in its history and to determine if these changes are for better or for worse.