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Katie Roberts ('12)Roberts graduated from PHC in 2012 with a major in history. She earned her M.A. in History from the College of William & Mary.
Dr. Robert Spinney and associate professor of history Dr. Doug Favelo enjoyed her 100-page senior thesis (about an African-American minister in the 1840s) so much that they use the thesis as an example of an ideal thesis for other history majors. Roberts also helped Spinney redesign several of his courses. “She may have been the best history student I have had,” Spinney said.
In 2018, Roberts taught United States History II at Patrick Henry College during the spring semester of 2018 while Dr. Spinney took a sabbatical. She later returned to PHC in 2020 to teach History of Slavery. Roberts currently serves as an Executive Pastor at Charlottesville Vineyard Church.
Shane Keenan ('19)Keenan, who graduated from PHC in 2019, shared how the skills he learned from his history degree have enabled him to excel at his job. "The lessons I learned planning and executing work on my thesis prepared me well for the workplace ... History majors learn to ask how and why something happened, and to answer those problems with their own research and arguments."
Now working as an archivist at the Lebanon County Historical Society, Keenan said his history degree has improved his ability to witness to others. "History classes, especially Historiography and US Intellectual History, allowed me to better understand how people think and how to speak to someone working under a different paradigm," he said." My time at PHC deepened my Biblical worldview and equipped me to share it with others more effectively." In 2024, he completed his MA in History at Liberty University.
Elizabeth Borders ('22)Borders, who graduated in 2022, said that both the core and major history classes showed her how much she didn't know, awakened her curiosity and wonder about history, and gave her the skills to learn more.
"Studying history at PHC helped me understand why our history is so important--it's not just for the sake of avoiding already made mistakes, but for pursuing virtue," Borders said. "Most importantly, I now love history not only for how it teaches me how to live well, but also how it teaches me about the character of God."
Elizabeth now works as an educator and historical interpreter at Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site, the topic of her senior thesis.
Ethan Snider graduated in 2023, majoring in both History and Government: American Politics and Policy, and minoring in Classics. He is currently a Pastoral Intern with Trinity Church of Loudoun and a Humanities Teacher with Dominion Christian School (where he teaches Ancient History).
"Studying history well is to love your neighbor as yourself across time. It is an act of empathy and compassion. When approaching a primary text, among the questions I should be asking are: 'Am I seeing the humanity of the author? Am I loving them as myself? Am I sufficiently imagining their thoughts and feelings in their particular context?' Dr. Spinney and Dr. Favelo, through classes like Historiography and Historical Research Methods, taught me how to read history with Christian charity in such a way that I am a better analyst, a better teacher, and a better man.
Something that all of Spinney's and Favelo's classes taught me is that history is civilizational memory. Our society is not tabula rasa with each generation; it has continuity. Jerusalem, Athens, Rome—these are ingrained in American memory, and we have inherited a lot of good from them. The better we combat our civilizational amnesia, the better we can use that history to pursue higher ends: truth, beauty, and goodness."
Noah Leraas, who graduated in 2024, said that PHC's history program helped him better understand and empathize with other people, while improving his analytical skills and feeding his sense of imagination.
"Studying history at PHC helped me better love my neighbor as myself. My classes with Drs. Favelo and Spinney helped me to more fully understand the human condition and connect with people who lived far before I did. Time spent considering the past cultivated empathy and charity towards others while sharpening my critical thinking skills and expanding my imagination.
I particularly appreciated the history program’s emphasis on learning to consider the world through the eyes of others. I donned old paradigms to find out how our ancestors viewed the world and considered how people adopt opinions and beliefs. I learned how to empathize with my neighbors in the past, and that in turn helped foster a greater love for my neighbors in the present."
Jenny Freestone ('24)Jenny Freestone, who graduated in 2024, said that studying history at PHC taught her to chase after truth while challenging her assumptions. She appreciates how it taught her to read, write, and think more deeply, setting her up well to pursue graduate studies.
"PHC’s history program made me a better reader, thinker, and writer, but perhaps most importantly, it trained me to seek and recognize truth wherever it can be found, even in the works of scholars with whose ideologies I fundamentally disagree. Thanks to the history major, I’m equipped to intellectually engage with a wide range of data and ideas and learn from what is true in them while discerning what is wrong. Dr. Spinney’s classes in particular taught me to think critically and deeply, to analyze arguments and articulate well-reasoned conclusions, and to recognize my biases and continually challenge my assumptions— and all while curing me of writer’s block! Surviving PHC’s history program and the dreaded senior thesis has made me confident that I am more than prepared to excel in grad school this fall and in whatever career I pursue."
