Amanda Eurich, Ph.D. 1988, is on sabbatical this year working on a book, “A Life in Letters: The Correspondence of Jean de Coras.” It examines of the career of the sixteenth-century Toulousan judge famous in his time and ours for his memoirs of that prodigious French peasant, Martin Guerre.  In the summers she enjoys travelling with her husband, whose work as a wine distributor and educator often takes them to France, where she gets to spend time scoping out new vineyards as well as new material in the archives.

Steve Goodson, Ph.D. 1995, is the chair of the History Department at the University of West Georgia, in Carrollton, Georgia.  He is currently working with two co-authors on The Hank Williams Reader, which is under contract with Oxford University Press.

Kate McGrath, Ph.D. 2007, is in her fourth year as an assistant professor in the history department at Central Connecticut State University. In addition to teaching courses in medieval history, she also works extensively with the social studies secondary education program. This semester, she is the acting coordinator while the coordinator is on sabbatical.

Allison Belzer, Ph.D. 2002, writes that “After years of part-time teaching while my 2 daughters were little, I’m finally an official assistant professor of history at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, GA.  My courses run the gamut from the Renaissance/Reformation era to World Wars, but mostly I teach a lot of World Civilization core courses – who knew I’d need to learn so much about India and China?”  Her favorite perk is that she gets to lead Study Abroad trips to Siena, Italy.  This summer’s trip is for 4 weeks and her husband and children are coming, too.  Her girls call it their “second home,” and she likes getting to introduce students to Italy.  Her first book came out last October, Women and the Great War: Femininity under Fire in Italy.  She has enjoyed making her research relevant in her classes on the two World Wars.  And she writes that “I’m forever grateful to Professors Adamson and Amdur for their help in getting the dissertation done and redone enough times to make it a book!”

Rafael Ioris, Ph. D. 2009, is teaching at the University of Denver, and writes that it “has proven to be a great place to be.  On the family side, we have now a baby girl who is making life much better and busier.”

Michael Garemko, B.A./M.A. 2003,  writes: “Hello to all Emory History alumni. I think it was at about this time of year ten years ago that I decided to be a history major instead of a poli sci major. What a consequential choice that has turned out to be (in a good way)! I found an intellectual home in the history department, and in many ways, I have never left that home. I have changed career aspirations a few times (rock star, politico, lawyer), and in each, the historical perspective has helped me to see issues in greater depth.  For those of you seeking an update, here is what I have been up to. I graduated with a BA/MA in 2003. A fellow Emory history alum and I started a band in Dallas called the Hanna Barbarians. We had a few gigs and disbanded around the time the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004. Shortly after, I started a blog about politics and volunteered for a gubernatorial campaign, which eventually turned into a job on the finance team in Houston. Before the end of the campaign, I was moved to the press office in Austin. When the campaign ended, I took a job with Rep. Jim Dunnam at the Texas Capitol, who ended up starting a cover band for a Capitol party, the Bad Precedents. Because the BPs were slightly better than people expected us to be, people invited us to many more events. I also met my fiancée while working for Rep. Dunnam. Since that time, I worked for two other state reps, most recently for Rep. Marisa Marquez as Chief of Staff, before attending law school. I am currently a 2L at the University of Texas, where I am Submissions Editor of the Texas Journal on Civil Liberties & Civil Rights. Kelly and I are going to be married later this year.  I hope this message finds everybody in good spirits.”