Jacki Grabowski is a History major with minors in Women & Gender Studies and Democracy and Justice Studies and an Education license in Broad Field Social Studies (ages 10-21) with concentrations in Political Science and Psychology.
When do you plan on graduating? I am graduating May 2020!
Why did you major in History and minor in WGS and DJS? Initially, I planned on majoring in Sociology, but UW-Green Bay only offers it as a minor. I knew I was an aspiring educator though, so I met with Jamie Froh Tyrrell, and she laid out my future for me as an aspiring high school social studies teacher! WGS and DJS overlapped with so many of my history classes since my interests surround U.S. topics of social justice and labor history, so I ended up adding them as minors.
What are your plans for after graduation? Hopefully becoming an employed high school social studies teacher! I eventually want to earn my masters degree in Education, but they typically recommend first year teachers wait until after they are hired.
What academic experience or accomplishment are you most proud of? Spring 2019, I was chosen to present my research project from my history capstone with a few of my fellow classmates in Madison for Research in the Rotunda. We presented our work to professors and chancellors throughout the UW system, as well as many politicians. It was “The Criminalization of Sex at The Wisconsin Industrial Home for Women, 1920-1933”.
What single thing do you hope to accomplish at UWGB before graduating? I hope that before I graduate I am able to get some of my LGBTQ-inclusive U.S. history lesson plans published. I have been building this curriculum for my WGS independent study with Dr. Reilly this semester, and I will be able to utilize them the spring semester of 2020 when I student teach.
What do you do for fun? Anything with my buds! My friends always make me feel happy, whether we’re just binge-watching something (currently Golden Girls – I’m such a Rose!) or spending money we don’t have at the Fox River Mall. I also love going down by the lake. I’m from Sheboygan, aka our Malibu of the Midwest, so beach days are unbeatable.
What else do you want people to know about you? I have been playing the violin since the fourth grade. Music makes me feel like nothing else in the world matters. From playing with public school orchestras to the Sheboygan Area Youth Symphony, I was sad to learn UW-Green Bay did not have an orchestra when I enrolled in 2015. However, after working with Professor Kevin Collins, that changed in 2016! We now offer an orchestra, and a few strings-based classes even.
