These graduate assistantship students served the History Department’s staff for the 2023-2024 academic year!

Ciera Boyes 

Ciera aided Dr. Felker-Kantor with departmental and administrative work in his interim assistant chair role. She also graded small assignments and collaborated on classroom experiences in his class “United States History, 1877 to the Present.” She is especially interested in 20th and 21st century war and society in the United States, and after completing their Master’s in May, will embark on a EdD in Higher Education here at Ball State. 

Kenneth Deetz 

Kenneth, or “Kenny”, worked under Dr. Ronald Morris, who frequently collaborates with local historical organizations and historians. So, Kenneth uses digital media to bring local history to the wider public, which entails setting up audio/video interviews with partners and creating videos highlighting the significance of such histories. Most recently, he created several videos detailing the history of the early automobile industry in Indiana. He had the opportunity to work with independent historian Glory-June Greiff by discussing the history of the Lincoln Highway. He would like to continue related work in his job after his Master’s and eventually pursue a doctorate. 

Payton Holland 

Payton completed administrative and program outreach work for Dr. Emily Johnson. They will graduate in Fall of 2024, and hope to continue their studies toward a PhD. As they finish their Master’s, their research focus is post-WWII American culture surrounding murder and media. 

Samantha Kidder 

As Sam approaches finishing their Master’s in Digital History in AY 2025, they support Dr. Nicole Etcheson in their research for an incoming documentary and book. The documentary is about and filmed in Putnam County, Indiana. This aligns perfectly with Samantha’s current research interest in Indiana history especially in the 19th century. Their favorite topics in Hoosier history are Reconstruction, the Progressive Era, and women’s movements. They hope to work at an Indiana archive or university library with the goal of a PhD in History. 

Kegan Mixdorf 

Kegan worked with Dr. Wendy Soltz’s HIST 240 class to put together a walking tour of south Muncie. They juggle that with assembling two class periods on “how video games use history.” Right now, Kegan is specializing in queer history in the late medieval period with a focus on gender identity. In a couple years, they plan to find somewhere to teach and then work towards a PhD.

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