Spend your time learning about something you enjoy. 

Aly Weitkamp won’t settle for less than that. 

That’s why she chose to major in history at Missouri State. 

Relocating from Wentzville, Missouri, Weitkamp found MSU to be the perfect distance from her hometown. 

She also loved the environment on campus, explaining that MSU is “a big university that feels small.” 

“I loved going to Missouri State. I miss a lot of it every day,” Weitkamp said. “A lot of my favorite memories happened just walking around campus and getting to see all of my friends consistently. I loved hanging out in Strong Hall and right by the fountain when they put all the new tables in.” 

In 2016, she began her academic journey by studying journalism and French, but after a while, Weitkamp decided to pursue a greater interest. 

“I’d always loved history and specifically ancient civilizations,” she said. “A lot of times you don’t end up using your degree after you graduate, so if I was going to end up not using it, I’d rather have a degree in something I enjoyed.” 

A heart for history, a mind for law

While a history degree was a fun pursuit for her, she also began taking law classes. 

Weitkamp soon found herself at a crossroads about her future. 

She began to debate: PhD or law school? 

Weighing her options, she consulted faculty in the history department. 

“My advisor was Julia Troche who is an incredible professor and advisor,” Weitkamp said. 

Dr. Troche suggested that Weitkamp combine her two interests by studying art and museum law. 

Under the guidance of faculty, like Troche and Dr. Bryan Brinkman (an assistant professor in the languages, cultures and religions department at MSU), Weitkamp developed her critical thinking skills and opened her mind to different perspectives on life. 

“I think everybody, as a kid, goes through a period where you’re obsessed with an ancient civilization,” Weitkamp said. “I managed to be obsessed with three of them…with Egypt, Greece, and Rome. I kind of lucked into an opportunity to end up specializing in ancient civilizations and, specifically, ancient Egypt with Dr. Troche, so I got to delve into that childhood obsession.”

Balancing the scales of passion and purpose

Weitkamp graduated from Missouri State in 2020. 

A few years later, she passed the bar exam and earned her juris doctorate at DePaul University in Illinois. 

She spent some time in insurance defense for civil litigation, but she is currently looking into career opportunities in intellectual property with trademark and copyright law. 

As an attorney in Chicago, she can confidently say that her knowledge and experiences as a Bear prepared her for her career field. 

“It taught me a lot about how to talk to people, how to introduce myself, how to interact with those around me, and I feel like that has been crucial to becoming an attorney and having to talk to people who are so different from me in every aspect of life,” she said. 

Weitkamp still holds onto her desire to get involved in art and museum law someday. 

She encourages other students not to settle for something that sounds good but feels like a chore. Her main advice: “find something that makes you happy.” 

Earn your bachelor’s in history at MSU