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History alum Anna Guenter was awarded top honors at the 14th Annual Texas A&M University History Graduate Student Conference, held February 9-10, 2024.

Guenter won the History Graduate Student Organization Paper Award for her research on Jewish identity in postwar Vienna. The award included a $250 cash prize.

Her paper, “Jewish Revenge in Postwar Vienna: Negotiating Jewish Identity and Reclaiming Home after Nazism,” was part of her MA thesis research for the graduate program in Missouri State’s Department of History.

The conference theme this year was “Navigating Crises and Resolutions.”

Conference experience validates effort

As part of a four-person panel titled, “Remembering the Holocaust,” Guenter presented her work, then fielded questions from the panel’s moderator.

“This was my first time presenting at a conference, so I was very nervous beforehand,” Guenter said. “However, it was a very rewarding experience and I felt incredibly validated in my efforts as an aspiring scholar.”

“Having the chance to meet other historians and getting to know their research was by far the best part of going to the conference,” she added. “It was so much fun talking to the people on my panel and hearing how passionate they were about their work.”

Shania Dedigama, a Missouri State University first-year graduate student, has been fascinated by history and politics from an early age.

“My mom, a history enthusiast, read history books to me as a toddler,” Dedigama said. “From the age of six, I knew I wanted to study history and I told all my friends.”

Student poses with umbrella with castle in background — Shania Dedigama visits Dean Village in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Hailing from Sri Lanka, Dedigama earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the U.K. and a master’s degree in political science from the Netherlands. She is now pursuing another master’s degree in history at MSU.

“I chose MSU because it appeared as one of the best history programs on Google. MSU’s history program also gives me expertise not only in history, but also in political science,” Dedigama said.

She notes having expertise in two disciplines increases her prospects to work for organizations like the United Nations and the Council on Foreign Relations.

“I’ll also get a better chance of getting into an impressive PhD program in the future,” she added.

It is not surprising Dedigama has chosen to enhance her portfolio with another master’s degree.

“The workforce keeps growing; you must stand out,” Dedigama said.

After getting her first master’s degree, Dedigama worked as a journalist at News 1st, Sri Lanka’s largest private news organization.

During this period, she gained experience in investigative reporting and political writing.

“I sat on the journalists panel of a weekly political talk show called ‘Face the Nation,’” Dedigama said. “I interviewed politicians, economists and policy makers live on TV.” [Read more…] about Making sense of the world through the lens of history