Austin Williams (Ph.D. 2021) received the John D'Emilio LGBTQ History Dissertation Award from the Organization of American Historians. His dissertation, "The Ordinance Project: Commemorating Kansas City's LGBTQ Landmark Legislation," chronicles activists' efforts to pass a municipal nondiscrimination ordinance that would protect people on account of their sexual orientation and HIV status in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Jessica Sapien (MA Public History) won the 2023 Martha Jane Starr Library Research Award from the UMKC Libraries for her project entitled, "El Amor de una Madre: Feminism, Motherhood, and the Scio-Political Power of Zine-Making," which examines how Chicanas in Texas have used self-published sines to create dialogues on motherhood and social justice while cultivating a uniquely feminist community through the process.

In Spring 2023, Molly Sloan (BA History) spent the semester interning at the Atkins-Johnson Farm and Museum in Gladstone, MO, under the supervision of Marye Newman, museum staff member. Sloan gained hands-on experience working within a museum setting and she developed skillsets in museum collections management, exhibit research and design, public outreach and programming, providing guided tours, K-12 educational programming, and event planning and fundraising.

In Spring 2023, Katy Anielak (MA Public History 2023) spent the semester working with Dr. David Trowbridge to develop the Kansas City Women's History Trail content for Clio, a free mobile app that connects the public to thousands of historical and cultural sites throughout the United States virtually. This experience provided Anielak with skills creating digital exhibit style content for a broader audience.

Jisung Lee (Ph.D. History/English) was the recipient of the Lynn and Kristen Marrow Missouri History Student Prize for his paper entitled, "The Abandoned West: The First Year of the Western Sanitary Commission, 1861 to 1862." Lee was presented with the award at the 65th Annual Missouri Conference on History which was held on March 15-17, 2023, in Springfield, MO.

Niki Joshi, Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in History and English

"All my professors have been successful in creating a welcoming and open classroom environment where people feel comfortable asking questions and participating in discussions. They’re incredibly approachable and uplifting, which has made it easy for me to build relationships with them."

Tristyn Bowling, Accelerated BA/MA Program

"For all the enthusiasts and prospective history majors, they would do well to steel themselves — become engrossed and falter not at the portent of difficult material or late nights heaped in books. Bare your teeth, and grapple with it!"