NMSU History Department - Phi Alpha Theta

Phi Alpha Theta Member Bios

	Ty Elwin, President Ty is a thesis track graduate student in the History Department here at NMSU. Ty's research focuses on French colonialism with emphasis on decolonization in the South Pacific, specifically Polynesia and Indochina. Upon graduation, Ty's goal is to enroll in a PhD program and eventually teach at a private institution. With his MA in History and BA in English, Ty's primary intention is to write historically, not limited exclusively to the publication of articles, but dedicated also to writing novels and screenplays which chronicle the subaltern. "The stories that end up being the most powerful are those which we have yet to discover exist."
	Danny Stevens, Interim Vice President. Danny is a Public History track graduate student in the History Department at NMSU. His historical interests include Asian American history primarily in Japanese American Internment of World War II, and Museum Studies. Danny completed his internship at the Magoffin Home State Historic Site and is currently a volunteer in their archives. Upon graduation he would like to find a job as an archivist or curator. Danny is currently working on articles including Kentuckians that settled El Paso, Asians Americans in the southwest, and a myth and memory article about haunted museums.
	Jaki Kennedy, Treasurer Jaki, along with her historic name, is a dual track History graduate student at NMSU. Her emphasis of study is rooted in 19th c. SW history and the Civil War west of the Mississippi river. She also has a deep interest in the Holocaust, more specifically the Polish ghetto, and with her MA and concentration in Public History, Jaki would like to teach a survey course in American History at the community college level, pulling some of this country's secrets out of the closet for the purpose of historical scholarship. “I think it's important to see everything, even if it isn't nice.”
	Thasha McVey is a thesis track student. Her area of specialization is 19th century American medical reform, currently focused on the emergence of women into the medical profession. She is due to graduate in Spring of 2011 upon completion of her thesis. She attended the Phi Alpha Theta regional Conference in Las Vegas where she presented on Socialized Medicine: We’ve Been Here Before where she presented at the 2010 NMSU Graduate Research & Arts Symposium and the Phi Alpha Theta joint conference in El Paso, TX. She is also the current 2010-2011 Graduate Student Council President.
	PAUL KUHNS is a thesis student in the History Department whose main focus is on political cartoons during the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1906. In addition, he has written extensively about environmental imperialism in Iran from 1860-1920 and 20th-century receptions of the Shahnameh, which he presented at the Phi Alpha Theta National Conference in San Diego, CA in January of 2010. Paul also serves as the president of the Graduate Student Council at New Mexico State University for the 2009-2010 academic year. He will be graduating from NMSU upon completion of his thesis in Spring of 2010.
	CHRISTY ROYE is a thesis track student in the History Department whose interest is the American West. She is writing her thesis on the Navajo experience with Uranium and its health and environmental impact, with a focus on labor issues. Christy received her Bachelor's Degree in Education at NMSU and is also a graduate assistant in the History Department. She will be graduating Fall 2010 and hopes to teach either high school Social Studies or Community College level history.
	ASHLEY MCMILLAN is a thesis track student and graduate assistant in the History Department. Her main interests are early United States political history and she is writing her thesis on the federalist and antifederalist debates at the Virginia Ratifying Convention of 1788. She received a Bachelors Degree in May 2009 in History and Government, and, is on the executive board of the award-winning NMSU Model United Nations team. She grew up in Houston, Texas.