(l-r: Katherine Mackenzie, Chloe Masaitis, and their panels)
On January 2-5, 2025, Phi Alpha Theta (the national honor society for history) held its national Biennial Convention in Arlington, VA.
Two senior History majors from The Catholic University of America were among the panelists presenting research papers at this prestigious convention.
Chloe Masaitis (a double major in History and Global Studies in Asia, Politics/PreLaw minor) presented “The Great Māhele: How the 1848 Privatization of Land Ownership Led to the Hawaiian Annexation”, part of a panel on the topic “The Hawaiian Experience.”
Katherine Mackenzie (a double major in History and Music) presented “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary: Popular Song as a Cultural Artifact of the Great War”, part of a panel on the topic “Messaging through Music”.
Dr. Árpád von Klimó, Director of Undergraduate Studies in History and advisor for Catholic University’s Theta Omicron chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, was very impressed about both presentations: “Chloe and Katherine presented their research in a way that caught the attention of the audience, not only because they demonstrated their deep knowledge of their topics but also how well they engaged with the listeners in a clear, captivating style. Both showed how well they were prepared by the History major’s junior and senior seminar courses, and the systematic teaching of oral and written presentation skills.”
Chloe reflects: “I really enjoyed my experience presenting at the Biennial Phi Alpha Theta History Honors Conference, and had a lot of fun connecting with History majors from across the country! I presented the paper I wrote for my senior thesis, advised by Dr. West, which was great because I had already had practice presenting the paper to an audience. My CUA history classes have provided an environment to share and discuss research done in class, which really prepared me for the conference.”