Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - November/December 2015 - (Page 28)

HISTORIA The Concord Review Summ can surmise that this system of leadership would produce conflicting opinions, as dictatorships are rarely perceived as positive. My paper was not extensive, as the National History Day word limit was 2,500 words, but it provided me with an introduction to historical research and writing. HISTORY HAS BEEN ONE OF MY PASSIONS FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER. FROM FIRST GRADE TO THE PRESENT DAY, I HAVE TRAVELED TO 20 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, EACH OF WHICH HAS KINDLED MY LOVE OF CULTURE AND HISTORY. BUT IT WAS ACTUALLY MY INTEREST IN WRITING THAT LED ME TO A MORE SERIOUS STUDY OF HISTORY. I was searching online for writing competitions when I landed on Imagine's listing of where young writers could submit their work. One publication in particular caught my eye: The Concord Review (TCR), a quarterly journal that publishes exemplary history papers by high school students. Thrilled to see a way to combine my love of history and my interest in writing, I subscribed to TCR. From the first issue, I was impressed by the talent of the featured high school writers-and was inspired to produce a serious history paper of my own. But first, as a high school freshman who had never written a paper like those in TCR, I knew I needed to build up my research and writing skills. I decided to start by preparing a paper for the National History Day competition. As the child of two Korean-born parents, I have always been especially curious about South Korean history and culture. I began reading about South Korea's president, Park Geunhye, and soon learned that her father, Park Chung-hee, the third president of South Korea, had been a controversial figure. He had ruled as a benevolent dictator, a leader who governs with absolute power but is seen to do so largely for the benefit of his people. One 28 imagine Serious Study Later that year, I visited TCR's website and saw that TCR would be piloting a two-week summer program. The application required students to come up with a specific topic, list 10 potential sources for the topic, and write an abstract or plan for the eventual path the paper would take. I decided to expand upon my History Day topic, as I felt that my knowledge of the topic was incomplete and that I needed more sources to back up my claims. I eagerly applied and was delighted to be accepted to the program. The program was held from June 29th to July 10th at the Babson Executive Conference Center in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Our class was small, with one student from a Korean International School, one from Virginia, two from Boston, and two, including myself, from New York. The small class size allowed our instructor, Ms. Samantha Wesner, and our proctor, Ms. Carrie Salvato, to give each of us individual attention. The rigorous schedule included a research and writing block every day. In addition, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, we attended lectures in the morning from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and a writing period in the afternoons. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the whole day was typically devoted to research and writing. Our instructor had graduated from Harvard that year as a history major, so she was able to arrange for us to have access to Harvard's online HOLLIS Library in addition to the Wellesley Public Library. Practicing the Process The writing lessons were invaluable, covering material and strategies I had never learned in school. Our first lesson was on "mapping" our topics and making them easier to understand. Although I initially believed this might be a step backward for the first draft of my paper-after all, I had already structured my argument in a paper for NHD-I soon found that mapping my paper helped to clarify my own thinking. In the mapping process, we created subsections for our papers; I found that titling these subsections of my Nov/Dec 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - November/December 2015

Big Picture
In My Own Words Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns
National Treasure Volunteering at the National Archives
Driving My Future, Exploring the Past The many rewards of genealogy
Past in Focus National History Day
People-Powered Movements Studying revolutions at Phillips Academy Andover
Hooked on History From paleontology to conservation science, four graduate students share their research
This is History My summer at Crow Canyon
The Benefits of Majoring in History
Making History My journey to the inaugural International History Olympiad
Historians in Training The Concord Review Summer Program
The Ultimate Game
In My Own Footsteps Putting my choreography in the spotlight
Selected Opportunities and Resources
Off the Shelf Review of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options Interview with archaeologist Inna Moore
One Step Ahead Be your own priority
Planning Ahead for College Choosing the best college for your major
Students Review: University of Washington
Mark Your Calendar
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - November/December 2015