It was a ‘historic day’ for the Brother Martin Crusaders enrolled in AP World History, AP United States History, and the Louisiana State University dual enrollment Honors U.S. History classes. Crusaders visited the campus of LSU in Baton Rouge for the fifth annual "History Day,” attending college classes, presentations, and more. Read about their day below!
Student Reflections written by Peter Baier ‘21, Michael Berrigan ‘21 , Chase Lormand ‘22, Addison Wilberg ‘22, Matthew Armbruster ‘21, and Collin Cruz ‘22
When we entered into the classroom, I became hesitant as all the college students taking this course, American History, seemed smarter and more experienced than us. Throughout the lecture, however, I noticed I knew most, if not all, of the answers to the questions the professor asked. To see that the AP classes I take in high school really do mirror college courses brings relief and excitement. We also traveled to LSU’s Hill Memorial Library, which houses LSU’s special collections, where librarians set out primary sources of events we have discussed in our American History class. It was cool to be able to connect what we read about in our textbooks to first-hand accounts.
-Peter Baier ‘21
I thought that going into an LSU class was really insightful. It was interesting to see how a college class differs from the standard Brother Martin classes. Students also had to recognize what was important from the professor's lecture and write their own notes.
-Michael Berrigan ‘21
We went to Hill Memorial Library, which is where LSU keeps their special collections. We were allowed to leaf through many different documents, including an original copy of the “Frederick Douglass Newspaper” and an Old English/Latin translation of the Christian Gospels. Beyond being informative, our primary source scavenger hunt was interesting because we were able to look at documents as old as 600 years. Furthermore, we sat in on a history lecture in one of the many classrooms on campus. This lecture was about the connection between McCarthyism/the “red scare” and music in the ‘60s and ‘70s. The lecture, which included recordings of musical groups such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, specifically referred to the “revolutionary” spirit of these times. We learned about the practices and expectations of history study at the college level at our annual LSU History Day.
-Chase Lormand ‘22
We started our LSU visit at Hill Memorial Library. The curator showed us various items from original manuscripts to exact copies of ancient documents called facsimiles. We participated in a scavenger hunt that had us search for information in the books and newspapers that were on display. After we finished in the library, we walked to a college history class where the professor and students discussed the Cold War and the cultural impact of rock music in the '60s. Overall, the class seemed pretty interactive with the students able to actively participate in the lecture the professor had prepared.
-Addison Wilberg ‘22
I thought that our trip to LSU was not only fun, but also educational at the same time. I felt like the lecture from Dr. Sheehan-Dean was very interesting. He talked to us about the United States after the Revolutionary War and expanded further on what we had previously learned in our Brother Martin American History class. Then, we went to the library, and were treated to a hands-on experience with historical documents and sources. The whole day was a great experience. We gained insight on what college is like and also learned useful information for our own course.
-Matthew Armbruster ‘21
Our class trip to LSU was very enlightening. The day started with our dual-enrollment class sitting in on Dr. Sheehan-Dean’s American History lecture. This experience was my favorite part of the day. It was very informative as we not only got a different perspective on the academic material but also gave us a glimpse into what a real college class looks like. After this, we visited one of LSU’s libraries and were able to look at some fascinating documents relating to what we are learning about in our course here at Brother Martin. This was very interesting as it put the events of American history into perspective for us. To conclude our day, we ate lunch on campus at LSU and talked with some recent Brother Martin graduates who shared their college experiences with us.
-Collin Cruz ‘21
