Current Pursuits

I’m nearing completion of my PhD and I am also nearing the completion of my first book, “Wrangling Pelicans: Presidial Life in Eighteenth-Century Texas.”

Undergraduate Research Projects

Thanks to the generous support of OURMA, I was able to research the Karankawa peoples of the Texas Gulf Coast. That research resulted in numerous academic articles and provided a tool for these first peoples to reclaim their propagandized pasts. My next book project, “Persistent Peoples,” will provide a general history of the Karankawa peoples.

Favorite Undergraduate Research Memory

Becoming close with all of my various cohorts. The friendships and the connections you make through an OURMA program will last for years.

What do you value most about your undergraduate research experience?

The independence. I was able to explore a topic that I knew very little about and could devote all my time to becoming an expert in the subject.

How did undergraduate research prepare you for what you are currently doing?

Far more than a dry run, the research I completed during my various OURMA programs have acted as the foundation for all of my current scholarship. In short, I would not be the historian I am today without the OURMA.

Advice for Students Interested in Undergraduate Research

Be ambitious and be open to contacting anyone who you think might be of help for your research. Academics study very niche subjects. Inquiries on such topics are almost always perceived positively.