Established in 2004 to honor Paul A. Stellhorn (1947-2001), adistinguished historian and public servant in New Jersey, this award goes to stellar papers written by undergraduate students about New Jersey’s history.
The 2014 ceremony took placed on Sat., November 22 at the New Jersey Forum at Kean University where Steven Rodriguez, junior History & Philosophy double major with a minor in Spanish, received the award in the term/seminar paper category, and Erik Snyder in the thesis category. In fact, Erik Snyder’s thesis was the highest-rated of all the papers the award committee received this year, according to Dr. Cynthia Paces, History Department chair.
The two accomplished students shared their success stories with us and gave insight into how they grew and learned from their HSS faculty mentors:
HSS: What’s your paper about? What’s the title?
Steven Rodriguez: My paper is titled “From Kingsbury to Mt. Laurel II: Low-Cost Housing and Exclusionary Zoning in Trenton, NJ”. The paper examines the City’s varying approaches to low-cost housing during between the 1960’s-1980’s. In essence, I examine the City’s attempt to both cater to the needs of Trenton’s low-income residents (through local and state initiatives like the NJ Supreme Court Mt. Laurel I decision), and also encourage middle-income residents to return to the City. I show how this goal was often contradictory and ultimately impossible to achieve.
Erik Snyder: “Stronger than the Storm: Why the Great Atlantic Storm of 1962 Failed to Scare New Jersey From its Shore.” My project examines the Great Atlantic Storm of 1962 and the debate it sparked over implementing comprehensive and long term coastal reform in New Jersey. It argues that significant policy change failed to occur due to strong economic incentives to rebuild, prioritization of private interests over public good, and the universal understanding that the storm was unique.
HSS: What got you interested in your paper’s topic?
Steve: After deciding on the general topic of low-cost housing, I started to investigate some of the NJ legal history regarding this topic, specifically the Mt. Laurel I and II NJ Supreme Court decisions. After finding a series of documents (memos, newspaper clippings etc), I decided that Mt Laurel would be an excellent topic to pursue since it represented such a pivotal moment in the fight for low-cost housing in NJ. Kingsbury eventually became another important connection once I discovered a series of memos and newspaper articles from activists groups (like the Trenton NAACP) that showed great opposition and pushback regarding the proposed middle-income housing development. With these two topics, I was able to explore the connections between exclusionary zoning and the struggle for low-cost housing in Trenton.
Erik: I decided on the general topic during the summer of 2013. At this time, the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy still dominated the media in New Jersey. Moreover, over that summer I was interning at the New Jersey Department of Historical Protection and it became clear to me very quickly that a lot the resources and time of the State were spent that summer on dealing with the affects of the storm– the extent to which I found quite surprising. But, I would have to say that the biggest influence for my paper’s topic came from a lot of the media’s portrayal of the Sandy as a freak event and unprecedented.
HSS: How has advice and mentoring from HSS faculty helped you during the writing process?
Steve: Dr. McGreevey’s mentorship was a key aspect in writing this paper. The paper was written to fulfill the requirements of a history seminar that I took with Dr. McGreevey that allowed students to work with former Trenton Mayor Arthur Holland’s papers. I can remember feeling incredibly overwhelmed and anxious during many points of the writing process, but Dr. McGreevey served as a constant source of support and reinforcement.
Erik: Dr. Paces, Chair of the Department, taught the Honors History Capstone Class where she instructed me on the various methods for writing history and provided me with fantastic advice as I began crafting my paper during the Fall of 2013. I worked very closely with Dr. Bender too. […] Last, but certainly not least, Dr. Robert McGreevey, my thesis adviser, was instrumental in drafting this thesis. His patience and guidance was crucial for the success of the finished product. While he would offer me suggestions to improve various aspect of the work, he would never give me the answers directly. […] He spent many hours reading through drafts, meeting with me and talking about next steps, and, at some points, playing the role of the therapist.
HSS: Were there any particularly meaningful moments for you?
Steve: Just after handing in my rough draft, I can remember feeling a sense of defeat and total insecurity regarding the quality of my paper and my ability to finish it on time. Yet, Dr. McGreevey calmly reminded me that I would be able to finish and that I was off to a great start. In short, I don’t think I would have been able to write this paper without the dedication and constant support of Dr. McGreevey.
Erik: In the Spring of 2013 I had to make a decision on whether I wanted to do a honors senior thesis. I was really busy studying abroad at Oxford University during this time and, for a moment, I didn’t think I was up to undertaking such an effort-heavy thesis. So I sent an email to Dr. McGreevey telling him that I was going to take the easy route and would not register to do the honors thesis. Dr. McGreevey, in turn, responded with the most inspirational email I ever received. In short, Dr. McGreevey expressed that he not only had the utmost faith in me, but he also believed that my finished thesis could be one of the most successful ones. I applied to do the thesis the following day.
After hearing from our successful students, we checked in with one of their advisors, Dr. McGreevey (History) for a closer look at just how HSS does award-winning academics.
HSS: What have you done to help these students write and research for such successful papers?
Dr. McGreevey: The History Department is deeply committed to teaching our students how to think historically, conduct primary source research, and write well. These awards speak to the quality of our program.
One of the challenges of mentoring students is knowing when to push them–and how far. I can remember Erik emailing me from England when he was studying abroad there to say that he had just visited the National Archives in London. Based on that experience he had decided that historical research was much too difficult and not for him. He told me he did not want to take on the challenge of a senior honors thesis when he got back. I knew he could do it but it took some convincing. I guided him to the local archives and he began work on his Sandy project. A year later he had written a prize-winning thesis based in extensive archival research.
HSS: Did you have similar experiences as an undergraduate students? How did these influence your mentoring of the two students?
Dr. McGreevey: When I was a history major at Swarthmore I learned a great deal from my professors outside of class, often in one-on-one meetings in their offices. That kind of mentoring is also a hallmark of TCNJ, and Erik and Steve are two of the most recent beneficiaries.
Interview and story by Jack Meyers