January 03, 2023

I am writing my Capstone Seminar senior thesis paper on Female Benefactors in Imperial Rome. I became interested in the topic during my class on Pompeii Archaeology where we learned about a woman named Eumachia who donated a building to the fullers in Pompeii. Not only was the building donated to one of the most scorned group of workers in Rome, it was one of the most lavish and expensive buildings in the heart of Pompeii. I look at the motivations of these women, particularly Livia, Julia Domna, and Eumachia herself.

February 23, 2023

As part of my Cold War class, we were assigned to interview a person who had lived through the Cold War. I chose to interview my father Robert Shumake as part of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Project. In this enlightening and emotional interview, I learn about his experiences living through the tail end of the Cold War, how it influences his political views today, and a little more about my own families history.