First off, thanks to all of you for an engaging and successful annual conference in San Francisco. Thanks to everyone who attended, who reviewed, who submitted, who volunteered to organize a panel, and who served in some capacity to the division throughout the year. So many smiles, so many great conversations, and so much learning. It has been a great year, and a lot of that is due to engagement from membership across the division.

As I type out this final column, I am reminded that the work of the division continues year-round. Caitlin Cieslik-Miskimen is set to take over leadership and has a many great initiatives planned, as well as a leadership team squarely focused on the important role history plays in the discipline and the value of our members within AEJMC. This is a team with great ideas for the growth of the discipline and the value of membership, and I think we all will benefit from their tenure.

Graduate Students: Welcome!

Looking over the History Division report for this year, one statistic stands out: fourteen graduate students will present at AEJMC 2025 in San Francisco, a significant increase in participation from emerging scholars. I cannot think of a better time to welcome new thinkers to the crucial work of history than in this precarious moment for higher education, mass communication, and democracy. So, to our new (and returning) graduate student members: Welcome! We’re particularly glad you’re here.

This summer, I’ve reflected on my time as a student and experiences with AEJMC following recent admission to doctoral candidacy. (Sort of without a choice), Dr. Amber Roessner took on an ambitious twenty-something as a mentee when I blew into her Journalism as Literature course at the University of Tennessee nearly a decade ago. She quickly perceived my interest in historical research and continuing my studies at some point in my career, encouraging my decision to apply for graduate programs. Her first piece of advice: go work with this year’s Donald L. Shaw Senior Scholar Award winner Dr. Janice Hume. An important second piece of advice: check out the History Division of AEJMC.

I’m writing this on the last day of exams, before graduation here at Lehigh, and am struck by just how much has happened this year. First off, my gratitude to a fantastic leadership team and to our membership for remaining a dynamic, supportive, and generally fantastic scholarly community.

As the summer starts, we usually spend time catching up on things, usually responsibilities, that need to be done. But, as you close the book on this year, I’ll ask you to start thinking about next year, and how you might like to give back to AEJMC, the History Division, and your broader scholarly community.