Alumna Julie Campbell graduated from SHPRS with her bachelor’s degree in history in 1979.
Campbell answered a few questions about her current position, her time with SHPRS and tips for current students.
Tell us a little bit about your current position and how you found yourself there.
I am the associate director of communications and public affairs at Washington and Lee University, in Lexington, Virginia. I came here in 2003 to edit the alumni magazine. Since then, I have expanded my responsibilities to include oversight of our writing, editing, and digital media, and I step in as needed to help out with media relations and crisis communications. I also am putting that ASU history degree to good use with my membership on a committee studying the history of African-Americans at W&L.
Before W&L, I worked mainly in historical editing. I was the editor of Virginia Cavalcade magazine, published by the Library of Virginia, from 1994 to 2002, and the associate editor at the Arizona Historical Society, in Tucson, from 1987 to 1994.
Growing up, were you always interested in history?
I sure was. I grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and I was immersed from a young age in that city’s rich tri-cultural heritage — Native American, Spanish and Anglo. I was always aware of what an old, old place Santa Fe is, and its history surrounded and fascinated me.
And my mother’s ancestors were 19th-century settlers in Colorado, near Longmont and Niwot. Growing up with that history also intrigued me.
What attracted you to the undergraduate history program at ASU?
I started out as an English major, but during my first year, I had the good fortune to take an introductory course in American history with Mary Rothschild. She made the subject come alive, and next thing I knew, I was a history major.
I did minor in English, though, and in film studies, with several classes from the legendary Nick Salerno.
Tell us about your time with SHPRS.
Once I had settled on my history major and got to know professors like Robert Trennert, Noel Stowe and Retha Warnicke, I knew I had a home in the history department at ASU. Dr. Trennert was my mentor and guided me through my honors thesis. Several years later, when I was working at the Arizona Historical Society, we got to be friends as we worked on various statewide projects together, such as the Arizona Historical Convention.
I found it an exciting time to be studying history, for the important area of women’s history was coming to the forefront in the late ’70s, and ASU and the department brought in top scholars who were pioneers in the field. Their teaching and scholarship further inspired me.
The department also brought in a visiting professor from the University of Illinois named Robert W. Johannsen, a distinguished scholar of the Civil War. It was a treat to take his course.
Did SHPRS and your degree help in preparing you for your current position?
They sure did. I learned how to do research, how to write, how to think critically.
As an undergrad, I didn’t realize that my subsequent career would involve working with professors, students, and scholars of all kinds. Being part of a strong history department sure came in handy, as it turned out.
Several years after graduating from ASU, when I was an editor at the Arizona Historical Society, I found myself editing articles by a couple of my former professors, including Dr. Trennert. (Being the good guy he is, he made that potentially fraught task a breeze.)
Was there a defining moment in your academic career?
My defining moment was deciding to leave ASU after two or three semesters of graduate studies. While I enjoyed being a research assistant to Dr. Trennert, I was burned out on school and needed a change. So I left ASU and Tempe and moved to Denver, Colorado, where I worked my way into the publishing world. That experience and my history degree eventually led me back to Arizona, for a job as an editor at the Arizona Historical Society in Tucson.
During those happy and fulfilling years in Tucson, I ended up renewing my ties to ASU, and getting my M.A. in history from the University of Arizona. (I am proud to be both a Sun Devil and Wildcat.) I also wrote a textbook, Studies in Arizona History.
What is the most useful thing you learned that you can still apply today?
I tell this to students at Washington and Lee, and I’m sure it’s still the same at Arizona State: People want you to succeed. Your professors, the administrators, even your fellow students. Don’t hesitate to ask for help.
So many people went out of their way to help me at ASU. When I was a graduate student and having to work several part-time jobs, Susie Sato, who ran the Arizona Historical Foundation, then housed in Hayden Library, gave me a job. It was something like alphabetizing file cards, and she dug into a coffee can full of petty cash to pay me. I have always remembered her support and kindness.
Were there any extracurricular activities you were involved in at ASU?
I was a resident assistant in McClintock Hall during my junior and senior years.
Outside of my major and minor, I had great fun taking several agriculture classes from Elvin “Doc” Taysom. At the time, ASU owned a farm and lots of horses. I took several riding classes and a couple of courses in equine management; one of the teaching assistants, Pam Jones Stedman, is a friend to this day. Having that educational background, and knowing Doc Taysom, led to my summer job during college as a riding counselor at Friendly Pines Camp, in Prescott. Doc suggested I apply, and I wound up working there for three wonderful summers. I am still in touch with the owners of the camp.
Do you have any tips for current students?
Keep your mind open. Take classes that interest you (like my horse-related classes) even if they may not apply directly to your major or your intended profession. You never know what professor or course will inspire you, and maybe even lead you to change your academic or professional direction.
And get to know as many people as possible, from as many backgrounds and countries and states as you can manage. One of the great pleasures of my time as an ASU student was meeting students whose families and backgrounds and environments were very different from mine. Knowing them, learning from them, enriched my life.