Focus on: Brian Lawatch

Once in a while, we’ll be talking to people we know and reporting what we hear, in only slightly edited fashion. Today’s victim: Brian Lawatch, history undergrad.

Why Did You Decide to Major in History?

I'm a history major because history is the one subject that I'm most passionate about. I feel that in order to understand the present, I need to have knowledge about our past. When I first started classes at BSU I was not sure what I was going to major in. I thought I would get a degree in business or some "practical" profession that could bring in a steady income. However, after my first year, I realized I was not going to be happy pursuing a degree I didn't enjoy learning about. I took a leap of faith deciding on history.

And why attend Boise State University?

Right out of high school I thought I did not want to be in Boise any longer so I joined the Army. It turned out that I missed this town and decided I wanted to return here for college and to be near family and friends.

You are a McNair Scholar – which means that you are the first member of your family to attend college – what has that meant to you?

Being a McNair Scholar means having a stellar opportunity to become an extremely competitive candidate for graduate studies toward a Ph.D. The program has given me the tools and knowledge required to develop the scholarly disposition that graduate institutions look for. The seminars make available time and resources toward hunting for schools, studying for the GRE, and developing healthy mentor-student relationships. Most importantly, the McNair program provided me with a $2,800 grant this summer to write a quality research paper for publication, presentation at a national conference, and submission to graduate schools. This program has helped me in countless ways and I encourage every undergraduate history major at BSU that fits the criteria to apply to the McNair Scholars Program.

How did you spend your summer?

This summer, as stated above, I used my $2,800 grant from the McNair Program to fund my undergraduate thesis paper: "Legitimizing Torture: How Similar Ideologies of the French in Algeria and the United States in the War on Terror Led to Torture." That took up most of my summer.

Didn’t you have any fun this summer?

For fun this summer I rode my mountain bike up in the foothills. I went to a cabin in Crouch, Idaho with about 20 friends and went rafting and enjoyed some home-made beer. I spent some time with new friends, old friends and family. Other than that, my summer was uneventful. I'm saving all my traveling for next summer after I graduate.

What’s your favorite piece of clothing?

My favorite piece of clothing... I would have to say is my "Members Only" jacket, which I do not actually have but wish I did.

What was your most memorable “Holy Cow” moment in a history class?

My "holy cow" moment in class was in David Walker's Western Europe after WWII class when we were learning about decolonization, specifically the French decolonization in North Africa. Learning about the frustration of the French soldiers, the people of France and Algeria, and all the politics reminded me very much of my own experiences in the Army. The superior French fighting force had a world of trouble against a rag-tag militia because the rules of warfare and clashes with Frances own humanitarian values dictated the direction of the war and the eventual outcome. This piqued my interest greatly and has been part of the focus of my research.