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By helping a renowned historian complete his latest book, Margarita Karasoulas ’08 (Harrison, N.Y.) is gaining professional credentials and insights that will serve as valuable tools in her career after Lafayette, in addition to getting a rich education in history.
As a research associate for Donald L. Miller, MacCracken Professor of History, she is responsible for fact checking, proofreading, and critiquing his latest work, The Fiery Trial: America’s Bomber Boys Against Nazi Germany, to be published this fall by Simon & Schuster. Once Fiery Trial is complete, Karasoulas will work with Miller on his next book, The Crisis of the Confederacy: The Siege of Vicksburg.
It is a rare experience for a sophomore, and comes as a result of a Lafayette initiative called Community of Scholars, supported by College funding and a $200,000 grant from the Andrew M. Mellon Foundation. The three-year program allows faculty members from a variety of disciplines to work with students in small group settings.
“If I took a 300-level history class on World War II, I would never learn as much as I have from reading Fiery Trial. The research is more in-depth and the work is constant,” says Karasoulas, a history major who worked for Miller ten hours a week during semesters and 35–40 hours a week during the January interim session.
Miller’s eighth published work and third WWII book, Fiery Trial examines the social and psychological effects of the war on bomber crews of the 8th Air Force, German citizens, and English people. It is a narrative account that takes readers “inside the plane and underneath the bombs,” says Miller.
Karasoulas was “ecstatic” about the opportunity to work with Miller, but a little intimidated by one of Miller’s assignments – critiquing his work.
“At first I was apprehensive and uneasy, because I didn’t feel that I was in a position to critique a professor. But as the semester continued he encouraged me and gave positive feedback, which helped me to recognize that I was contributing to his work in a meaningful way,” she says.
“They have to get over that psychological hurdle,” says Miller. “I told Margarita ‘you have to be critical of my work, so don’t be afraid, be ruthlessly objective… Remember, we are a team trying to make a good book.’”
He adds that Karasoulas has become an excellent proofreader. She offers constructive criticism, which Miller will credit in his book’s acknowledgements.
In addition to learning from Miller, Karasoulas has benefited from the team concept of Community of Scholars, learning by exchanging comments on the book with Trustee Scholar Alexandra Kenney ’06 (Springfield, Va.), a double major in history and economics & business; Jess Cygler ’07 (Scarsdale, N.Y.), a double major in English and history; and Marisa Floriani ’07 (Wyckoff, N.J.), a history major.
Karasoulas’s experience with Miller and her colleagues has opened her eyes to career possibilities.
“I have already learned a lot. Working on this project is honing my writing, reading, and proofreading skills, all of which will be important in anything I do after I graduate,” she says.
Karasoulas came to Lafayette because she saw what the College had to offer through her older sister Joanna Karasoulas ’05,who majored in psychology and art, and knew of the opportunities for student research.
“I definitely knew that this was going to be a great experience, but it has gone beyond my expectations,” she says.
After winning a Great Lakes Book Award for City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America, Miller played a multifaceted role in the production of “Ulysses S. Grant,” a four-hour American Experience series that aired on PBS television. He also is lead scholar and on-air host of “A Biography of America,” a PBS video series and telecourse, and has played significant roles in other series for PBS, which aired a series based on City of the Century. Miller also wrote the critically acclaimed The Story of World War II.
Karasoulas has been named to the Dean’s List and is a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.
As a national leader in undergraduate research, Lafayette sends one of the largest contingents to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research each year. Forty students have been chosen to present their research at this year’s conference.
Margarita Karasoulas ’08 worked with Donald L. Miller, MacCracken Professor of History, on his book, “Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany.”