Georgia Armitage '19
Georgia Armitage '19

Before Beloit

What drew you to Beloit College?
In my high school years, I enlisted into various clubs such as the debate team, choir, and French Honor Society. Reflecting on my high school experience, at that time, I was highly aware that my learning style was experimenting. When I came to apply for college, I knew that I would fall for a college that offered me the opportunity to talk with professors and engage with subject materials and the community. During my visit to Beloit, I sat in Professor Diep Phan's class, where I was part of the class discussion for a case study, and Diep asked for my opinions regarding the class topic. And right for that moment, I knew Beloit was the right place.

Year 1

How was your freshman experience?
Exploring and discovering are the 2 words that basically sum up my freshman year. I signed up for the Voice lesson course and continued to have that course in my schedule for every semester at Beloit. I also met my amazing mentor, Professor Danny Ellis, who always encouraged me to become a more confident person and challenged me to go beyond my own limits.

What advice would you give to first-year students?
Take as many courses as you can in as many fields as you can. You never know when it will help you to understand a wide variety of subjects.  Another piece of advice that I would want to share is to talk with your advisors or professors often. Tell them your concerns, your thoughts, your highs, and your lows, or anything. They are great resources and always willing to help you out. 

Year 2

What are your majors, and when did you declare those?
History and International Political Economy are my majors at Beloit, and I think I declared these two in my sophomore year.

How do you think Beloit College has supported you to go further with your choices of majors?
Beloit definitely prepared me well to pursue my career pathway, which is being a Research Assitant. My professors gave me amazing opportunities to learn and grow inside and outside their classes. They challenged me with new aspects of work that I learned how to learn and how to think about questions from multiple angles. More than that, I felt supported, and that gave me confidence. Professor Ellen Joyce, Professor Laura Grube, Professor Diep Phan, Professor Anne Davis, and Professor Danny Ellis believed in me, which meant the world to me.

Year 3

What opportunities did you have as a Beloit College student?
I studied off-campus during my junior year at the Newberry Library in Chicago. While being there, I got the chance to actively engage with history, digging through an uncatalogued church archive to write a thesis. With the support of Professor Ellen Joyce, I presented it back at Beloit on Symposium Day. The project turned out well and even earned me Honors in the History Department. The professors at Beloit are also the greatest resources I could not ask for more. I successfully secured an internship at the Rock County Historical Society during my junior year with the introduction of Professor Ellen. Professor Laure Grube and Professor Diep Phan have well-prepared me with a polished resume and confident interview skills to apply to any place.
My junior year at the Newberry Library in Chicago

Year 4

Could you share with us your favorite research project while at Beloit?
During my senior year, I did a ton of research, and I loved all my projects. But the one that I consider to be my achievement while at Beloit was the project in my Economics Seminar course with Professor Diep Phan. For the project, I examined the impact of remittances on children's test scores in Vietnam. Diep let me do the project, even though I did not have any experience using the statistical software necessary. She guided me through the research, and, ultimately, I presented my work at a conference!

After Beloit

After Beloit, what is keeping you busy?
Currently, I am working as a Research Assistant at the State Oregon Law Library. My day-to-day work is mainly about conducting empirical research projects, historical blog posts, and miscellaneous library work. It has been extremely exciting since the State of Oregon Law Library collaborated with the Department of Corrections to improve legal resources for adults in custody. Helping write about the new legal resource system and investigate it fascinates me.