In April 2022, three American Studies Alumnae spoke with current AMS majors about their lives after F&M at the annual AMS Career Lunch.
Julie Lim '20
Julie graduated from F&M with a joint major in American Studies and Government. Shortly after, she started her career at the New York County District Attorney’s Office as a trial preparation assistant. Today, she works as an investigative analyst for a trial bureau. Her main responsibility is to assist Manhattan’s prosecutors with investigating domestic violence, grand larceny, fraud, kidnapping, attempted murder, homicide, and other felony crimes in New York County.
She offers this advice to current students:
The skills I cultivated as an American Studies major are integral to my current role as an Investigative Analyst (IA) at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. As an IA, I rely on my ability to conduct research, ask thoughtful and effective questions, think flexibly, and make evidence-based connections. These skills are thoroughly cultivated in AMS courses with the enthusiastic guidance and wisdom of the department’s professors. The projects they assigned challenged me to think critically and fluidly when confronted with difficult questions and complicated concepts. With my joint major in American Studies and Government, I was ready to jumpstart my career as a young professional!
Amanda Loh '13
Amanda served as a College Adviser for the Pennsylvania College Advising Corps after graduating from F&M. After her two-year service term, she earned a master’s in Higher Education (with a concentration in Student Access and Success) from the University of Michigan. Amanda spent four years at UM as the Associate Director for one of the living-learning communities for first- and second-year students and returned to F&M to serve as Program Director for the Pennsylvania College Advising Corps in April 2021.
She offers this advice to current students:
How has the AMS major shaped my postgraduate life? American Studies taught me about the social, cultural, and political systems in the United States. As an educator, having an understanding of these AMS concepts allows me to figure out how to create effective change within the higher education system. Additionally, American Studies classes challenged me to question common narratives and assess which communities and social identities have been left out of popular discourse. This kind of critical thinking helped me create my voice as an advocate for social mobility through education. Overall, the AMS major helped me hone my values as an educator and encouraged me to use my critical thinking and communication skills to help others.
Laura Epstein '11
Laura is a content developer at Ralph Appelbaum Associates, an international museum planning and design firm located in New York City. Prior to joining RAA in 2016, Laura served for several years as curator at The History Factory, in Washington, D.C. She has also worked at other institutions in the nation's capital, including the Newseum, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Supreme Court of the United States. She graduated from Franklin and Marshall in 2011 with a major in American Studies and a minor in Judaic Studies. She also holds an M.A. in Museum Studies with a concentration in exhibition development from The George Washington University.