Graduating Senior Spotlight: Rachel Huberty

What brought you to the University of Minnesota and how did you end up choosing your major(s)?

I chose UMN because my dad is an alumnus, so I grew up coming to football games as he's a season ticket holder, and I wanted to stay close to home. I chose my majors to support my future career in social studies education. I wanted to do both history and political science to broaden the subfields I can teach in, and I'm very interested in and passionate about both. 

What has been your favorite part of your experience with your department(s) and within your major(s) and minor(s)?

One of my favorite parts of my undergraduate career has been working within the history department as a student worker. When I graduate in May, I will have had my student job for nearly three years. I feel like it's brought me closer to a number of my history professors, introduced me to several I didn't get to take classes with but still got to learn about their work, and given me a deep look into the administrative side of university operations which has then helped me better understand both UMN and national college politics. It has also brought me into discussions I wouldn't have otherwise been a part of, and has been an enduring space for me to work as I pursue my education.

What is one aspect of your major or minor that has surprised you? What do you wish more people understood about what you study?

I wish more people, specifically political science majors, also pursued history as either a double-major or a minor because of how deeply interwoven they are, which has become so apparent to me during the last four years (five, counting my PSEO experience when I attended Kennedy High School). In many of my political science classes, it has been easier for me to grasp concepts and make connections between issues and topics because of my background in history. 

For example, if you want to best understand many ideals present in the Declaration of Independence, you also have to have knowledge of Enlightenment thinkers and other major goings-on that factored into the era – the Scientific Revolution, the Reformation, colonialism, early capitalism, and more. All of these factor into the Declaration of Independence, and, without an understanding of history, the gravity of all that went into the document and its impacts today will go unnoticed.

What are some ways you have found community within your major/minor department(s)? 

While not directly related to community, I do want to highlight that I've been the recipient of two revolving CLA scholarships for which my family and I are profoundly grateful—the Louis P. and Mary Ann Novak Scholarship and the Humanities Scholarship. To have had this kind of support from virtual strangers is truly amazing. All my life, learning has acted as a sort of escape for me, something I can wholeheartedly pour myself into and use as a coping mechanism for what the universe throws my way. For this reason and many others, college has always been something I’ve looked forward to, but the idea of “the after,” with the debt, true adult life, and everything else, loomed over my head. The awards have given me the privilege of stepping into my life after graduation with a lessened financial burden and the ability to more thoroughly pursue my goals and ambitions, as well as the ability to pass along my knowledge to future generations through my teaching career.

Which of the core career competencies do you think will help you the most in your future career?

The two core career competencies I think will help me most in my future career are Teamwork & Leadership and Active Citizenship & Community Engagement, although many of them will be relevant in my classroom. Teamwork & Leadership are at the core of teaching—you have to get up in front of a room of students and present them with new material in an informed, compelling manner, while also working with both them and peer teachers to best tailor it to their needs. Additionally, as a future social studies teacher, passing along the ideals of Active Citizenship will be at the core of many of my lessons. Students need to learn that they can not only be the change they wish to see in the world, but make it by actively engaging with each other, their communities, avenues of information, and the broader world around them.

What's next for you? What are your post-graduation plans?

This summer, I will begin graduate school in CEHD (the College of Education & Human Development) in the Social Studies Education & Initial Licensure Program, with the plan to teach in a classroom fully licensed and with my master's degree starting fall 2026. I'm very excited to begin this next phase of my educational career at the University of Minnesota!

If you had the world's attention for 30 seconds, what would you say?

The people united will never be defeated! And that "The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson is the best song ever.

If you could be any member on a TV show, who would you be?

I'd just want to be an invisible White House intern on Veep.