Today’s Project 100 memory comes from Ann Helfant Mahon.  She was born in Livingston, New Jersey.  She spent her first eight years in Union City, Union County.  Her family then moved to Clinton in Hunterdon County.  Her mother was a teacher and, later, an administrator.  Her father was a mechanical and electrical engineer.  Her father retired, but her mother took on a new role, helping train administrators for the State of New Jersey.  She has two older brothers.  She went to public schools and graduated from North Hunterdon High School in 1996.  She graduated from Rowan in the Spring of 2000 with honors and majors in history and secondary education.  After graduating, she taught history for six years at Ridge High School in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.  While working at Ridge, she got two Master’s degrees. The first was one in history from Drew University, and the second was one in Educational Leadership from Caldwell College.  In 2006, she moved to Hunterdon Central High School, where she has taught ever since.  While at Hunterdon Central, she began pursuing a doctoral degree at Drew University in Irish Studies and Holocaust/Genocide Studies.  Her dissertation topic was a comparative study of the way that museums and monuments shaped the memory of the Irish Famine and the Jewish Holocaust of World War II in popular culture. In addition to teaching history, she has advised for many clubs.  She enjoyed being Class Advisor and overseeing Project Graduation.  She also coached basketball.  She has helped with curriculum revisions and has served on many committees.  She recently accepted a position on a committee for New Jersey’s Amistad Commission.  She will be working on the Lesson Plan Committee, making sure they are accurate before they are posted online.

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I had been accepted at a number of colleges, including Rutgers, Drew University, Richard Stockton, Villanova, Boston College, and the University of Richmond.  I chose to attend Rowan for multiple reasons.  First, the education program was better than many of the other places I had been admitted.  Second, it had the right location.  It was in New Jersey and not too far from home.  At the same time, Rutgers was a bit too close to home.  Third, cost was a factor.  My parents told me that if I went to a state college, they would be able to pay for basically all my expenses.  They said that if I went to one of the private colleges, they could help, but they would not be able to afford all of the costs.  This mattered at the time, but it looms even larger in my mind today.  Not taking out loans for college is something for which I am very grateful.

I began as a mathematics major.  I had been very good at math all of my life.  I had also been good at history, but I chose mathematics initially, always intending to become a teacher.  The course that pushed me to switch majors was Discrete Math.  I just could not figure that course out.  I had always done well in math, and I did well in Calculus and my other math courses, but there was something about that course that did not work.  I had been taking survey courses in history during this time, and I made the change to the history major in my sophomore year.

I enjoyed all of my history courses, and even related courses like “History of American Art.”  I really liked my “Western Civilization to 1660” course.  The professor was Scott Morschauser, and he was a great lecturer.  He just knew so much information, and I took copious notes.  Gary Hunter’s African American history course was wonderful.  He was a riot.  I also loved Dr. Blake’s Modern Middle East class.  That course was fascinating to me.  It was all new information to me, and I still use books and materials from that class in my own teaching.  A very influential course to me was “Jewish Holocaust.”  Not only did I find that course eye-opening, it led to a long-term fascination with the field and played a role in my choice of dissertation topic.  The professor who taught my practicum on social studies teaching was also great. I think his name was Myers.  I remember his modeling how to be a great teacher and, in particular, explaining to us how to use literature in the teaching of social studies.  I also enjoyed my “Imperialism” class with David Applebaum. There were only ten students, and we had great discussions. The books were fascinating.  To this day, I love teaching imperialism and decolonization.

The History Department was very welcoming.  The professors were friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable.  The professors were demanding but fair, and I try to follow that example in my own teaching now.  I also remember that the secretary was also very warm and helpful.  My time at Rowan greatly influenced me.  It shaped what I studied and how I teach.  Many of my students go to Rowan, and I am happy to share my experiences with them, assuring them that they have chosen a good University.

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This is part of the Department of History’s “Project 100,” the collection and sharing of one hundred memories by Glassboro State College and Rowan University alumni and staff in celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the founding of Glassboro Normal School, later Glassboro State College, and now Rowan University.  Thanks to Laurie Lahey for helping proofread and edit the final versions.  Email carrigan@rowan.edu with questions or corrections.  You can find the Link to all of the Project 100 entries on the Web:  https://chss.rowan.edu/departments/history/alumni_highlights/project_100/