Jimmy Witkoski was born in Mt. Holly and grew up in Marlton, New Jersey.  He went to local public schools and graduated from Cherokee High School in 2014.  His father worked in human resources for different companies while he was growing up.  His mother was a special education and music teacher in the public schools.  Ten days after graduating high school, he began boot camp as part of the Army National Guard.  He began at Rowan in Spring of 2015 while continuing his National Guard training.  His military requirements ended up interrupting his undergraduate experience, including his having to miss a month during the critical Historical Methods class.  Nevertheless, he graduated in Spring of 2017 with a history major.  He took a job with Homeland Security after graduating, but an old injury that he had originally suffered during his military training precluded his ability to continue in that job.  In the Fall of 2017, he came back to southern New Jersey to work in Rowan’s Veteran’s Affairs Office and began the Master’s program in history at Rowan.  He took a break in the middle of his graduate studies to continue to rehabilitate his injury and worked at an insurance company.  He returned to Rowan in the Spring of 2020 just in time for the pandemic, but he persevered and earned is MA in History in Spring of 2022.  His focus during his MA was on United States History and on Holocaust and Genocide Studies.  In the Fall of 2022, he entered the doctoral program at the University of Southern Mississippi where he is now working on a dissertation focusing on communications and intelligence gathering during the Vietnam War.

*****

One of the things that I liked best about Rowan was the personal connection that I developed with many of the faculty members.  The most important professor during my undergraduate studies was Dr. Emily Blanck who taught me Historical Methods. Not only did I learn critical skills that were foundational to my later and ongoing historical studies, she was the most responsive to my difficulties that I encountered balancing my studies and my duties to the National Guard.  During her class, I received orders to leave Glassboro for a month to do special training at Fort Indian Town Gap near Hersey, Pennsylvania.  Missing a month of Methods could have been devastating, but Dr. Blanck worked tirelessly with me to make the best of the situation. While Rowan is generally good at supporting veterans and those serving in the National Guard, she did far more than any other faculty member to make it all work.  In fact, she continued working with me long after the class was officially over into the summer.

I continued to be fortunate and developed strong relationships with faculty members during the Master’s program at Rowan.  I had many meetings about my future with Professors Keith Aksel, William Carrigan, and Jody Manning.  All of them were critical in my successful pursuit of funding to support my quest for a doctorate in history.  Dr. Aksel was the first professor I had when I came back from my rehabilitation, and he made my transition back to the classroom so successful.  He did this despite the fact that the pandemic developed during the middle of the class.  His personal efforts to help us transition and find online sources for our research was truly above and beyond. 

I was at Rowan off and on for eight years, and my growth during this period was remarkable.  So many professors helped me on this journey, nudging me forward at the right times, while also understanding those moments when I had to step away.  I hope one day to be able to mentor and help future students just as my professors at Rowan helped me.

*****

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/