COD Celebrates the 2016 Carter D. Carroll Excellence in History Award Winners

Marissa Ferreri (second from left) of Carol Stream was recognized at a recent reception as this year's first-place recipient of the Carter D. Carroll Excellence in History Award for outstanding work in the field of history writing at College of DuPage. The award, which includes a $250 stipend to the winner, was created to encourage and reward high quality academic writing in the field of history. Also pictured (left to right) is Ferrari's sponsoring faculty member John Paris, Associate History Professor at College of DuPage, second place winner Jessica Lee of Naperville and her sponsoring faculty member Ben Whisenhunt, History Professor at College of DuPage. Click here for additional photos.

Ferreri's winning entry was a review of the book "Mayflower" by Nathan Philbrick. Ferreri is a sophomore at College of DuPage who transferred to COD from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She will continue her studies at Elmhurst College this fall, where she plans to major in Elementary Education with an endorsement in Spanish. According to Ferreri, the paper she submitted for the Carter D. Carroll Excellence in History Award provided her with a "new perspective on the holiday of Thanksgiving," which opened her eyes to the great injustices that Native Americans faced after the Pilgrims' arrival in the New World. She noted that there are many misconceptions about this holiday, including how America became the country it is today. One of the major reasons Ferreri said she picked this topic was to more accurately discuss Thanksgiving with her future elementary school students.

Second place winner Lee submitted an essay on "Fathers and Sons" by Ivan Turgenev. Prior to attending College of DuPage, Lee studied history at Brigham Young University, where she earned a B.A. in History and a minor in Family Sciences. Lee said she enjoyed the experience of learning about Russian history and culture in Professor Whisenhunt's History of Russia course and especially appreciated the literature discussed during this class. Lee said she enjoyed the relatable stories woven throughout the book "Father and Sons," which also fostered in her a greater understanding of people's lives during past eras.

Since its inception in 1994, the Carter D. Carroll Excellence in History Award honors students for excellent writing achievement in the field of history. Professor Carter D. Carroll was a founding faculty member at COD who taught History at the College for more than two decades. Instructors voluntarily nominate student papers that they feel are of excellent quality and have been assigned "A" grades.

Following the awards reception, guests and community members were treated to a free presentation of "The Underground Railroad in DuPage: History That Happened Here" by author, historian and educator Glennette Tilley-Turner, who is also a recipient of the Wilbur H. Siebert Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of the Underground Railroad.

For more information, please contact Assistant Professor of History John Paris at (630) 942-2064 or parisj@cod.edu. For information about COD's History program, visit www.cod.edu/programs/history.