Name: Alan Clamp
Year: Senior
Major: History
Hometown: Newberry

Why are you on campus this summer? I'm taking summer classes, and I'm currently immersed in MATH 550.

As a returning, nontraditional student, was it hard to get used to studying again? This is not my first attempt at higher education: I went to Clemson, beginning in 1979 and off and on during the 1980s, but didn't do well. At that time I saw education merely as an obstacle between a good job and me. Now I enjoy education more for its intrinsic values. Since returning to school in 2003, I have completed 112 hours with one B+ and the rest A's.

Why go back to school? I studied mechanical engineering at Clemson, but didn't earn a degree. After losing an engineering job that I had for 16 years, I found that most employers don't even consider experience without a degree. I was apprehensive about returning to school, but I discovered I really loved it, so much so that I decided to make a career change. Eventually, I want to go all the way to the Ph.D. level, and then teach and do research in an academic setting.

Why Carolina? I wanted a good school and an affordable school. I knew that USC had great research resources, but realized that these were much more extensive than I knew at first. One of the first courses I took was "The Historian's Craft" (HIST 300), taught by professor Lacey Ford, which gave me a great introduction to doing research with the primary sources that we have available.

What will you take this fall? It will be my most intense semester yet, with three 500-level physics courses and two 400-level history courses. I hope to earn a second degree in physics. Physics is almost an addiction for me. I like the challenge. Most of my physics classes are with physics major who have young, brilliant minds and really keep me on my toes. Also, this fall I'll start my Magellan research project on the history of science.

You're one of just 18 Magellan Scholars. Why do you think your work was chosen? The project is well defined, studies a question that is perhaps overlooked or taken for granted, and it is limited enough in scope to yield success. I'm working with history professor Ann Johnson, who guided me through the Magellan application process and supported me thoroughly, even though I'm not a typical student. My research will look at the development of the American ideal of pure science and practical science, and how the two developed into something of a dichotomy during the mid- to late-19^th century. I'll be studying primary source materials available here at the University, for the most part. The work I do will find citations for Dr. Johnson's next book and provide the basis for my senior thesis.

7/06