OUTSTANDING GRADUATING SENIORS 

Congratulations to Amber Billiard and Tiffany Smith!

A new member of Phi Alpha Theta, Amber has earned a 3.7 GPA in eleven history courses at CSUB. She is a very engaging student in class and, according to Prof. Meriwether, “has a sharp analytic mind that sees the essential issues at hand, and then writes fluidly and insightfully about those issues." Amber has also demonstrated exceptional research abilities: Dr. Baker characterizes her as “a tireless researcher,” one who found practically every source available on her topic for Historical Writing.  She has a particular interest in Africa and, after earning her teaching credential so she can teach history at the high-school level, she would like to pursue an MA in history at CSUB.

Originally a math major, Tiffany discovered a greater passion and facility for history, as demonstrated by the 3.8 GPA she achieved in fourteen CSUB history courses. She has been a member of Phi Alpha Theta and was last year’s recipient of the James H. George Scholarship award in history. She took a special interest in Asian history, earning a minor in Asian Studies to complement her major, and plans to pursue graduate studies in that field. Her honors program research project, under the direction of Prof. Orliski, focused on ways that Chinese immigrants in the U.S. devised ways to evade immigration restrictions and thus shows, in the words of Prof. Orliksi, that “the Chinese were not in fact the unwitting victims of American racism that most scholarship on the Asian American experience advances.” Tiffany has begun studying Japanese as she prepares for graduate school.