Exploring the past

Emma Barnes graduating this spring with history degree

By California State University, Bakersfield

April 27^th, 2022

California State University, Bakersfield student Emma Barnes graduated from high school in a class of fewer than 30 students. This May, she will be among more than 1,000 students who will be graduating from the university.

Barnes — born and raised in the small community of New Cuyama just southwest of Kern County along Highway 166 — will be graduating with a bachelor’s degree in history after spending two years at CSUB.

“I’m a little scared, but mostly really excited,” she said. “It’s been a great experience here at CSUB.”

Barnes transferred from Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria to CSUB in fall 2020 during the height of COVID-19. At that time, she was still living in New Cuyama while she attended her courses remotely, an experience that proved to be challenging at times.

“When everything is online, it can be difficult to keep things on track,” she said. “It was hard for me to pace myself, especially when I didn’t have regular class meetings. I found myself falling behind in my work and doing things last-minute.”

To help stay connected with campus outside of her online classes, Barnes worked with some of her fellow history students to develop online groups through the Discord app, which allowed students to study together and share their interests and passions.

It wasn’t until fall 2021, after Barnes had already been a CSUB student for a year, that she decided to move to Bakersfield.

“It was kind of weird being from a place where I know everybody and then coming to Bakersfield and not knowing anybody,” she said. “It’s definitely different living in the city, but it’s not a bad different. It’s really nice being closer to school.”

Besides excelling in her classes, Barnes has also gotten involved in several organizations on campus, serving as president of the university’s chapter of the national history honors society Phi Alpha Theta and as vice president of the History Book Club.

“Emma is a star in the History Department, not only because of her strong academic performance but also because of the many ways she has jumped in to serve our program and students,” said Professor and Department Chair Dr. Miriam Vivian. “The energy Emma has brought to the department can best be measured as ‘exuberance.’”

A love for learning

Barnes first developed an interest in history during her junior year of high school, when one of her teachers showed her class several documentaries, such as the rise of fascism in Germany.

“They weren’t really part of the school curriculum. They were just subjects that the teacher found interesting,” she said. “They made me realize that there’s a lot more to history than you get from the textbooks.”

History wasn’t her focus when Barnes first began going to Allan Hancock College, however. She originally wanted to pursue an art degree, but after taking some history classes at the college, Barnes began to consider a history major.

“I like learning about the past,” she said. “With history, you can come at it from so many different angles and perspectives. It’s so expansive.”

While Barnes had a better idea of what she wanted her career path to be by the time she graduated with her associate degree in 2020, making the transition to a university posed a significant challenge.

“CSUB was a massive step up in everything,” she said. “They have very intense, very in-depth classes here. Even though it’s a lot more work, I’m really enjoying it.”

Barnes said her experience at CSUB has been great over the past two years.

“I was never really one for school spirit until I came to CSUB,” she said. “It’s just been very accepting, very open. I can walk down Red Brick Road and have three people try to have a conversation with me. It’s a very welcoming and comfortable atmosphere. I really did not expect to love this school as much as I have.”

Obtaining a bachelor’s degree might not be the end of Barnes’ journey at the university. She said she wants to get her master’s and has applied to be in the History Department’s MA program this fall.

While Barnes said she’s not sure what type of history she wants to specialize in just yet, her ultimate career goal is to become a history professor.

“I’ve always been interested in teaching,” she said. “I really appreciate my teachers here. I see what they do and I enjoy watching them do it. They inspire me.”