Meet Elm Britt, a history major studying German history and the Holocaust

Written byAshley McClure-French

鈥淎 lot of people think learning German is intimidating, but Dr. Huey immediately destroys that illusion with her patience, enthusiasm, and experience.鈥

Elm Britt history and German student.
Elm Britt
Major
History
Hometown
Baton Rouge, La.

Where I'm From

I鈥檓 from Baton Rouge, La., where I always loved taking history classes.

Where I Am

I am a senior in the history program at UL Lafayette. 

Where I'm Going

I am going to become a history professor and inspire my students just as my professors did for me.

Elm Britt is a history major focusing on German history and the Holocaust. They always loved history classes in high school, but it wasn鈥檛 until they were already at UL Lafayette that everything fell into order.

鈥淢y first semester, I was a visual arts major, but it didn鈥檛 feel right,鈥 they said. 鈥淚 was also taking general courses, and I was in a world geography class. 

鈥淚 remember we talked about history for whichever region we were studying at that point, and it all just clicked,鈥 they said. 鈥淛ust talking about history for a single class made me the happiest I had been all semester, and accordingly is one of the best decisions I鈥檝e ever made.鈥

Research Experience

Outside of their history major classes, Elm works as an undergraduate research assistant with . Having already worked on , Elm is now focused on a new assignment. 

鈥淚 have been working on the XR in Museums project for several months now, which focuses on the extent of virtual reality exhibits in museums and how those exhibits propel social justice, especially in a digital age and under COVID-19 restrictions,鈥 they said. 鈥淭his project is specifically important because it allows a platform to show just how museums affect the general public and change the world they inhabit.鈥

Studying German

Because of the history curriculum at UL Lafayette, Elm took a series of modern language classes and uncovered their love for German history. Dr. Caroline Huey played a big part in that, as well.

鈥淎 lot of people think learning German is intimidating,鈥 they said. 鈥淏ut Dr. Huey immediately destroys that illusion with her patience, enthusiasm, and experience."

Elm loved the German language so much that they're pursuing a German minor alongside their history major.

鈥淕osh, I love every German class I鈥檝e taken with Dr. Huey since freshman year to now,鈥 they said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always been nice to have a familiar space to go and absorb information I hope to utilize in the real world someday.鈥

With aspirations to become a history professor, Elm wants to earn a Ph.D., and they are keeping all options in mind.

鈥淚鈥檓 currently looking for ways to further improve my German so maybe I could even attend graduate school in a German-speaking country,鈥 they said. 鈥淚 want to inspire my future students to care about the past 鈥 and admittedly, the present and future 鈥 just as my history professors have inspired me at UL Lafayette.鈥

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