U-M History will host its first Undergraduate Banquet and Career Conference on November 7-8, a chance for students to meet some of the amazing alums who once called the History Department home. The November 7 banquet will feature three alumni speakers sharing their passion for history—and how this has shaped their professional lives.
On November 8, using a roundtable format developed in consultation with the LSA Opportunity Hub, students will be able to make direct connections with six U-M History alums from a wide range of careers, from business to education to museums and beyond:
- Vivian Flynn (BA 1995), Managing Director, Pomona Capital
- Madison Horton (BA 2017), Documentary Producer
- Alexandra Sloan Kelly (BA 2006), Assistant US Attorney
- Andrea C. Maines (BA 1991), AP World History and Psychology Teacher, Chelsea High School
- Savannah Stephens (BA 2018), Fan and Partner Insights Strategist, National Basketball Association
- Christopher W. Wilson (BA 1989), Supervisory Curator, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Learn more about the alums featured at the November 8 event below.
Vivian Flynn
BA 1995
Vivian Flynn is a managing director and leads the investor relations and capital raising efforts of Pomona Capital, a New York-based secondaries-focused private equity firm with $18 billion of committed capital. She joined Pomona in 2010 and has 24 years of private equity and alternative investments experience, including work at FrontPoint Partners and Goldman Sachs. She started her career at Deutsche Bank. In addition to her BA in history, she has a JD from Washington University School of Law. She lives in New York City with her husband and twelve-year-old daughter.
How do you engage with history in your career?
Inside of work, history comes up from an economic perspective. We learn from previous economic cycles and prior investment decisions. So, it is about understanding and analyzing the cause of events and actions.
What’s your advice for students considering a history major?
Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Trust that your history major provides you with a skill set that can be applied to many career paths. Critical and analytical thinking skills and communication skills are the foundation to any career field.
Madison Horton
BA 2017
Madison Horton is a film producer based in Los Angeles. She works for Academy Award-winning producers Melanie Miller and Diane Becker at Fishbowl Films on a variety of documentary projects including Blink, which is set to be released by National Geographic in fall 2024. She was previously a member of the non-fiction team at MRC, which produced documentary projects including The Greatest Night in Pop, The Contestant, and Milli Vanilli. In the fiction space, she was an associate producer on Butcher’s Crossing, starring Nicolas Cage and Fred Hechinger. Her other credits include Red Penguins and In Search of Greatness.
How did your experience as a history major influence your career?
I was always interested in historical storytelling as a kid, but studying history taught me the practical skills of how to find interesting stories and seek out, organize, and analyze sources into a well supported and engaging narrative. Those research skills gave me a huge leg up when I started working on documentaries. It also taught me how to write, which is truly an invaluable skill.
What’s your advice for students considering a history major?
Write a thesis! Or if you aren't able to commit to that, make sure you are able to do original research of some kind.
Alexandra Sloan Kelly
BA 2006
Alexandra Sloan Kelly is an assistant United States attorney in the Central District of California, where she prosecutes violent crimes, narcotics trafficking, and fraud. Before joining the Department of Justice, she was a partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP, where she participated in several government monitorships and investigations. In her pro bono practice, she won a $2 million default judgment for a mother whose son was killed by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies, and obtained asylum for LGBTQ clients. She is a dual US-French citizen and speaks English, French, and Spanish. She earned her JD from Northwestern University.
What was your favorite history class at U-M?
“Origins of Nazism,” taught by Professor Kathleen Canning, and a class about the history of medicine, taught by Professor Alexandra Stern. Most of the history I knew to that point was from the perspective of the winners and was incomplete.
What’s your advice for students considering a history major?
Majoring in history at U-M will make you a more rigorous worker and more thoughtful leader, no matter what career path you take.
Andrea C. Maines
BA 1991
Andrea C. Maines teaches Advanced Placement World History and psychology at Chelsea High School, where she has dedicated 32 years to educating students. She is the advisor for Key Club, an international, student-led organization, and she tutors AP World History students online from across the country. As a passionate advocate for her son and others living with profound autism, she works ardently to support this community. She is the proud parent of twin daughters who are seniors at the University of Michigan, a freshman daughter at Oakland University, and a son who attends Chelsea High School. She also has an MA in education from Spring Arbor University.
How would you describe your current work?
In today's political climate, teaching history at the high school level has its challenges and co-occurring anxieties. However, I am passionate about teaching today's students how to think historically while working harder than ever to ensure students understand credible sources and the importance of historical accuracy.
What’s your advice for students considering a history major?
The world needs trained historians more than ever! If you have that core passion for history that fills your soul, please follow that wherever it might take you!
Savannah Stephens
BA 2018
Savannah Stephens is fan and partner insights strategist for the National Basketball Association, where she supports the league’s partnership and marketing functions by leveraging syndicated and custom data sources to track the NBA’s brand health, monitor multi-property partnerships, and optimize marketing-creative conceptualization and activation strategies. She also provides data-driven insights to the NBA’s 30 teams and its affiliate leagues to help stakeholders articulate narratives around their local and global fanbases. Savannah graduated with a Spanish minor in addition to her BA in history.
How did your experience as a history major influence your career?
It helped me to be curious and open-minded.
What’s your advice for students considering a history major?
Hone and leverage your critical thinking skills because you can apply them to any role anywhere.
What was your favorite history class at U-M?
"Crime and Drugs in America," taught by Matthew Lassiter.
Christopher W. Wilson
BA 1989
Christopher W. Wilson is supervisory curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, where he is chair of the Division of Home and Community Life. He joined the Smithsonian in 2004 to direct the Program in African American History and Culture, and in 2017 he became director of experience design. He worked for eighteen years at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan, before coming to the Smithsonian. His historical play, Cramton 1961, was staged at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2018. Chris also holds an MA in history from Wayne State University.
How would you describe your current work?
At the Smithsonian, I've felt that it was my role not only to research and teach about the past, but also to use history to bring people together. I try to use our incredible platform to engage people who don't know one another in conversation so that while they are learning about the past, they are also learning about each other in hopes that the kinship, respect, and understanding that can foster can make a better nation, world and future.
What was your favorite history class at U-M?
It's hard to pick! The class that comes to mind first is my twentieth-century US history course with the legendary Sidney Fine. I was enthralled with Professor Fine's lectures and loved his presence, expertise, personal stories, and ability to weave a narrative.
