MEET THE CURRENT LEPAGE CENTER INTERNS
This year, the Albert Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest is delighted to partner with the Lower Merion Historical Society, Hagley Museum and Library, American Philosophical Society, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and Rosenbach Museum & Library.
We are proud to have four graduating Villanova History MA students and one Villanova History undergraduate student representing the University, their programs, and the Center in the wider world of research and scholarship.
Colin McCrossan '23 MA
Spring 2023 graduate Colin McCrossan will be working with the Lower Merion Historical Society at Stoneleigh Nature Garden and historic Oakwell Estate, where he will work on expanding existing scholarship about the history of the Stoneleigh estate’s 65 acres, going back to its stewardship by the Lenape people and settlement by Quaker refugees.
During his time at Villanova, Colin worked for the Rooted Project, Villanova’s institutional history project, and researched the history of slavery at Villanova and throughout the area. Colin will be attending Temple University’s Beasley School of Law this coming fall with a full-tuition scholarship.
Tripp Wright '23 MA
Spring 2023 graduate Tripp Wright will be working with Hagley Museum & Library in Delaware on the Conrail oral history project. His area of study focuses on Modern Europe, as well as Memory and Environmental History. As the ’22-’23 Lepage fellow, Tripp has gained valuable experience engaging with the public on understanding the value of history to understand the present.
He is excited to expand his historian’s toolbox through his work with the Oral History program at the Hagley Museum and Library this summer and continue on into a career in Public History.
Marissa Ivie '23 MA
Spring 2023 graduate Marissa Ivie will work at the American Philosophical Society, where she will create an online resource for teachers for their use of the Society’s Lewis and Clark journals. She is excited to work with the American Philosophical Society’s education team to make history more accessible and more exciting for young students and budding historians.
Marissa is originally from Phoenix, Arizona and spent several years working in fundraising at the Chicago History Museum before Villanova. She primarily studies 18th century women and gender history, focusing on Ireland and Philadelphia.
Ryan Badalamenti '23 MA
Summer 2023 graduate Ryan Badalamenti will be working with the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. He studies North American environmental and Native American history. Ryan likes to study the things which connect people together between cultures and between humans and the environment. Outside of school, Ryan is an ESL teacher and he hopes to transition to teaching history in the near future.
Katie Chuss '25 CLAS
Rising Villanova junior in the Department of History and fan of classical literature, Katie Chuss will be working with the Rosenbach Museum & Library over the summer where she will be assisting in cataloging the museum’s collections. Katie will be working closely with the photography collection to expand and digitize available resources. She will also be developing social media content and strategies to increase community engagement.