Academics

Bio

Ashley Sorrell is a Doctoral student and teaching assistant at the University of Kentucky.

Education:
Bachelor of Arts in History and Journalism, Morehead State University (2007)
Masters in History, University of Kentucky (2011)

I entered Morehead State University with a limited worldview and little sense of career direction. This all changed when I took my first course under Dr. John Ernst in the Department of History. The enthusiasm Dr. Ernst held for the study of history was quite simply contagious and influenced me to pursue an undergraduate major in history. My passion for history did not stop there, as I am now a doctoral student at the University of Kentucky. While Dr. Ernst ignited my initial interest, it was continuously stoked with the same enthusiasm and support from all of the professors in the Department of History. Dr. Kristina DuRocher encouraged my interest in the history of gender and sexuality, which is now my specialty area as a doctoral student. The history department prepared me for graduate school and gave me the foundation in which to build my academic career. Each professor in the department gave valuable words of advice and academic tools that I now carry around in my “historian’s toolbox.” Even though I have since graduated from MSU, the lines of communication remain open, just as their doors were when I was on campus. Support from the Department of History did not end with my graduation and all the professors remain a valuable resource as I enter the dissertation writing phase of my graduate career. I have always said that MSU’s Department of History is a hidden treasure not just in the state, but also in the country. The education I received through the history program is unmatched. I will always be grateful for the doors of opportunity opened through my education under professors who are on the forefront of historical scholarship.

-Ashley Sorrell