Amber Santoro graduated with a BA in History (General Option) in 2022. While at CPP, she was co-winner of the Pemstein Award (for outstanding senior) and co-winner of the Digital History Prize. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate (ABD, having past her qualifying exams in summer 2025) at the University of Southern California, focusing on southern California history. In 2024, she presented a curated digital exhibit, “Driven Apart: Displacement Along the Century/105 Freeway,” at USC’s new Sustainability Hub.
Favorite classes at CPP?
History of Southern California with Dr. Eileen Wallis, Ancient Near East History with Dr. Amanda Podany, Europe in Crisis with Dr. Rob Lewis
Most memorable or helpful CPP experience?
The tools and methods learned from the historiography course (HST3300), the digital history research course, and the senior thesis course. The “hands-on” approach in these courses were invaluable to learning how historical research is performed (such as becoming attuned to major historiographical debates, navigating source databases, locating primary source materials, etc.)
Any advice for current history students?
I often tell my students to practice being an active reader. When you’re reading secondary sources, try to go beyond just scanning or skimming the text. Highlight passages or points that stand out to you, jot questions or thoughts in the margins, take separate notes in a notebook or on your laptop (it might feel like extra work in the moment, but you’ll thank yourself later when you’re preparing for an essay or an exam!) Pay attention to how the author puts it together: what kinds of evidence they’re using, how they explain why their interpretation matters, and whether they’re responding to any larger historiographical debates (sometimes this shows up directly in the text, sometimes it’s tucked away in the footnotes). This kind of close reading sharpens the tools historians rely on to think critically and work with evidence, and can be applied to virtually any discipline.
