Her Story
About Amber
I've been training as a historian for 13 years, and my journey has been shaped by perseverance and passion. After a rough start to my college career and dealing with a family death, I took time off before returning to community college. My first class back was United States history, and I discovered I excelled in history courses. I transferred to Eastern Washington University, known for their history program, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History with a Religious Studies minor. During my internship at Eastern, I was the only intern archivist to have a project published on the university server - the Women of Cheney Project in 2018. After working for a couple years, I pursued my first master's degree in history with American Public University System during the lockdown, graduating in 2023. I then earned a Master's in Individualized Studies from Antioch University in March 2025, where I designed my own history degree. I'm currently pursuing my PhD, which I started in July 2025 and will complete in about 2 years. Beyond my academic work, I'm certified in taking care of special needs individuals and was licensed by the state for a few years, working at an adult special needs family home office. I have over 20 years of experience working with special needs individuals, which is deeply personal to me as my younger brother is nonverbal and has special needs. I've also worked in various academic settings including foreign exchange offices, disability studies offices, and music departments. I'm multilingual, fluent in Spanish and Italian due to my Puerto Rican great-grandmother and Italian great-grandfather, and I also know Turkish and ancient languages including Hittite, Akkadian, Sumerian, and Luwian because of my Hittite studies and ancient history focus. I communicate with my brother using American Sign Language. My professional goal is to teach college-level history because I believe college students are at an emotional and mature level to truly appreciate history. I'm passionate about teaching that just because bad things have happened in history doesn't mean humanity has to make the same mistakes - if we don't learn from the past, how can we move forward in the future?
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Amber
01What do you attribute your success to?
I had numerous influences in my life that contribute to it, it's not just one thing. First of all, I was raised by a struggling single mom who took care of me and my special needs younger brother basically by herself, and she always said I could achieve anything I wanted. I always knew that I wanted to have a career I could be passionate about. That's something they teach girls early on now. I want to be able to be a mother someday who teaches her kids that you can have a career that you love. My husband is really supportive of me going to school - he's actually the one paying the bills right now. We met when we were both working at Amazon, and we've been officially married for a year and a half. I always knew that I wanted to do something I was good at, because I used to feel bad that my brother wouldn't be able to have a normal life like I can, so I'm also kind of doing this for him, in a way. There's something about always proving the other parent wrong as well, or proving people who didn't believe in you wrong. My high school actually said that I wouldn't be able to graduate from high school, and look at me now. My dad honestly just never believed in me - he wanted me to go into the military, actually. I've just never been one to do what I'm told, honestly, so I always figured it out my own way.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
When I did my Eastern Washington internship before graduation, my mentor who was in charge of the internship said, 'Amber, you should try getting different types of experiences related to your field, and as well as get your work experience before you enter into another major degree.' Basically, he was saying it's a good idea to have work experience while diversifying yourself.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would recommend, first off, to take a long time to think about what specialization they want to do and gather the skills related to that, but also plan accordingly for the credentials, such as doing internships, doing an apprenticeship, what is needed for a master's or a PhD, even getting job experience. The more diversified the person is, the better off they'll be.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges are the limited professional opportunties for Hittite or Ottoman Empire studies
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I believe that you should always treat people with respect, regardless of background, situation, or circumstances. I believe that if someone really wants to be successful, regardless of gender or how they identify, that hard work is required for such a thing. And I believe that if this is something that people are passionate about, they can make it into a career or a lifelong passion.
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