Traveling the world and finding her place at Iowa State

While growing up, Eliana Moore (’27 history) moved 11 times. Her father served in the Army, and the family moved with him through his various deployments. Moore has lived in cities around the world – in Germany, England, and the United States.

The one constant in all these moves was Moore’s passion for history. She enjoyed seeing the places she read about in her textbooks. During the Covid-19 pandemic, she was living in Washington, D.C. and, with her father, traveled to all the Civil War battlefields in Virginia, to Gettysburg, and to other historical landmarks that were still open to the public.

“My dad’s a huge history buff,” Moore said. “I think that had a big influence on me.”

Learning to teach history

Moore has always wanted to teach and the opportunity to pursue a dual major in history and education is what led her to choose Iowa State.

“I really love the flexibility within the history program,” Moore said. “The reason I came to Iowa State was because of this major.”

This flexibility has allowed Moore to take advantage of a wide range of courses and opportunities both within the history program and in other disciplines. Here, she can take classes that range from art history to political science and more. She said that she is learning how to to do research, form ideas, and convey her ideas – skills that can be applied to education or any other career she chooses.

The caliber of the faculty in the department has also impressed Moore.

“The program has Dr. Michael Bailey, one of the leading medieval historians in the world, and Dr. Stacy Cordery, a leading Roosevelt scholar,” she said.

Being a student ambassador

Now, Moore is sharing both her passion for history and Iowa State as one of the department’s newest social media ambassadors. Her responsibilities include interviewing faculty members and students, researching unique Iowa State history facts to highlight, and collaborating with other history students to help spotlight all the department has to offer.

If anyone asked her about attending Iowa State University to study history, “I would say, just do it,” Moore said.