Aislinn Ladd
BS in History
“Brockport opened the doors to a very exciting, rewarding set of opportunities.”
Aislinn Ladd, a native of Brockport, NY, is an alumna of the history program at SUNY Brockport. She gives credit to Brockport and the study abroad program in London — where she now resides — for the way her life has turned out so far.
“During my study abroad, I was able to visit many cities in and around the United Kingdom such as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Brighton, York, Liverpool, Canterbury and of course Rochester! Living in London has allowed me the opportunity to travel further; I have been to Zante, Crete, Paris, Italy, Germany and South West France. I get to take day trips to castles that Henry VIII lived in, and occasionally I find myself in pubs in London that are older than America! Being in London also allows me to attend huge events like the 2012 summer Olympics and concerts like Madonna and the Rolling Stones in Hyde Park.”
Aislinn worked as a store manager at Game Stop before she began studying at Brockport. She was able to travel a lot as a store manager, and her passion for European culture became more intense after she studied abroad in Roehampton. After completing her degree at Brockport, she pursued her master’s degree in medieval history from Birkbeck, University of London, and graduated in 2013. Aislinn said that she wouldn’t have decided to study in London if it wasn’t for her experience studying abroad as an undergrad. She is currently working at Allsorted in London.
“My position as business development manager at Allsorted allows me to establish relationships at historical and tourist destinations in England, and perhaps later Scotland. The business is fairly new, and they distribute and publish all sorts of books that you would find in any gift shop or retailer. My job is to place the right books with the right destination. I also will be a liaison for future publishing ideas on different historical subjects. Some of my customers already include Westminster Abbey, Royal National Army Museum and The Cartoon Museum. In this position, I will be traveling all over England visiting these shops — that’s the exciting part! The scary part is learning to drive in England! Wrong side of the road, and everyone drives a manual stick shift car, so I’m shifting with my left. Since the company supplies the car, I can’t exactly ask for an automatic!”
In addition to her experience studying abroad in London, Aislinn had a few great mentors at Brockport.
“I was fortunate enough to have two fantastic mentors, Dr. Kim Schutte and Dr. Katherine Clark. They both inspired me to want to pursue my master’s degree, and I still, one day, hope to continue on for my PhD. Dr. Clark was influential in preparing my research skills, and Dr. Schutte fine-tuned my critical thinking skills and really motivated me in asking questions while reading history. I also enjoyed working with Dr. Nishiyama — he really took the time to help me with my lack of knowledge in Asian history.”
Allsorted provided a work visa that allowed Aislinn to stay in England after she completed her master’s degree. She hopes to stay in England until she decides her next move, which will either be going after the PhD or perhaps working as an international advisor for a study abroad program — and she hasn’t ruled out returning to her roots in Brockport, should an opportunity arise in the Office of International Education here at the College.
Posted: July 29, 2022