Griffin King

Hi, my name is Griffin King and I’m a first-year MA student here at Southeast Missouri State, focused on Historic Preservation. I was raised in Cape Girardeau and attended Cape Central High School. After graduating, I enrolled at SEMO where I was originally was a Social Studies Education major. But after my first round of student teaching I realized that I was more concerned with content than pedagogy, thus I changed my major to a BA in History.

I’ve lived in Cape Girardeau my entire life, and SEMO has always been a part of it (childhood birthday parties at the Student Rec Center, Model UN at the University Center, etc.). As a result, it is incredibly satisfying to continue to see those same parts of the cultural landscape as a young adult in a different way. It’s very meaningful and special to me that the town I was born in possesses a program through which I’ve been able to get both a bachelor’s degree and start a master’s program

I served as a student intern at the Baptist Student Center from June 2019 to May 2022; my most involved project was my senior thesis (“An exploration of the motives for and the very notion of ‘radicalism’ as it pertains to the American labor movement of the Progressive Era,” under Dr. Eric Clements and Dr. Pete Soland).

I love the Cape Girardeau (and southeast Missouri) community, especially the SEMO community; my parents and grandparents also attended SEMO and I’m very proud of the way that SEMO makes higher education accessible (especially to the rural parts of southeast Missouri) 

My experiences in grad school thus far have been great; the best part of it is belonging to a community of friends and advisors who approach learning with academic rigor yet maintain a fun and sociable atmosphere. I feel very much welcomed by everyone. 

I look forward to having a publishable work by the end of the Spring 2023 semester and learning about historic building materials with Dr. Hoffman!