Four-year graduate fellowships like the one that Molly Varley received are rare but provided her the opportunity for academic discovery. Fortunately for Varley, a busy mother and Ph.D. student on an accelerated pace, the Moser-McKinney Fellowship gives her the needed time to concentrate on her studies and also explore possible career avenues after she finishes her dissertation. In addition to teaching, Varley is interested in public history and will be doing work at the Fort Missoula historical museum. "The fellowship gives me the chance to experiment with career options, in addition to teaching."
Varley has found that academic research has the surprising effect of opening doors that one would never expect. "One idea leads to another and all the sudden you're exploring things you never thought you'd be interested in. It was like that for me and American Western History."
Varley chose to be part of the history department because it has a broader perspective on what defines history. "This department is very much open to bringing new modes of research and topics into the collective term of history," she said.