Studying Colonial-era African Americans and Indigenous People in New London County

When he applied to Connecticut College, all David Radic ’23, from Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, knew about life in the United States came from what he’d seen in movies. A beneficiary of the Edna S. Thistle ’26 and Marjorie E. Smith ’22 Scholarship as well as a second scholarship funded by an anonymous donor, David is a history and German Studies double major enrolled in the Global Capitalism Integrative Pathway.

With mentorship from Leo Garofalo, associate professor of history, and funding from the Richard Lowitt-Linda Lear Fellowship for Primary Research in History, David spent summer 2021 learning more about the lives of colonial-era African Americans and Indigenous people in New London County, using records from court cases in databases held by the Connecticut State Library. He presented his research at a poster session over Fall Weekend 2021 and plans to apply for a second research fellowship for fall 2022. David works on campus as a student advancement officer.

He recalls, “I received my acceptance letter from Conn late one night, and I had never felt so happy. In fact, it was such an amazing feeling that I didn’t want to open my financial aid letter in case it contained bad news.”

“When I opened the second envelope the next morning and found out that the College would meet my full financial need, it was unequivocally the most ecstatic feeling I have experienced in my life.”