As a child growing up in Gresham, Charlie Huxley loved cemeteries. They would walk through the historical fields with their mom as a hobby. What may seem like a quirky hobby became a motivator for Huxley’s academic career as they graduate with a bachelor’s degree in history from Portland State.
“Especially late in my undergraduate career, I really wanted to focus on things that I loved as a kid, because I now have the tools to make that matter and find ways to do serious research about it,” Huxley says.
As part of their final project as an undergrad, Huxley studied the history of the Lone Fir Cemetery and its segregated section for Chinese immigrants. Just last week, Huxley was notified they will present their findings at the Association for Gravestone Studies conference this summer.
“It was amazing because it's the first research paper I've done where I got to go to the physical space,” Huxley said. “I think it's important for historians to have emotional connections to what they're writing about. Seeing that physical space, especially the segregated section in comparison to what the rest of the cemetery looks like, was really impactful.”
Huxley will have the opportunity to continue historical research as they embark on a journey to Washington State University in the fall to join the graduate program in public history. This next step is especially important to Huxley because it represents a kind of growth they couldn’t have imagined before attending PSU.
Huxley says they knew they didn’t feel ready to move away from home for college, so they started attending Mt. Hood Community College while working full-time to afford tuition. An elderly couple Huxley has worked with as a caregiver found out about Huxley’s workload and made a generous offer.
“They didn’t have grandkids so they kind of adopted me and decided they were going to pay for my bachelor’s. I'm like Pip from Great Expectations,” Huxley says. “There were many times I thought I wouldn’t even make it to graduation, but now I’m graduating magna cum laude.”
Zoom courses were a challenge for Huxley like they were for many students — and included a brief obsession with online discussion boards — but they also struggled to navigate the death of their father as a second-year student.
“I was going to drop out and maybe do a trade, which is fine. But it wasn't my calling,” they said. “I’m very fortunate to have an amazing mom and a lot of support. So it feels really great to get here when there were many times I thought I wouldn’t.”
Thinking about beginning a master’s program, Huxley says no matter how nerdy it may sound, they’re excited to have their whole life be wrapped up in higher education, history and books with that indescribable old book smell.
“I know I want to do something that makes me content with all parts of my life. I don’t want to have a career that I dread doing,” they say. “I would love to continue doing research or work as an archivist for the National Parks. But these goals will probably change, so I’m trying to keep it open.”
Huxley would share that advice about flexibility and trusting yourself with any current or future students as well.
“At the end of the day, we as students just need to make sure we choose paths that we enjoy even when we’re not in college,” Huxley says. “Just do it for yourself.”