Christopher Heilig

I am currently a History, Social Studies Education, and Geographic Information Student at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. I am studying to become a teacher in Social Studies and History. Ever since my Elementary school years, I have been a self-proclaimed History Buff. So much so that I was called the “walking history textbook” in high school. My love of history can be traced back to my early childhood, I was born with Asperger Syndrome and had a lot of difficulties reading in early elementary school. To help this my teachers and parents pushed me to read any book I could find, then one day I wandered into my Elementary schools Libraries History section and I never looked back. I read every history book in that Library at least twice and became so knowledgeable in history that when I read ahead of the class in our brand new History textbooks I found a few errors and pointed them out to my fourth-grade teacher. My teacher collaborated with the errors I found and wrote to the publisher, soon that new textbook was recalled and new textbooks with the errors corrected were reissued to my school. This faith and willingness to believe me by my fourth-grade teacher made me want to share my knowledge and love of history with others, which led me to the course in life I now find myself in. I also have a love of all things associated with Trains and Railroads that has led me to be a member of the Long Island Live Steamers, a living railroad museum, since I was six years old. This helped me overcome my fear of social interactions due to my disability and helped laid the foundation for my public speaking skills that I hounded throughout high school. Since becoming a Hofstra Student I have also become involved in Hofstra’s Tabletop Gaming, Bowling, Hofstra versus Zombies, and History club sharpening my organization skills working with and participating in events mu and other clubs held in the Hofstra University community. I have improved my leadership skills massively through being elected the Historian of Mu Kappa, the Hofstra chapter of the Gamma Theta Upsilon Geography Honors Society. I have continually strived to overcome my own foibles and handicaps by improving my skills and knowledge so I can become a successful and productive member of our society in any way I can.