Logan McVey
I am currently an undergraduate Majoring in History and Political Science aiming toward a future career in Public History. I have held a lifelong interest in history ever since I was a child, and my goal is to combine that lifelong passion for history with my recent interest in politics to pursue a career in archival work that highlights interesting moments in the political history of the 20th century. I am a graduate school candidate for MTSU's M.A in Public History Program, and I cannot wait to take my education further with this university!
Follow Logan
Logan McVey was recognized for studying abroad
I studied abroad in the Summer of 2022 attending Dr. Poleskey's HIST 3075 Food and Culture of Renaissance Italy Course, as well as Dr. Graham's Historic Preservation Scotland course.
In the interim period between courses (roughly a month and a half), I undertook independent exploration and study throughout Europe. I journeyed from Rome down to Pompeii, back up to Milan, through Geneva, Paris, London, Liverpool, Belfast, Galway, Cork, Dublin, Glasgow, then lastly ending in Edinburgh for my second course. I learned many important lessons regarding history, culture, and politics along the way, with highlights including me gaining a better understanding of how war affects the historic record in Milan, and how modern political struggles still continue to this day within the U.K and Northern Ireland.
All of my trip was funded nearly in full by several sets of study abroad scholarships alongside other academic scholarships that I earned. I paid a little less than 1000 dollars for this experience, and still earned 6 hours of credit towards my degree in the process. I would wholeheartedly recommend studying abroad for anyone who may be able to set themselves up in a similar position.
Added by Logan
Logan McVey was recognized for earning a scholarship
In the Spring of 2022, I earned the Mary Foye Huhta Memorial award which recognizes students for outstanding political involvement, civic engagement, or general study of government. My essay for the award highlighted my involvement with MTSU YDSA during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, which I would attribute as a formative time in my life that cultivated the strong interest in politics I now hold. The award amount was worth $1000, which I contributed towards studying abroad in the Summer of 2022.
Added by Logan
Logan McVey was recognized for earning a scholarship
In the Spring of 2022, I received the Klingenmeyer Internship Scholarship for working an unpaid internship at the Albert Gore Research Center that semester.
As an undergraduate, I have held a total of two internships with my main focus of Archival Studies. My first internship was at the Tennessee State Archives, and my second was at our campus archive the Albert Gore Research Center. The latter is what I would attribute as being my most important academic experience at MTSU, and the scholarship I earned helped make that experience affordable and possible!
Added by Logan
Student Government Association
In the Summer of 2022, I was personally nominated to be an SGA Senator by then-SGA President Winton Cooper. My initial work related to overhauling club leadership training which I thought was an important issue as I noticed room for improvement during my time as a leader of Tabletop Club.
In my time as a senator, I established myself as a strong voice of debate within the senate chamber. I lead the presentation efforts of a new set of constitutional revisions to our SGA constitution and fought to improve the future of SGA by transferring the history contained within our SGA legislative archive to the Albert Gore Research Center. I also worked to recognize the efforts of our first black SGA president Dr. Michael McDonald for his overwhelming efforts in creating policies we still rely on today as students, the most important of which was the foundations for the student activity fee. All of my efforts earned me a senate superlative attributing me as the best debater, an award which I feel grateful for my peers awarding me with.
I am still continuing my work with SGA today, and I am glad to serve as this year's Tennessee Intercollegiate Head Delegate!
Summer 2021 - Fall 2022
-
Middle Tennessee State University
Added by Logan
MTSU Tabletop Club
In the Spring of 2021, I was elected to be Vice President of the MTSU Tabletop Club. Tabletop Club is a general social club for people interested in hobbies such as Board Games, Card Games, Magic the Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer 40k, Chess, and anything else in that general hobby space.
Under my service as Vice-President, I handled the main push to grow the club from what used to be a small group of about 8-12 individuals, to it being one of MTSU's largest social clubs with a consistent weekly meeting attendance of around 50-60 people! Our club discord grew from about 60 people that Spring, to about 300 by mid-fall, all thanks to some dedication to getting our name out at tabling events, constantly putting up flyers, and otherwise advertising ourselves better to students around campus.
I then continued my efforts in Tabletop into 2022, where I was elected President in Spring once our prior President James graduated. Under my guidance as President, I further transformed the club into an even larger social presence on campus, with our first meeting of Fall 2022 hitting 70 people in attendance, and our club discord growing to what is now just under 500 people.
We are now in a position where we get to host some of the absolute largest events on this campus alongside the help of other organizations we have worked alongside the past year. We just recently held a Halloween event alongside SIGGRAPH, the VR / AR Club, Japan Club, Esports Club, and the International Students, which saw an estimated 150 or more in attendance.
I never imagined I would get this far in becoming a club leader and overall a significant person in the student life on campus. I learned many lessons in my time with Tabletop, and I hope to continue leading this club as I look toward my life as a graduate student starting in the Spring of 2023.
Spring 2021 - Fall 2022
-
Middle Tennessee State University
Added by Logan
Jazz Band
I also played piano in Jazz Band during my time at Riverdale. I don't attribute this as a serious step in my journey as a student and as a leader, but I think this experience helped me build a better connection to the Murfreesboro community itself. The city of Murfreesboro holds an annual event called Jazz fest, where jazz bands like the one at Riverdale are invited to play and offer a great experience for the community. I played in two jazz fests as a high schooler, and I still continue to attend jazz fest yearly to this day.
Spring 2018 - Spring 2020
-
Riverdale High School
Added by Logan
Marching Band
My main involvement at Riverdale was as a member of marching band. I had a later start than most of my peers, as I only first starting learning an instrument at the end of my Freshman year. Regardless, I picked up percussion somewhat quickly, and played vibraphone for my first year in band. I progressively moved up from there, eventually playing Marimba and becoming one of the main keyboard percussionists for the band in my Junior and Senior year. My leadership experiences in band were where I first learnt to lead people and where I learnt to better understand the process of teaching as a whole. I was responsible for helping new members learn percussion, and through that process, I took those skills with me to MTSU as a student leader.
Summer 2017 - Spring 2020
-
Riverdale High School
Added by Logan
Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature
I served as a House Representative at Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature's 2021 General Assembly.
Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature (TISL) is a weekend-long experience where individuals take a role within the state legislative process. Students from different colleges act out being a legislator, a political journalist, a clerk, a lobbyist, or any other position within the legislative process. As a house representative I gained a better grasp of how legislative sessions work on a state level, and I had an awesome time arguing with other students over a wide range of issues.
Middle Tennessee State University
Added by Logan
Part-Time Employee at Albert Gore Research Center
Following my internship at the Gore Center, Dr. Kyriakoudes, the Gore Center Director, hired me back as a part-time employee to handle the initial organization of a new 1500 box collection we received from former Republican majority leader William Frist. My job is quite simple, but I love that I get to continue working at a place I loved so much as an intern (and one that I will hopefully work at as a graduate assistant)!
August 2022 - Present
Junior Archivist at Albert Gore Research Center
My second internship was at the Albert Gore Research Center on campus located in the Todd Building. My initial work centered around processing a collection from Jim Free, who was the head legislative liaison for Jimmy Carter's administration. I quickly dove into other personal projects using my connections to organizations such as Student Government, and eventually completed what I would say was some really important work for SGA's black history month that year.
My experience at the Gore Center was the most important educational experience I had as an undergraduate. I really feel like I began to grasp the mindset behind archival work, and with the help of some great people on the way, I think I really prepared myself for a career in my desired field.
January 2022 - May 2022
Preservation Intern at Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA)
Thanks to Dr. Fialka's Historian's Craft class, I had the awesome opportunity to find my first internship. At the Tennessee State Library and Archives, I had my first experience in the field of archival work, and I found that this internship helped me narrow my focus much better within my desired career field.
I worked on processing meta-data for a large photo collection, as well as handling some general preservation work relating to transcribing old Nashville city directories from 1861 and 1862. My work at this institution helped me better understand the role that archives have in society on a macro level, and taught me that my desired place is in political work at a small to mid-sized institution.
May 2021 - December 2021
