Lily Duquaine, who graduated in December 2022 with a double major in English Critical Studies and History, left an impact on the UW-Eau Claire campus.
The graduate from Green Bay, WI has been involved with the university’s streaming service, TV10, since her first year on campus. She is a “jack of all trades” with her role on the Creative Team; she helps create short films, ads and does editing for the network.
Duquaine said one of the best parts of her college experience has been the friendships and relationships she has cultivated through her involvement in TV10--and as part of the University Honors Program.
She started her journey with her mind set on her area of study, and Honors gave her the opportunity to “branch out and try other things,” Duquaine said. One of her highlights from the program is the ability to build on new ideas that she hadn't previously been exposed to.
“It’s also been interesting to be able to interact with people and learn from people who have different perspectives” in her honors courses, she said. Being able to learn with students from other areas of focus has been a rewarding way to foster communication skills, but also gave her an extra boost of confidence to develop her strengths more.
Duquaine was awarded the Hilfiker History Research Scholarship for the Summer of 2022 for research examining public history archives throughout the Covid-19 Pandemic. For her capstone project, she expanded on the interviews conducted with rural Mexican immigrant dairy workers and their experience with healthcare.
“I had the honor of being one of the first people to kind of look through everything,” Duquaine said. Her experience with this work has sparked an interest in pursuing a career in public history.
Duquaine said that the Honors senior seminar course was also an avenue to develop professional skills to take beyond the classroom. She said the mix of students from different areas of study provided a space to compare their honors courses and college journey across disciplines.
“Having that push to do extra things with Honors has helped my understanding of my majors a lot,” she said. Duquaine said she found elements from Honors intersecting with her role in TV10 and other classes she was taking, allowing her to push her boundaries in both an educational aspect, but also growing professionally as a student leader with TV10.
“I’m really proud of a lot of the work I’ve done with my classes and TV10,” she said. “Knowing that I’ve made an impact on other people” is something she has found rewarding throughout her time as a Blugold.
