Tyler Schueffner '06

Tyler Schueffner is a 2006 Edgewood College graduate with a B.S. in Broad Fields Social Studies/History Concentration. He is an Outreach Specialist at Youth Services of Southern Wisconsin, assisting homeless and runaway teens and young adults. Tyler’s professional experiences have been in the Juvenile Justice and Social Welfare fields; he has also taken graduate coursework in urban studies at UW-Milwaukee, and in human development/family studies at UW-Madison.

Preparation for graduate-level coursework

Tyler SchueffnerMy education at Edgewood, in particular history, provided me with an advantage over other graduate students. Every professor I had was impressed by the thoroughness of my research and my preparedness for the class workloads. Dr. Hatheway, Dr. Witt, and Dr. Chen's classes required critical analysis skills that my classmates in grad school clearly had not received in their respective undergraduate educations. The ability to cite research and document sources was a huge advantage over the other students, who had never been properly trained to do so.

Core values and service experiences

Edgewood prepared me well for the professional world. My advisors and professors have remained supportive and involved in my professional development beyond graduation. The core values of the school encouraged me to seek a job serving our community. I truly believe that the “service” component to the Edgewood education is unique and beneficial to all serious students.

Principles relevant to work and life

I took with me certain lessons from the faculty at Edgewood, especially the History Department. Dr. Hatheway teaches us to always seek the truth (even when inconvenient) and to honor the principles of historical research. Dr. Witt teaches perfection and attention to detail. And Dr. Chen teaches about understanding bias and perspective. While my job does not deal with historical research, the principles of what they taught are relevant to all work and life. Don't forget the skills and lessons you learned—in particular the critical thinking! If a student is interested in history, I think they should pursue it, even if they know they will follow a different career path. History students tend to be well-prepared for all types of professional fields, because history demands critical thinking, discipline, and research skills. Humanities teaches us to examine ourselves and to become more aware of the broader society.

"My education at Edgewood, in particular history, provided me with an advantage over other graduate students."

Tyler Schueffner