Ella Amouyal '20 Publishes Blog in MHS' The Beehive

In the Spring of 2019, Ella Amouyal ’20 was awarded the John Winthrop Student Fellowship from the Massachusetts Historical Society. This award came after months of hard work on Ella’s part, developing a proposal and fine-tuning the scope of her project. Intrigued by Abigail Adams’ diplomatic mission to England in 1784-88, Ella decided to spend several months researching the influence Europe had on her. 
 
During Ella's research, she decided to focus her time digging deeper into Abigail's views on patriotism, economics and education. In her blog post for The Beehive, she describes her experience as a MHS fellow. 
 
“I love history and have always been interested in art history, and women’s history, and the women of the revolution,” Ella shares. “I also really like European history, so I was excited by this chance to bridge all these different areas.”
 
Ella spent a lot of time at the Society exploring exploring collections, conducting extensive research with the help of the librarians but says most of her time was spent using a microfilm reader for the first time. She was able to explore the vast collection of letters between Abigail Adams, her husband, John Adams, friends, family and acquaintances.
 
“The Historical Society has such an amazing collection. It’s a huge honor to be able to access the objects they have, and to work with their librarians, who are incredibly knowledgeable,” Ella says. “It’s so different from simply reading about something in a book.”
 
In her blog post for The Beehive, the MHS blog, she describes her experience as a Massachusetts Historical Society fellow and gives advice to those considering the John Winthrop Student Fellowship. Read her blog here.

The Cambridge School of Weston is a progressive high school for day and boarding students in grades 9–12 and PG. CSW's mission is to provide a progressive education that emphasizes deep learning, meaningful relationships, and a dynamic program that inspires students to discover who they are and what their contribution is to their school, their community and the world.