trevordayschool

Atiba Pertilla '91 Historian and Digital Editor Historian, researcher, and writer, Atiba Pertilla is passionate about history. His research is influenced by "a fascination with scholars communicating and being in touch to share the stories that need to be told." Examples of Atiba's research interests have included the funding of big industry and Wall Street from the 1890s through WWI, the history of immigrant remittances in the decades before the Great Depression, the role of women in the professional workforce in the early 1900s, African Americans in German and US history, and local TV news coverage of the early 2000s. Atiba currently works at the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C., an organization that serves as a bridge for scholars in the U.S. and German historical communities. His current research focuses on how immigrants to the United States navigated the global financial system and government priorities, both to save money here and to send money to their relatives back home, in the years between the Civil War and the Great Depression. ere is a particular emphasis on Italian immigrants. Atiba is quick to point out that it was the MiniTerm course in Italian (with Donna Linton) that began this academic trajectory! Atiba went on to learn Italian in college and studied abroad in Florence. As we talked about Trevor's Digital Humanities curriculum, we asked Atiba how digital research intersects with traditional research and the role it is playing in the way historians approach their research. "It gives us a giant pool of resources to learn about people's lives," he says. "Now we can decide what is historically important" and then look specifically though that lens, using "key search words to access the many sources and records that unearth the stories that haven't been told." Atiba acknowledges the impact his eight elementary years at e Day School had on him, and on his educational journey: "It made me the person I am." Noting the creativity of the teachers and their connection to each student, Atiba recalls that "each student was on an intellectual journey at his/her own pace." He remembers formative activities, such as browsing through books in the library, "doing" science, and the Common Room—which fostered so many different kinds of relationships. "e community was set up for kids to learn to teach themselves." Encouraged to find the path that worked best for him, he learned that "there is more than one way to do things." Graduating in 8th grade, Atiba attended high school at Fieldston, and then Stanford University for his undergraduate degree. He earned his PhD in History at NYU in 2016. Community service experiences at e Day School had a lasting impact on Atiba. He remembers anksgiving all-school gatherings in the Church of the Heavenly Rest, when each grade presented the food they had collected for the Yorkville Common Pantry. (now called the New York Common Pantry). Trevor students continue this relationship to this day. As 7th and 8th graders, Atiba and good friend Abby (Roesch) Diamond '91 helped in the 1st grade once a week. "e Day School taught us to self- organize." He fondly remembers commemorating the 20th anniversary of Earth Day with his friends, as part of the Environmental Club—they held a bake sale on 90th Street to "raise money for the environment." "One of the things I found really special about Trevor, both at the time but especially in retrospect, was the way it was a community of families, with many people's parents—especially moms— participating as volunteers, teachers, working in the office, etc. Many of my memories of e Day School are not just of teachers; parents populate them, too." e Trevor mission resonates strongly with him. "e Day School helped prepare me…I'm a lifelong learner…I have a passion for history. As a non- academic lifelong learner, I only learned how to ride a bike two years ago, and have just learned how to play bridge!" Any advice to current Trevor students? "Treasure the ways that Trevor is encouraging you to be an independent thinker. Be someone who decides what's best for you when it comes to learning. Keep your curiosity about learning, always." ■ Atiba lives in Hyattsville, Maryland, a suburb outside of Washington, D.C., with his husband, Steve Wamhoff. His mother, Sandra Owens, served on Trevor's Board of Trustees from 2001 to 2007. 3 9 T R E V O R D AY S C H O O L ■ S P R I N G 20 1 7 – 2 0 1 8 Atiba's yearbook portrait in 1991. His was the last 8th-grade class to graduate. e following year, Trevor added grades 9–12.

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