USU History Scholars to Present Original Research at America250 Event in Salt Lake City

Utah State University history scholars Madison Maw-Carlstrom, Benjamin Neal, and Brooklyn Nielsen are among student researchers selected from students throughout Utah to present at the America250 Student Symposium on the American Revolution slated for Nov. 13 at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

“The symposium celebrates the 250th anniversary of the United States and provides an opportunity for students to share their research with a public audience,” said Eric Herschthal, associate professor of history at the U and symposium organizer. “The event is not only a celebration of the nation’s history, but a celebration of the remarkable scholarship dedicated to the colonial and revolutionary periods. This is an opportunity to showcase a vibrant area of research that continues to be explored by our undergraduates and graduate students.”

Nielsen and Neal are recent graduates of USU, having earned bachelor’s degrees in history in 2026 and 2025, respectively. Both scholars were mentored by Kyle Bulthuis, associate professor in the Department of History. Nielsen is a licensed escrow officer with Hickman Land Title Company in Logan. Neal is a field technician with U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground in Tooele County, Utah.

Maw-Carlstrom is currently pursuing a master’s degree in history at Utah State. She is a 2026 recipient of the Michael Kraus Research Grant from the American Historical Association and an American Philosophical Society Philips Fund for Native American Research Grant. Maw-Carlstrom is advised by Department of History faculty members Julia Gossard, professor and associate dean; Sauda Nabukenya, assistant professor; Bulthuis and Seth Archer, associate professor and director of Graduate Studies.

The scholars are scheduled to present during the symposium’s opening panel, “War and Violence,” from 9-10:30 a.m.:

• Madison Maw-Carlstrom, “Had She Been a White Woman”: Geo-Politics Before the Bar in Eighteenth-Century Virginia.

• Brooklyn Nielsen, The Common Revolutions: Frontier Mobilization during the Revolutionary Period.

• Benjamin Neal, Strategic Analysis of the American Revolution: The European Enabling Condition.

Archer is among historians who will deliver closing remarks during the symposium’s concluding session from 3:10-3:45 p.m.

A full symposium agenda is available online.