John Tracy Spaight Spotlight
At Santa Clara, and later at Cornell and Cambridge, I learned how to weigh evidence, challenge assumptions, research ideas and write clearly. These are the skills that enable you to forge your own path, whatever you choose to do in life. Studying history has made me much more effective in international business environments. I have lived and worked all over Asia (thanks Prof. Molony!), in Russia and Belarus (thanks Prof. Mocsy!), and for the past five years in Cyprus (thanks Prof. Greenwalt!).
For the past fifteen years, I have worked in the video game industry, first as a game designer and later as head of publishing. Along the way, I co-authored a book on virtual worlds called Alter Ego, with British photojournalist Robbie Cooper. Our work was featured in New York Times magazine, NPR, and the BBC. I also wrote an essay about crime and passion in virtual worlds called ‘Who Killed Miss Norway?’
I now work as Director of Special Projects at Wargaming, an award-winning developer and publisher of online games about the vehicles of WW2. I have a unique job. I have helped recover WW2 vehicles, including a Dornier 17 bomber on the bottom of the English Channel. I helped organize a flight of WW2 aircraft from Great Falls Montana to Moscow, to commemorate the Alaska to Siberia route of Lend-Lease Act (the ALSIB documentary premiered on the History Channel). And I have worked with museums around the world to find ways to connect with ‘digital natives’, using AR / VR technology to tell the stories of the vehicles of WW2.
The most important thing I learned at Santa Clara is how to learn – and keep learning! Studying history gave me the tools to thrive and to appreciate the rich and beautiful heritage of other cultures.