Hello! My name is Courtney Chouinard, and I am a senior at Keene State College. I am a double major in history and secondary education. I was born in Salem, Massachusetts and have lived in Stratham, New Hampshire for most of my life. I am a former member of the Keene State women’s volleyball team and have been involved with the Alternative Break program as well. I enjoy hiking, reading, making jewelry, and being at the beach. I intend on becoming a high school social studies teacher after graduation. I am interested in U.S. history and Civil Rights, so I am excited to focus that interest into this Civil War research.

My research is going to focus on the separation of families in slavery and the attempt to reconnect during the Reconstruction era. I am interested in finding specific families that may have been sold into separation as well as families finding one another once they had been freed. I will hopefully be able to draw connections between individuals and their loved ones from before, during, and after the Civil War.