Nils Niemeier, '13

Student plans to research historical changes in the environment

January 12, 2010

For Nils Niemeier, ’13, opportunities to pursue his many overlapping interests led him to Richmond. He plans to combine his love of classical studies with environmental studies to research historical changes in the environment. “The thing I really want to look at now is environmental issues as observed by ancient scholars,” says Niemeier, who reads their texts in Latin.

The ability to combine different areas of study, the number of course offerings, the opportunities for one-on-one engagement with professors, and the beauty of the campus were all factors in making UR his top choice. But Niemeier was most impressed by the welcome he received from Dr. Elizabeth Baughan, assistant professor of classics and archaeology, and Dr. Dean Simpson, professor of classical studies, when he made his first visit to campus.

Niemeier, who is from Reston, Va., received scholarship offers from Dickinson College, Gettysburg College, and the College of William and Mary, among other universities. He decided instead to accept UR’s offer.

As a junior at James Madison High School in Vienna, Va., Niemeier combined his love of history and Latin to make a stop-motion film, "The Battle of Teutoburg Forest." The film brought Niemeier to the attention of the HistoriVision Foundation, which makes history more accessible by creating brief, historically accurate online films. Niemeier will help write the foundation’s films.

“Their current project coincides with Dan Brown’s new novel, The Lost Symbol, looking at the roots of freemasonry and American history, and the influences there and trying to debunk a lot of myths that Brown has capitalized on or ones that have been perpetuated over the years,” he says.

To meet other members of the the class of 2013, visit our alumni magazine.