Historian’s Office intern says: “I like history because…”

The belief that history is boring is a myth perpetuated by schools that teach only basic, watered-down courses, said Tamara Wolf, an intern in the House Historian’s Office. Wolf loves studying the complex, juicy details of history, but has difficulty articulating precisely why.

“I like history because — I’ve thought about this, and I’ve yet to come up with a really good answer,” she says initially.

But when pressed, she finds one. “I like knowing why things happened,” she says. “My answer to everything is usually, ‘But why?’ And [studying] history is a way to figure out the why.”

The 21-year-old from Oceanport, N.J., is finishing a degree in history and preparing for a master’s degree in American and public history at American University. She sees herself eventually working as a museum curator.

Wolf inexplicably finds joy in searching through records in pursuit of answers to her questions. History is open to interpretation, she said, and interpretations often require extensive research to support. However, some facts are simply not preserved in the historical record.

“There comes a time where you have to either admit that you don’t know or make something up,” Wolf says. “As long as you can support what you say, you have a valid argument.”

Her recent internship projects have included compiling speeches made by Speakers of the House and creating a database of lawmakers who died before completing their terms of office.

“If you were a congressman from like 1930 to 1970-something … I would suggest: Don’t get in a plane or in your car or go near any train tracks,” she said.

Despite her high tolerance for all things historical, even Wolf has her limits. She admits that she enjoys procrastinating on her schoolwork by reading for pleasure. She also enjoys traveling and writing on occasion.

“You can only read 18th-century newspapers for so long before you have to go and do something else,” she said.