Clark University senior and Class of 2012 ConVal graduate Gretta Cox-Gorton, of Francestown, New Hampshire, concluded a research project, “An Inter-Generational Study of the Adams Men: Deacon John, Founder John Adams, and John Quincy Adams,” which was supported by Clark’s Liberal Education and Effective Practice (LEEP) initiative.
Cox-Gorton researched father-son family dynamics, with a special focus on career choices, among John Adams Sr., John Adams Jr., and John Quincy Adams.
Cox-Gorton was able to conduct her research by utilizing the institutions and connections she had at Clark, including the Goddard Library, the Worcester Public Library, the Antiquarian Society, and her access to Boston historical institutions. She visited the Adams’ House, the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the annual wreath laying ceremony in honor of John Quincy Adams.
“This project not only gave me real experience in doing practical research, but it prepared me with the skills and knowledge to write my Honors Thesis,” wrote Cox-Gorton. Drew McCoy, Hiatt Professor of History, served as her faculty adviser.
Cox-Gorton, who studies history, is a member of the Class of 2016 at Clark. She is a member of the History Honors Program and is active in Clark’s Ecological Representatives.
LEEP (Liberal Education and Effective Practice) is Clark’s pioneering model of education that combines a robust liberal arts curriculum with life-changing world and workplace experiences. Clark’s faculty and students work across boundaries to develop solutions to complex challenges in the natural sciences, psychology, geography, management, urban education, Holocaust and genocide studies, environmental studies, and international development and social change.
The Clark educational experience embodies the University’s motto: “Challenge convention. Change our world.“