Make that six consecutive years.

The student-run journal, History in the Making: A Journal of History, extended its run of being honored nationally when the Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society awarded the 16th edition with second prize in the 2023 Gerald D. Nash History Journal Competition – Graduate Print Division.

“Being part of the award-winning History in the Making journal is an incredible experience for the authors and editors,” said George “Matt” Patino, who served as chief editor with Evy Zermeno. “I'm honored to be part of a wonderful team of undergraduate and graduate students showcasing their research and writing skills."

History in the Making is a collection of work from current students and recent graduates of CSUSB that is also edited by students. History faculty members Tiffany Jones (primary advisor) and Jeremy Murray worked with the student editorial board.

“This student-run journal is truly a labor of love for the students,” Jones said. “They dedicate a tremendous amount of hours towards writing papers, discussing and editing their peers’ work, and ensuring high-quality work.  Their commitment has resulted in a wonderful publication. 

​​Cover of the 16th edition of History in the Making

“When Dr. Cherstin Lyon and I launched this journal project 15 years ago, we had no clue that it would be as successful as it has become,” she said. “The numerous awards the journal has received is no doubt testament to the high-quality work produced by students under the guidance of the history department’s dedicated faculty. This year’s editorial board worked diligently to produce a stellar issue, and I’m ecstatic that they won this award. I’m so proud of all the students involved.”

The latest honor marks the sixth consecutive year that the journal was recognized by Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society. In 2022, it was awarded second prize; in 2021, it was awarded third prize; in 2020 and 2019, it was awarded first prize, which followed the 2018 third prize in the honor society’s graduate print journal national competition – the first time History in the Making was entered in that category. 

This year’s awards in the graduate print category also represented a sweep by California State University campuses. In addition to CSUSB, Cal State East Bay’s East Bay Historia was awarded first place, Sacramento State’s Clio was awarded third place and Chico State’s Chico Historian was named honorable mention.

It is also the 11th time the journal, which competes with journals from universities throughout the nation, has been recognized by the Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society.

Prior to 2018, the journal had been awarded five Gerald D. Nash History Journal Awards in the undergraduate competition (third place in 2009 and 2013, second place in 2012 and 2015, and first place in 2014).

“This year’s journal invites discussion on the inherent contradiction between the continuous nature of time and the transformations it brings. The articles herein speak to past historical events while signifying their importance to the present,” wrote the journal chief editors Patino and Zermeno in the latest edition’s introduction.

“Topics within the journal range from racial inequalities within women’s reproductive rights to social justice for immigrants to combat strategies,” they wrote. “The sixteenth edition of the journal grapples with timely themes such as African American and Latinx communities reclaiming physical and social autonomy, social justice for ethnic minorities, racial discrimination regarding women’s reproductive rights, technological advances in combat weaponry, the emergence of authoritarian regimes, and biases within news reporting.”

Serving with Patino and Zermeno on the 2023 editorial board were associate editors Gustavo Alonso, Victoria Gomez, Daniela Bedolla, Jean Martinez, Samantha Collaso, Rossandra Martinez, Conor Farrell, Christina Monson, Devin Gillen, Rhian Reyes, and copy editor Marlena Brown.

Contributing authors were Bshara Alsheikh, Braedon McGhee, Nyla Provost, Jose Luis Castro Padilla, Ryan Rethaford, Jeff LeBlanc, Dakota Macuso, Vivian Alvarez Rodriguez, Brooke Denham, Kendra Vaughan, Rossandra Martinez, Daniela Bedolla, Devin Gillen, George "Matt" Patino, and Erin Herklotz.

The journal also received support from Pamela Crosson (department of history administrative support coordinator), Keith Askew (CSUSB shipping), and Michael Morse, Brandon Hernandez, Michelle Hernandez, and Ernesto Delgado (CSUSB printing).

The journal is available online at the History in the Making webpage and on the John M. Pfau Library’s ScholarWorks webpage.