Nolan Patrick Frontera '20
Nolan Patrick Frontera '20
Actor and Produced Playwright, Substitute Teacher for the DOE
In what ways do you feel your major in history helped to prepare you for your current career? Are there any skills that you developed as an undergraduate history major that are essential to your work?
Majoring in history was probably the greatest choice I made in my creative career as both an actor and writer. It allowed my brain to think a certain way and to understand an array of perspectives and beliefs. You learn the cultural and political significance of people and places, and you acquire the skills to explore beyond the abyss of information. History gave me skills I would have never encountered anywhere else. Whenever I write a story or explore a character, I can use history as a utility in order to find what is most authentic and honest. If ever there is something, I am unsure of, I can always rely on history to help me out – regardless of how impossible or different the idea may be. Without history and research, The Encounter would have never been written, let alone produced.
Are there any other reflections on your history major or time in the BC History Department that you’d like us to include in your spotlight?
Stay in touch with your professors; they’re cool people. The department is probably the best one in Brooklyn College.
Which history course or courses were particularly meaningful to you during your time as a BC history major and/or have had a lasting influence? Why?
I loved K.C Johnson’s “Constitutional History” class because it taught me one thing: Despite the Constitution only being a few pages, the amount of impact it had on this country is absolutely mind boggling. From Dred Scott to Miranda, it amazes me how such a document can change the country again and again in such dramatic fashion.
