Natalye Harpin, M.A.

Natalye Pass Harpin was born and raised in San Diego, California, and grew up in Silver Strand military housing. When she and her family moved to Guam, she developed a passion for history and travel. Upon moving back to San Diego, she attended and gradated with honors from Hilltop High School in Chula Vista, CA. She graduated from Southwestern College in 2009, transferring to the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Natalye earned her B.A. in History in 2011, and her M.A. in History in 2012. After graduation, Natalye began teaching various community college history courses around San Diego county, specializing in American History, Comparative Americas, & African-American/Black Studies. As a faculty representative with the Honors Transfer Council of California, she actively worked to create new transfer pathways for community college students. In 2016 and 2019, Natalye participated in summer research institutes awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, focusing on the Southern experience as well as Civil Rights’ connection with Jazz in New Orleans. Her presentations at the annual American Historical Association Conference center on teaching the intersections of race and culture in the New World, and its connection to present-day. She makes sure to foster a sense of community in her classroom, and encourages students to learn from, and appreciate, the diversity of their peers in class.