[APG Public List] Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies

[Christy Fillerup]

Pam et al.,

I am grateful for your responses. I am three classes from receiving my PLCGS 
in English records, and the courses have been very good. I should probably 
state that I'm a shameless student--I eat up guided learning experiences and 
homework assignments like they're chocolate truffles. (Note: I also eat 
chocolate truffles like there's no tomorrow <G>) So my question about the 
Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies stems from my search for my 
next educational endeavor. I'm looking for something even more in-depth than 
the NIGS classes.

I suppose my goal, however, is two-fold. I am earnestly looking for an 
educational experience that will help propel me to a level of expertise in 
the English genealogical field. My ten-year goal is to be a respected 
researcher in this area, with a shared emphasis on writing for the education 
of others and family history research. To that end I need to achieve two 
things: I need to gain the knowledge, and I need to gain the respect. Of 
course knowledge, and what you do with it, breeds respect, but to some 
extent so does the manner in which you acquired your knowledge and/or how 
you prove your knowledge. I plan to pursue both my AG and my CG as part of 
this ten year plan - these are both respected measures of our knowledge and 
application of that knowledge. I wonder if receiving "licentiateship" from 
the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies is a comparable measure 
in the world of English genealogy.

I plan to take Jeanette's wonderful advice, and introduction and contact 
John Kitzmiller for his expert opinion. I would hope that my location in 
Salt Lake would make undertaking this correspondence course somewhat easier 
than other locations, but I'm certainly not naive enough to believe that 
everything I need to conduct research into English roots is at my finger 
tips. Hardly!

With sincere appreciation,
Christy Fillerup