Both sides of his family claim some Black Sea German ancestry, and their odyssey across half the globe influenced him to pursue the history profession. Though born in North Dakota, he has lived in several states over the years (in some of them more than once), including Maryland, Arizona, Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota as well as time abroad as an exchange student at the University of Paderborn in Germany. He earned a B.A. (1994) in History and German Language with honors at Saint Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. After receiving his M.A. (1996) in History at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, he completed a Ph.D. (2002) in History at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. He specializes in Modern Germany and Modern Russia with an emphasis on ethnic and nationality studies.