History degree takes Max Gambony far
by Kevin M. Schultz
"My history degree set me up perfectly to work in military intelligence," says Maximillian Gambony (History, '23). "I use the same skills here that I learned in all my history classes --compiling data from a wide range of sources, analyzing it, making sense of it, and then writing it up for more general consumption. All of these skills are what I learned in my history courses.”
Gambony, a Fall 2023 UIC graduate with a History major and a minor in Russian Studies, is now U.S. Army Specialist Gambony, working his way up the ranks with lightning speed: he hopes to obtain Sergeant by the end of the year and later become a Warrant Officer.
Gambony is currently stationed in Germany, enlisting in 2024 knowing his degree would lead him to military intelligence, most likely with a deep focus on Russia and Eastern Europe. He now works with NATO allies and partners in analyzing military movements and gaming out potential geopolitical scenarios. It sounds like a real-world game of RISK.
"My job is analyzing information from all types of intelligence, GEOINT (Geospatial Intelligence), SIGINT (Signals Intelligence), OSINT (Open-Source Intelligence), ect., in order to generate reports on current world events for higher ups to understand, so they can make informed decisions.” he says, adding that he recently presented one of his reports to a three-star general.
"It's just like in history," he says, "but instead of digging up my material in hundred-year-old archives, my material consists of specialized reports from all intelligence disciplines. I translate all the nerdy language used by experts and make it digestible so that anyone can comprehend what they are talking about."
One of his favorite tasks is called "Red Hatting," where he imagines himself as an enemy and tries to foil the U.S. military and its allies in mock wargames.
Gambony joined the U.S. Army immediately after graduating UIC. The Grayslake native was a stellar history student, transferring to UIC in 2021 and meeting the Chair of the Department of History at an LAS Ignite event. Gambony went on to be active in the UIC History Club, serving as vice president. And he participated in the LAS Undergraduate Research Initiative (LASURI), which partners a talented undergraduate student with a faculty member. From that experience, he produced an exceptional research paper called, "Knowledge and Steel: American Involvement in Soviet Industrialization Between 1927-1937."
"Max is literally the first scholar of Soviet history who has systematically worked through the Ford Corporate archives to investigate U.S. participation in Soviet industrialization before the official establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries," said his proud LASURI mentor, Professor Marina Mogilner, with whom Gambony stays in touch.
Gambony also joined the inaugural class of the UIC Phi Alpha Theta History Honors Society.
He credits his history degree and his focus in Eastern European history with his current situation. After basic training, Gambony was immediately sent to Germany to work on the region he loves and studied. "They were waiting for me," he said.
Alongside his rise through the ranks of the U.S. Army, Gambony plans to pursue a free Master's degree in Strategic Studies from the National Intelligence University, which is in Washington, D.C. but has a European campus. "They offered a free Master's degree, so I plan to do that," he reports.
When he concludes his four-year contract with the Armed Services, he thinks he's likely to work toward a PhD in Russian history, although he has seen his colleagues be approached with lucrative offers after they have completed their service. "There are lots of benefits to this," he reports.
In the meantime, he plans to continue to use the skills he acquired as a history major at work and travel around Europe during his time off. He has already been to Warsaw, Berlin, Cologne, and more. And he says in military intelligence he's surrounded by other History majors, which makes conversations fun.
"The world of intelligence is a fascinating place to be," he says. "If you're curious and you really want to know what's going on: here it is."