About

Richard W. Varner II transferred to UNC Pembroke from Cameron University in his hometown of Lawton, Oklahoma when his husband received orders from Fort Sill, Oklahoma to Fort Bragg, North Carolina in 2017. Varner chose to continue his studies at UNC Pembroke over other institutions in the area because of the quality of education and “close-knit” campus environment that UNC Pembroke could provide. In August of 2020, Varner graduated cum laude as the 2020 UNC Pembroke Outstanding Senior with a Bachelor of Arts in history. He was a member of the Alpha Chi National Honors Society, the Phi Alpha Theta National History Honors Society, the Pi Lambda Theta National Honor Society for Educators, and the Tau Sigma National Honor Society for Transfer Students.                                                                   

Varner received many scholarships, including the 2018-2019 Pi Lambda Theta Student Support Scholarship, the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 Army Emergency Relief Spouse Education Assistance Program Scholarship, the 2018-2019 Chancellor Incentive Scholarship, and the 2019-2020 Max M. Weinstein Endowed History Scholarship. Likewise, Varner was awarded the 2018 Gold Scholar Award, the 2019 Silver Scholar Award, the 2018 University of North Carolina’s Department of History’s Student Service Award and received the Chancellor’s Commendation for Outstanding Achievement for Excellence in 2017 and 2018. During his time at UNC Pembroke, Varner not only served as the Hawk Assistant for the History Department, but also served as the senior intern, administrative assistant, and website developer for the N.C. Quest Teaching Literacy Grant Project and UNC Pembroke’s social studies program’s Illuminating through Inquiry Project.  

When asked what he thought was the most rewarding aspect of being a part of the Esther G. Maynor Honors College, Varner said, “I think that the most rewarding aspect of the Honors College program was not only having the opportunity to take more challenging and motivating course work, but having the ability to engage in meaningful discussions and debates over material with classmates and professors as the honors courses were more Socratic in nature than traditional lecture-based undergraduate courses.” Varner also explained how willing the honors college staff and faculty were to accommodate his academic needs as a transfer student saying, “The Honors College always worked with me to shape the honors experience around me as an individual student and factored in my own unique circumstances into the equation,” and, “When there was no precedent for a particular situation concerning my academic career, the Honors College staff brainstormed and immediately created the mechanism to make it happen.”   

After completing six hours of undergraduate study and three hours of graduate study in Latin American history with his mentor Dr. Christopher Woolley, Varner decided to pair his foundation in Latin American history with his personal relationship with Comanche culture and history for his senior project. In doing so, he used Comanche language and cultural sources to analyze the, “Numu-Spanish relationship from an intrinsic Comanche ethnohistorical perspective,” and argued “that the Spanish encroachment into lands in present-day Texas and New Mexico not only served as a catalyst for the newly developing Comanche culture, but shaped tribal history, language, and historical interactions between the Comanche and other groups in the region.” 

Post-graduation, having already completed nine hours of graduate coursework at UNC Pembroke, Varner enrolled in UNC Wilmington’s graduate history degree program. His goal is to work towards obtaining a doctoral degree in Comanche and Borderlands history. Varner encourages prospective Honors College students to never second guess joining the Honors College because “though the coursework may be more rigorous than traditional courses, the experiences had and the friendships made will forever impact your life and academic career and propel you to further success.” 



Senior Project

"Los comanches en la frontera norte de la Nueva Espana, 1700-1821: Using Comanche Sources to Illuminate the Spanish Catalyst in Comanche Ethnohistory"

Mentor: Christopher Woolley