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NEW AT HURST
FEATURES
Annual ambassador pledge process resumes once again By Alexis Lovewell
Contributing writer
By Bella Lee Staff writer
This school year marks an exceptional one for many reasons. Of those many reasons, the university welcomed twenty-seven new faculty and staff members. Within that group, Allison Hess, the new Digital Campaigns Coordinator in the Marketing and Brand Management Department, joins the Mercyhurst community. A life-long Erie Native, Hess is ecstatic to be working in her hometown. A graduate from Gannon University, Hess obtained a bachelor’s in Advertising and Communications and a Marketing minor. While at Gannon, she spent three of her four years working in their Marketing department as one of the student Integrated Marketing Team Members. “I was able to get a great hands-on learning experience working in an environment that exposed me to real-life scenarios,” Hess said. The experience that she received while at Gannon helped influence Hess’ decision to come to none other than Gannon’s rival in Mercyhurst. “I chose to continue my professional career at Mercyhurst because I loved being able to work with a team and collaborate while I was a student worker previously. I was excited for the opportunity to be able to bring the skills I gained and apply them to another university setting,” Hess said. Although her time here has been short, Hess definitely feels at home. “The thing I have liked most so far is getting to know my team and the university as a whole, which has already welcomed me with open arms and feels like home,” Hess said. “I may have been a Gannon Knight, but I am definitely proud to call myself a Laker now!” In her free time, Hess can often be found reading. Like many, Hess is a fan of thrillers and true crime podcasts. Since June, Hess has been an asset to the Branding and Marketing Department. “My favorite thing about Mercyhurst is that everyone is so welcoming and friendly, and I feel like I have met a lot of people outside of my department, which you don’t hear of happening everywhere,” said Hess. Currently, Hess is thriving in the department and is continuing to establish and upkeep the Mercyhurst brand both in-person and through virtual settings. She is bound to do great things while she’s here. If you happen to cross paths with her, be sure to say hello.
Wednesday, September 15, 2021
Mercyhurst Ambassadors are preparing for the annual pledge process here on campus this fall. The Ambassadors are an organization here at Mercyhurst that provides training for several students who provide tours for potential Mercyhurst students, work several campus events and serve as the keepers of the Mercyhurst tradition. Ambassadors at Mercyhurst work directly with the University’s Admissions to represent the school and the extensive history that the Sisters of Mercy have created for Mercyhurst. Ambassadors hold a crucial role on campus since they are one of the first people that interact with incoming and potential students at Mercyhurst University. The impression they give these students can make or break that student’s decision about coming to Mercyhurst or not, therefore Ambassadors are trained well on campus. This year’s pledge process to become an Ambassador has already been in the works for the past few weeks that students have been on campus. Senior Dance major, Libby Bullinger, and senior Early Childhood Education and Special Education major, Mary Claire Cousins, are the two current Ambassador Pledge Chairs.
They oversee coordinating all the speakers that will come and present to the students interested in being an Ambassador to help teach them about the extensive history of Mercyhurst as well as future plans, and present events going on around campus. “We had three information sessions last week that provided students that were interested in becoming an Ambassador with information about how to become one,” said Bullinger. Pledges spend most of the semester learning about Mercyhurst through the guest speakers that Bullinger and Cousins invite for the students. The semester for these future Ambassadors is quite extensive as they are preparing for a final exam, quizzes, a speech and finally a graded solo tour to be evaluated on their progress from their semester hard work. If the students excel with all the work that they put in during the semester, they are finally admitted into the Ambassador organization and officially receive their green jackets. With the information they learn throughout the fall semester, the students who get their green jackets are finally able to give tours to students and lead different events around campus. You may remember your first campus visit and how important it was to have a cheerful, excited
Ambassador to show you around campus and introduce you to all the amazing things that Mercyhurst offers. Ambassadors have the responsibility of making sure that each student sees the most interesting and important things on campus that are specifically catered to them. Although the organization does not have a set number that they recruit each year, it usually is about twenty new Ambassadors per year. Ambassadors can continue their position for the rest of their time on campus after they receive their green jackets. The Ambassadors have been a beloved organization on campus for many years now. With COVID-19, it is been exceptionally challenging to showcase the organization. Although, like all things that the pandemic has impacted, they have adapted. This year the organization is thrilled to be hosted another year of pledges and are excited about the remainder of the semester. Becoming an Ambassador takes a lot of hard work and dedication, and it is not like joining other clubs on campus where you can just say that you are interested and join the club and not participate. Ambassadors represent Mercyhurst University and are held to a high standard around campus and have the duty to serve our Mercyhurst community.
Fall Mercyhurst Magazine showcases new president, variety of alumni stories By Samantha Weber Managing editor
The Mercyhurst Fall Magazine for 2021 is now available for reading. The thirty-six-page magazine covers a wide variety of topics. The cover of this feature is the thirteenth President of Mercyhurst University, Kathleen Getz, Ph.D. President Getz has a whole section dedicated to her prior experience before Mercyhurst and has a column with some of her favorites, so people can get to know her better on a more personal level. The biggest stories in the magazine are the ones about President Getz, welcoming newcomers to Mercyhurst University, the nontraditional graduation in the past spring, preparation for the Centennial celebration and alumni class notes. When deciding what stories go into the bi-annual magazine, Director of Marketing in the Department of Marketing & Brand Management, Sean Cuneo, tries to use stories that best reflect Mercyhurst. “The news items often reflect the latest happenings on campus – new facilities, new faces, recent activities and achievements — and the alumni profiles are
opportunities to showcase the wonderful things our recent and not-so-recent graduates are doing out in the world,” Cuneo said. The Office of Marketing and Public Relations oversees the publication of the Mercyhurst Magazine each year. The magazine editors were Deborah W. Morton and Cuneo. Leena M. Clint was in charge of the graphic design and layout of the publication. The contributing writers were Kristian Biega, Brandon Boyd, Craig Butler, Susan Hurley Corbran and Morton. The creation of the magazine is a team effort - something that Cuneo values about the process. “As a former newspaperman, I appreciate the teamwork required to produce a quality print product, from writers and editors to photographers, designers, and printers,” Cuneo said. “Seeing the magazine on press is always a thrill for me.” Cuneo stated that the most important reason for the magazine is to keep Mercyhurst involved with the community. “Keeping alumni in touch with Mercyhurst is certainly an important purpose of the magazine, as is helping the university maintain a high profile in the community,”
Cuneo said. “We have a lot going on at Mercyhurst, our alumni are doing impressive things and it behooves Mercyhurst to share that news with the world.” The back cover of the magazine mentions the upcoming Homecoming Weekend, which will take place Sept. 24-26 - another major way that alumni can stay involved at Mercyhurst. Alumni have access to a wide variety of activities during homecoming weekend, most are free and require no registration ahead of time, but there are some that cost money or registration, so be sure to check out https://www. mercyhurst.edu/alumni/homecoming/live to see all the options for the weekend. If you are an alum of Mercyhurst and you have not been receiving the bi-monthly Alumni eNewsletter, update your email address at this website: https:// www.mercyhurst.edu/alumni/update. If you are interested to learn more about getting involved as an alum, contact the alumni association or Director Lindsay Frank at lfrank@mercyhurst.edu. Be sure to check out the Mercyhurst Magazine on the Mercyhurst website today!
