FEATURES
PAGE 6
NEW AT HURST
Wednesday, December 8, 2021
Students promote knowledge of the Civil Rights Movement By Victoria McGinty
Managing editor
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By Victoria McGinty and Bella Lee Managing Editor, Staff writer This year, Mercyhurst has welcomed many new faculty and staff members with open arms. This semester, the Merciad has introduced various new staff members and this week we welcome Seyma Inan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology. Inan’s education has been extensive but rewarding. She received her bachelor’s from Eastern Michigan University with a major in psychology and two minors in social work and religion. Following her undergraduate years she began a doctoral program at Miami University in the area of Brain, Cognitive, and Developmental Psychology. Following her graduation in August of this year, she was welcomed to Mercyhurst. Being a new professor at Mercyhurst has been a major highlight in Inan’s time here so far. “I always wanted to be a professor in a teaching institution and a small liberal art college type,” said Inan. “This is a wonderful fit for me to be a psychology professor. Teaching is my passion and I have learned tons from my students and my academic dream has been fulfilled right after I started my first official job here as a new assistant professor of psychology.” Inan has known for some time that it was her goal to end up in a liberal arts institution. She grew inspired by the Liberal Arts curriculum during her third year of doctoral school while studying at Miami University. “I clearly started to see myself teaching at a small liberal arts school. It is just amazing to live my dream right now at Mercyhurst. I love my students and each individual makes me feel more compassionate towards their needs,” said Inan. Inan has become quite comfortable on campus and has managed to make Hurst home. While she feels it is difficult to pinpoint one aspect she enjoys about the university Inan said, “the campus is very clean and very refreshing. I am looking forward to experiencing my first Erie winter.” Outside of her work, Inan leads a very full life. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family– especially her three-year-old daughter. Additionally, Inan enjoys hiking camping and organizing book clubs over coffee. “It is always very exciting to discover new as places as well as face new cultures. I see my free time as a an effective break to become more motivated to teach,” said Inan. With the recent retirements of Dr. Livosky and Professor Hoff, the students and faculty of the Psychology department are fortunate and grateful to have Inan. Whether it’s for your major or just for REACH, try to take a class with her sometime in the future or say hello to her if you happen to see her on campus.
Mercyhurst offers a variety of academics that cater to students of all backgrounds. The Mercyhurst Hagen B. History Department is just one of many the unique departments on campus. Like all of the academic concentrations, the History Department offers courses that focus on all facets of history. From the Romans to the events of today, one is bound to find something interesting in the halls of Preston where the department is located. This semester the department offered a Global Civil Rights Class. Taught by Averill Earls, Ph.D., this course focused not only on the Civil Rights Movement, but also on Civil Rights across the globe. The Civil Rights Moment is prevalent now more than ever due to the presence of the Black Lives Matter Movement, which saw a peak last year across the world. This semester the students of this Civil Rights course are now questioning “how much does Mercyhurst know about the Civil Rights Movement? Senior Public History major, Abby Cullen, and Junior Public History majors, Lily Smith and Bella Lee, have been seeking out to answer this question through their final project. Currently, this group has dedicated their time towards the creation of a website to engage and
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Left to Right: Lee, McGinty, Smith and Cullen the students working on this project
educate Mercyhurst students on their prior knowledge as to what Civil Rights movement is as a whole. The process of this project has impacted each member to various degrees. “This project has been extremely gratifying for me. It’s so nice to know that a predominately white institution such as Mercyhurst has taken the time to address the Civil Rights Movement in so many ways” Smith said. This project has taken the group quite some time and research, but the trio were up for the challenge. Smith was tasked with sifting through the university’s Mericad archives, Lee contributed by
researching the archives of the university, while Cullen aided in the organization process. Each individual who is working on this project is incredibly passionate about the Civil Rights Movement and what it stands for, and each of them feels this project has been a rewarding experience. The website will be published soon for all to see. Once published it will be posted on the Hurst History social media pages. Please consider viewing this project to learn more about Mercyhurst’s role in the movement. For more information on this project one can reach out to Lily Smith, Bella Lee or Abby Cullen.
Karen Williams Memorial Scholarship winner By Libby Bullinger
Copy editor
This November, the Department of World Languages and Cultures announced Hanna Good as the 2021-2022 recipient of the Karen Williams Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship was established to honor the late Mercyhurst Spanish professor, Karen C. Williams, who passed away of breast cancer in 2019. This scholarship consists of $1,000 divided equally between the fall and spring semesters. Good is currently in her junior year at Mercyhurst majoring in Spanish Education with a minor in Teaching English Language Learners. Good has a rather unique story regarding her path to becoming interested in and learning Spanish. The scholarship recipient comes from a family of Spanish speakers with her grandparents speaking primarily Spanish. Although her mother is Cuban, Good and her siblings never formally learned the language at
home. Good mentions that growing up, she went to weekly lunches at Panera with her mother and grandmother where they would converse in Spanish, inspiring Good’s interest in learning the language. Although her grandparents are no longer living, Good acknowledges the inspiration they gave her to embrace and learn about her cultural roots. This scholarship is open to students in their junior year pursuing a Spanish Education major, Spanish major, or Spanish minor who demonstrate academic excellence and commitment in their fields. Students interested in the scholarship had to submit an unofficial transcript, resume and a cover letter introducing themselves and their future language goals. In writing this cover letter, Good discussed how it was a good chance to reflect on her time learning Spanish. Good reflects “in college, it is easy to get caught up in classes, so I am very happy that I had this
time to reflect on my passion for Spanish.” Alice Edwards, Ph.D., chair of the World Languages and Cultures department and professor of Spanish mentions that this year there were four candidates for the scholarship. Hannah was chosen due to her “willingness to volunteer teaching Spanish to elementary students, intelligent and insightful contributions in class, and her openness to other cultures” Edwards said. She also said that Good “models the same values that Professor William embodied,” and “reflects William’s life-long commitment to teaching Spanish and her love of diverse cultures,” which is essential given the nature of the scholarship. Good is also a Dean’s List recipient and a member of the varsity women’s water polo team. Make sure to congratulate Good if you see her around campus.
