February campus happenings

With Gettysburgians exceling in and out of the classroom in every discipline, we celebrate the vibrancy of campus by engaging in events, including performances, sports, panels with distinguished scholars and professionals, or one of Gettysburg’s cherished and time-honored traditions.

As we enter the third month of the spring 2022 semester, we pause to reflect on some of the key moments between January and February that made Gettysburg great. Read on for campus happenings from the past month:

Celebrating Black History Month

Black History Month is a time to celebrate Gettysburgians past and present. The Black Student Union (BSU) and Office of Multicultural Engagement held events throughout the month of February, from jeopardy to movie and documentary viewings. Gettysburgians also attended listening parties for Black alumni of Gettysburg, co-sponsored by BSU and Special Collections, and perused the Caribbean history and culture display at Musselman Library. Continue to explore the history of Black Gettysburgians by reading transcripts from the ongoing College Archives oral history project “Black Lives at Gettysburg College.”

On Jan. 16, we celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The virtual MLK Celebration, sponsored by Gettysburg College, HACC, SCCAP, United Way and YWCA of Gettysburg & Adams County, featured performances, presentations, and talks from the local community.

Watch the virtual MLK Celebration

Alumni Spotlight: Read about the development of “ABCs That Look Like You & Me,” a children's book written by Ja’Nai Harris ’16 that amplifies stories of people of color.

Sharing faculty art

Through March 4, the Schmucker Art Gallery presented works by Gettysburg College studio art faculty, including Profs. Amanda Berg, Tina Gebhart, Henry Gepfer, John Kovaleski, Mark Warwick, and Austin Stiegemeier. The selection included a variety of art pieces, from Stiegmeier’s oil-on-linen painting called “grave digger atom splitter” to Berg’s photography series titled “Every Body Hit Somebody,” which featured the 2013 championship season of the Carolina Phoenix, a semi-professional women’s tackle football team.

“Each print testifies to the Phoenix’s strength on the field and in the face of historically entrenched gender expectations, offering an alternative narrative to that which is typically portrayed in traditional media,” Berg said of her work, which was featured in The New York Times in 2015.

Watch the virtual gallery talk and see more faculty art

Inspiring students with career talks

In January, two speakers shared valuable career insights with Gettysburgians. On Jan. 21, Orin Levine ’88, director of vaccine delivery for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, spoke about his path to epidemiology and the impact of his time at Gettysburg, including his time on the lacrosse team, studying abroad, and then transitioning to graduate school, noting that he brought all the lessons learned during college with him to the professional world.

The following week, on Jan. 27, the Fielding Center hosted a talk with Jon Favreau, the head speechwriter for former President Barack Obama. Favreau, co-founder of Crooked Media and co-host of the political discourse podcast Pod Save America, shared stories from his time in the White House and what he learned from the role: “My old boss [President Obama] was the greatest mentor anyone could ever ask for,” Favreau said. “He taught me to believe, no matter what, in the possibilities of American democracy.”

Watch the Jon Favreau talk