Mercyhurst History

So, as I said last week, we were going through a pretty chilly period. And with cold weather sometimes comes water main breaks.

Unfortunately, our campus as well as some neighborhoods around us suffered some water loss. Which for many of our residential buildings, loss of heat as well. So for the first time in a long stretch of Mercyhurst history, campus was closed down Thursday afternoon through Sunday evening.

I took this little surprise as an opportunity to take an extended weekend home. Since the majority of weekend events were postponed to a later date, I thought I would use this post to share some of my favorite Mercyhurst winter pictures that were streamed through Instagram. On the Mercyhurst University Facebook page, as the social media intern, I typically pick one photo each week as the "Insta-fave" to post but there are always too many to choose from... So here are some more! To see more, simply search #Merchurst on Instagram.

Enjoy!

Old Main and Egan – @jgolfer15

Our famous gates – @jgibson0513

Baldwin Hall and the Football Offices – @jbrahim9

Old Main – @fapo92

Audrey Hirt Academic Center – @jaslyne_renee

O'Neill Tower – @milosveres

Christmas Craze

Hello readers!

The famous tree we light!

Christmas is in full swing at the 'Hurst! This past week we finished up MSG's 12 Days of Christmas, held the Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, and Miracle on 38th Street (or as we used to call it, Christmas on Campus).

The 12 Days of Christmas wrapped up at the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony with a blessing of the seasons by Monsignor Rubino, Dean of the Business Department, and the lighting of one of the largest pine trees located in the center of campus. At the Ceremony, the twelfth gift, and iPad, was given to one lucky Laker – Jacob Griffen. It was great to see someone I know win! Not only is he a fellow Ambassador with me, he was one of the other students who studied abroad in Italy, Greece and Turkey with me.

Diving into some crafts

Also at the Ceremony, we help the RSCO Christmas Decorating Contest. Fifteen trees competed for top prize, money to their organization's budget. And the Ambassadors won, woohoo! We won by a landslide with 150 votes. The Honors Council was second followed by the Outdoor Adventure Club.

On Friday, Miracle on 38th Street was held. Typically children who may not be as privileged as some come to campus for an afternoon of holiday fun including crafts, food, games, and a visit from Santa with some other surprises! Every year MSG lets the children go "shopping" for items in our make-shift store for their parents or guardians. It's a great way to get involved on campus, and it's always so gratifying to see how appreciative most of these children are.

The final Christmas-y thing that ended my week was a part of my work in the PR and Marketing Department, a virtual Ugly Sweater Contest! We're using Instagram and a holiday hash tag, #HurstHoliday to get Lakers to share their most hideous sweaters. We'll be picking a winner before students leave for break this Friday. See the picture below for the graphic I created for the contest.

Thank you for reading, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year. Hopefully, I'll be able to post at least a little something over break!

But until next time, happy holidays!