BY JEORGIA JAHUMPA
Photo Credit: Stonehill College
From Supreme Court justices to paranormal researchers, the Martin Institute hosts a wide range of speakers for its ongoing program.
Martin Institute draws in hundreds of people both in and out of the Stonehill community for its events, providing breakfast and lunch for its attendees.
Kathleen Currul-Dykeman, the chair of the criminology department and the director of the Martin Institute, said she chooses speakers by networking and collaborating with other professors as well as having a little bit of something for different types of students.
“It’s a weird little web of collaborating and talking to other people and setting up events,” Currul-Dykeman said.
She said she has met a lot of different people during her seven years as director, from state representatives and Supreme Court justices to authors and filmmakers, and keeps the books published by speakers in her office.
Currul-Dykeman said that these events provide networking and community-building opportunities for students.
“It’s good for students to not hear from just one professor but from people that are out there passionately doing the work. Meeting interesting and fun people is just good for us to do together,” Currul-Dykeman said.
For the 75th Alumni Panel, Currul-Dykeman said she worked with Alumni Affairs and the Vice President of Academic Affairs Peter Ubertaccio to focus on politics and community engagement.
“I was casting a broad net for the alumni panel,” Currul-Dykeman said, “So, Evan Turgeon and I started searching for the coolest alumni.”
Turgeon, ‘24, is one of the Civic Ambassadors for the Martin Institute and said he works closely with the criminology and political science department to organize and promote events.
“I get to help create things and give my own input and see the potential future that this institution could have,” Turgeon said.
Turgeon said that while he isn’t sure where he will be after Stonehill, he hopes he can take what he learned from the Martin Institute and apply it to wherever he is.
“I hope to give back to Stonehill in some way because Stonehill runs the way it does because of people who come and give back,” Turgeon said, “People who come and give back are what make Stonehill what it is.”
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