Date: Saturday, Oct. 12
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Suter Science Center 106
Cost: Free (registration required)
The perennially popular TenTalks during Homecoming and Family Weekend 2024 will feature three speakers each representing a different stage of the EMU journey: current student Adesola Johnson, alumna Ashley Mellinger ’24, and faculty member Dr. Mark Metzler Sawin.
The speakers will each have 10 minutes to “impact, influence and inspire” the audience, and then answer questions from the crowd. The format is modeled on TED Talks presentations.
The free event will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12, in Suter Science Center 106. Registration is required for this event. It will be livestreamed on the EMU Facebook page.
Register for events here!
Investigating the Role of Retinoic Acid on Podocyte Development
Johnson, a senior biology major from Dallas, serves EMU as a hall director, executive Royal Ambassador, DEI student leader and a tutor in the Academic Success Center.
This summer she had the opportunity to conduct research at the University of Notre Dame, where she investigated the mechanisms regulating kidney development using zebrafish as a model organism. She is deeply passionate about advancing scientific research and said she looks forward to presenting her findings to the EMU community at TenTalks.
The Art of Self-Care
Mellinger, of Harleysville, Pennsylvania, had one busy senior year. The Cords of Distinction recipient published her debut novel, Heartache on the Play Stage, in January and graduated from EMU with a BSN in May. In the meantime, she’s been working on earning her RN license.
Mellinger said her presentation will focus on “the art of self-care.” “This summer provided me a lot of freedom and downtime to recoup from the stress of nursing school and I learned how to truly take care of myself,” she said. “I’d like to share some tips with you all!”
Mrs. Ida Mae Francis and her Green Book House
Sawin, professor of history at EMU and co-director of the honors program, is part of a team of researchers helping preserve the history of a Harrisonburg, Virginia, house listed in The Green Book.
During the Jim Crow era, The Green Book was a guide created by and for African Americans that listed open and safe places for them to eat, visit and lodge while traveling. Sawin’s presentation will look at Harrisonburg’s primary Green Book property, Mrs. Ida Mae Francis’ Guest House, telling its history and the story of the thriving, entrepreneurial Black community it serviced for 50 years (1912-1962).
Sawin, an EMU faculty member since 2001, has spent two decades working with members of Harrisonburg’s Black community to help tell the story of Newtown and the Northeast Neighborhood before it was devastated by urban renewal projects in the early 1960s.
For a full list of Homecoming and Family Weekend events, visit: emu.edu/homecoming
Join the Discussion on “Homecoming TenTalks welcomes Adesola Johnson ’25, Ashley Mellinger ’24, and Dr. Mark Metzler Sawin”