My Manchester journey began when I was born in 2005, with my father being a recent graduate and my mother working in admissions. My first day out of the hospital saw me in the old admissions building. As I grew up in and around North Manchester, I was adamant that I needed to go out of state for college, having frequented the same streets, restaurants, and people for the past 18 years. However, after my freshman year at North Central College in Illinois, I decided that Manchester was a better fit for my personal and academic needs, ultimately deciding to enroll in a last-minute trip to London in January 2025.
I entered my sophomore year at Manchester with uncertainty in my area of studies, switching from my original marketing degree to environmental science and eventually biology. The classes I took were interesting, but there was an academic itch that I wasn’t able to scratch. An anxious aura surrounded me as I prepared to travel to London for my first January course: The Development of Scientific Thought. In London I was exposed to superb education through primary sources and first-hand experiences under the direction of our supervisors Dr. Greg Clark and Dr. Steve Naragon. For the first time in years, I had fun learning about the world around me. It wasn’t the science that interested me, it was the history of it: how Newton discovered the laws of motion, how the world slowly accepted the heliocentric solar model, and how different technologies advanced over hundreds of years. This excitement for learning empowered me to pursue a career in what I have always enjoyed most: literature.
The following Spring semester I changed my major to English and enrolled in classes that sparked my curiosity. Through my World Literature course with Dr. Beate Gilliar, Prison Literature class with Dr. Stacy Erickson-Pestski, and an impromptu East Asian History course with Dr. Uma Ganesan, I discovered that not only do I love literature, but I love the conjunction of literature and history. I eventually added a history minor. These courses sparked my curiosity with works like Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, a novel about a native Igbo tribe in Africa being influenced by British colonialism. This novel encouraged me to take a Modern Imperialism course with Dr. Ganesan, in which I really enjoyed engaging with the brutal history of imperialism.
My Fall semester led me to take British Literature II with Dr. Jonathan Watson, where we read North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, a novel about the industrial revolution and the social impacts that came as a result. This novel required me to reexamine humanity’s relationship with nature, and how the industrial revolution helped shift that relationship from one of mutual harmony, to one of domination and exploitation. This relationship is something I consider every day, and is something I continue to reference. The same semester I was introduced to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Nature” in American Literature II with Dr. Katherine Ings, in which I further engaged in a discussion about humanity’s spiritual connection to the natural world.
For the first time in my life, I was hungry for more knowledge and opportunities to learn about the world around me. As I continued to enroll in classes, I started to understand the mass amounts of knowledge that I lacked, but instead of being discouraged, I recognized it; I continue to work towards closing that gap. Engaging in discussions about the human condition in different historical contexts has made me a better person, allowing me a better understanding of history, strengthening my ability to look at today’s world with a historical critique, and reinforcing my empathy skills.
Today, I continue seeking opportunities to expand my knowledge by reading broadly across time periods, cultures, and genres. By learning about the history of our world, I hope to improve our world’s future by teaching literature.
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Chris Rohr is an intern for the Office of Marketing & Communications during Summer 2026.
Four new members, including three alumni, have joined Manchester University’s Board of Trustees. D. Randall Brown ’87 of Fort Wayne, Ind., returns to Manchester’s Board of Trustees after 10 years off. He spent three years as Board Chair. Brown earned his bachelor’s degree in political science and business from Manchester in 1987, before completing his Juris Doctor at Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis. He is now litigation department chair and Fort Wayne managing partner at Barnes & Thornburg. He also serves on the boards of Greater Fort Wayne, Inc., Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership,...
Manchester University’s Office of Alumni Relations will host four virtual events during January and February showcasing alumni and student stories. All events will be held at 7 p.m. on Microsoft Teams. Links will be sent via email after registration. Jan. 13: Dr. Jeff Easley, Class of 1983, experienced a life-changing opportunity when he went on the second-ever Medical Practicum trip as a student. Hear how that trip helped shape his career in medicine. Register here. Jan. 20: Connor Eichenauer, Class of 2019, will share about his journey completing a Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology...
