For Darrell Hemsley Jr. ’08, St. Lawrence has been about diverse
experiences and venturing out.
Darrell decided to come to St. Lawrence to experience an environment
and culture different from his hometown, Landover Hills, Md., something
he felt was “essential” to broaden his horizons. He says
he has succeeded, through interactions with students from diverse
backgrounds, beliefs and countries.
“Diversity is all about interaction and integration.
You teach and learn from each other,” says Darrell, a graduate
of Forestville High School.
Darrell plans on a semester in multicultural London his
senior year. “It will be a perfect academic match,” says
the English (writing)
and performance
and communication arts major. A summer 2006 McNair
Scholar (a program aimed at encouraging students in underrepresented
groups to pursue doctoral studies), he studied with Kirk Fuoss, associate
professor of performance and communication arts, on “Cluster
Criticism Reveals: Phyllis Hyman’s Lyrical Angels and Demons.” He
examined the late R&B singer’s original lyrics, suspecting
that they would shed insight into the depression from which Hyman
suffered and which ultimately led to her suicide.
Darrell has worked for ACE and
the Black Students’ Association. He says he loves being poetry
editor of The Laurentian literary magazine since “it
is an opportunity and pleasure to read poetry and value creativity.”
Darrell is looking into studying for a master’s in screen writing.
