Olivia French

Olivia French is a 19 year old Sophomore Student who started at Mercyhurst in August of 2018.  Although her hometown is Hermon, New York, she attended and graduated from Hermon DeKalb Central School in the nearby town of in DeKalb, New York in June of 2018.  The small town of Hermon has a population of only 1146 people thereby necessitating for the students to combine with those in DeKalb.   

Olivia did not participate in any formal team sports but she did quite a bit of downhill skiing. It is no wonder since Hermon, New York as way up at the northern tip of New York State where the snow is as plentiful as it is here in Erie, perhaps even moreso.

She chose Mercyhurst primarily due to the AIM (Autism Initiative at Mercyhurst) program. The program gives those that are on the Autism Spectrum specific help with any difficulties, both academically and socially, that the student may face during their course of study at Mercyhurst University. Olivia is very pleased to be in the program and claims that it has been very helpful to her.

Olivia is musically talented. She played the trombone for about 7 years prior to starting college. What is interesting is the fact that she played this instrument despite barely being able to read music. 

Some things she wanted to share about herself that most people might not expect is that she is fascinated by rare diseases. Some of the conditions she finds that are the most interesting are Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva, a rare condition that causes soft tissue, such as muscle and ligaments, to turn into bone, eventually paralysing the individual. Another disease that interests her is Progeria, a rare genetic condition that causes a child's body to age fast.  She also has an interest in Leontiasis Ossea, or lion face. This is a rare medical condition with overgrowth of the facial and cranial bones. To each their own, I guess.