William Alexander Shick

William Alexander Shick, better known as Alex Shick, is a Sophomore from Hornell, New York. He is majoring in Criminal Justice and is a semi-active member of the Mercyhurst Community.

Alex is majoring in Criminal Justice as his career goal is to become a Defense Attorney. He is a member of the Criminal Justice Association, a club on campus, as it will help prepare him for a successful future in the legal field.

Alex is a member of the Mercyhurst Men's Cross Country team. He was on the cross country team in high school as well. Through his training in cross country, he was able to accomplish his goal of completing a triathlon earlier this year.

In his spare time, Alex enjoys cooking, working out, and catching up on sleep. As well as hanging out and watching movies with his friends, he knows an endless number of films and is always looking for new movies to explore when he is looking for a new movie to watch that night. He is also a massive fan of the television show 'Friends.' He can recall the smallest moments of trivia and has watched every episode roughly ten times each.

Alex grew up with his parents and his two siblings. He has an older sister named Abbie and a younger brother named Joe. He has two dogs back home that he grew up with and, they helped to play a role in shaping him into the person he is today.

His freshman year, he was able to make a solid friend group that he remains close to this day. You can often find him hanging out with them in his free time. Alex is an outgoing spirit with a selective friend group, as he is sometimes shy at first but does not take much time to become quite social once he builds strong bonds with others.

- Isabel C. Merriman

Jieny Dour

Jieny Dour is a senior majoring in Political Science with a concentration in international relations and minoring in Pre-law and Sociology. Jieny was born in South Sudan but grew up in Buffalo, New York. Jieny runs the club Afrobeats, teaching dance to other students. She ran on the Cross Country team from her freshman through her junior year.

Jieny and her family came to the United States in 2000; as a result, to escape the war in Sudan. She is the second youngest of seven children, and she and her family are still close to their African roots and culture. She founded Afrobeats as a way to connect her culture to Mercyhurst. The club teaches dances from different cultures, helping bridge the gap for students wanting to learn about different genres of music and ethnicities.

Jieny did not run in high school; she played basketball. She wanted to remain active, so she decided to join the Cross Country team. Her senior year, she chose not to continue to run so that she could focus on her academics. She still socializes with her former teammates and finds ways to stay active.

Before Mercyhurst, Jieny attended a trade school, receiving a degree in criminal justice. While going to school as a student-athlete and trade school, Jieny also helped her mother with the daily chores around the house. Her culture values respect and hospitality, so Jieny was taught to be respectful and courteous to guests and anyone she meets. Jieny's culture also valued Earth, and this led to Jieny's become an environmentalist. As an environmentalist, Jieny advocates for the protection of Earth and animals, she's still an advocate for Mother Earth. She fights for the protection and preservation of the Earth and all its living creatures.

As well as being an environmentalist, Jieny is also a humanitarian and hopes to incorporate it into her career. Jieny wishes to use her degree as a way to help those less fortunate and push for equality. Jieny isn't afraid to fight for what she believes is right because her mother told her always to be proud of what she stands for.

- Isabel C. Merriman