ALLIANCE – On March 23, the University of Mount Union's women's history month committee hosted a panel of community members to talk about the power of storytelling. Following the national theme of women using their stories to uplift and empower the women around them, the panel featured local storytellers. 

Panelists included Melissa Gardner, vice president for marketing at Mount Union, Kelly Piero, vice president of marketing, communications and public affairs at the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce, Carla Sarratt, director of libraries at Mount Union and Kyle Schwarz with local television channel Spectrum 1022. 

The panel was moderated by Kayla Kilgore’24 and Leah Kadlecek ‘24 and engaged panelists in a discussion on the importance of telling stories and how they might differ by medium and content. 

The evening included dinner and dialogue with a Q&A that followed and ended with the presentation of the Jane Weston Chapman Award. The Jane Weston Chapman Award is given to a student and faculty/staff each year who have worked toward making the campus a more accepting and inclusive community.  

Recipients this year were student Maeve Smith ‘23 and faculty and staff members Sara Sherer, director of residence life and Amy McElhinney, associate professor of biology.