Archives: History and Anthropology

Prudence Robertson ’19 advocates for life as host of EWTN Pro-Life Weekly.
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Kurt Halligan recently graduated with a master’s degree in history from Duquesne University. There, he built on and presented the research of…
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Kristina Frandson recently finished her master’s program in Human Osteoarchaeology at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She greatly enjoys…
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While at Franciscan, Kevin Arkoosh, served a summer internship on Capitol Hill for U.S. Senator James E. Risch (R-ID). Today, Arkoosh works full-time for Senator Risch as a legislative assistant, tracking legislation on adoption, abortion, Native American affairs, housing, and other social issues, and fielding calls for help from citizens in his home state. While at Franciscan, Arkoosh says he benefited from his classes in political philosophy, American diplomatic history, and others, while playing rugby and serving as a residence assistant developed his leadership skills.

Sean Farrell is a law student at Indiana University McKinney School of Law. The challenging program builds on his time as a Franciscan undergraduate student.In addition to his studies, Farrell is a member of Indiana University’s Business Law Association, the Dean’s Tutorial Society, the Honor Society, and the Indiana International and Comparative Law Review. He has worked at a local prosecutor’s office, and next plans to work for a firm that specializes in helping businesses grow and develop.

Andrew Mihaly ’13 says attending Franciscan University allowed him to pursue his undergraduate degree in an environment where he “could truly flourish in my studies, my faith, and my social life.”Now a middle and high school social studies teacher at a private Catholic school, Andrew also coaches the school’s basketball and baseball teams, and serves as advisor for its chapter of the National Honors Society.“I landed the exact job I was trained for in my undergrad,” says Andrew.

No one can say senior political science major Dan Woltornist doesn’t come by his conservative political philosophy honestly.The grandson of not one, but two Russian immigrants who separately fled the Soviet Union in the 1940s, the New Jersey native grew up hearing tales of the trials his grandparents and great-grandparents endured under the Communist regime, and of their near escapes from Stalin’s secret police.

John Boilegh remembers walking into Franciscan University in 1995 thinking he had three strikes against him: He was a local from the “rough steel town” of Steubenville, a non-traditional student at 25, and a commuter. Add to that his long hair, black leather motorcycle jacket, and interest in anthropology, what he called “a godless science at a Catholic university.” He’d been warned about the strong religious atmosphere on campus so as a non-Catholic, John expected he would not fit in. To his surprise he recalls, “I found just the opposite! I was really impressed with the ‘true Catholics.’ Everybody was really friendly, kind, and not judgmental.”John had a degree in natural resource management from another college when he took on an archaeology job with Professor Phil Fitzgibbons to excavate a local site.