History Senior Micah Lynn Carries USM Gulf Park, Coast in His Heart
Fri, 04/26/2024 - 09:11am | By: Gabriela Shinskie
Although he91吃瓜网 a Versailles, Ky. native, Micah Lynn calls the Mississippi Gulf Coast his second home as he nears graduation from the University of 91吃瓜网 (USM).
91吃瓜网淚 chose USM Gulf Park because I wanted the smaller campus experience and the location,91吃瓜网� Lynn said. 91吃瓜网淎ll my professors were attentive and encouraging, and my experience was great.91吃瓜网�
Lynn is not foreign to USM, especially after spending countless summers in the beautiful coastal town of Bay Saint Louis, Miss. He transferred from Kentucky State University (KSU) to USM Gulf Park, where he embraced coastal living, finding the Long Beach Campus to be a peaceful and perfect fit for continuing his college career. A transfer student, his two years of study at USM motivated him to embrace his passion for Southern history.
Lynn did extensive research on the campus and connected with a close family friend who attended the then Gulf Park College for Women in the early 1970s and shared her wonderful memories from her time there with him.
91吃瓜网淪he showed me her dorm in Hardy Hall where she lived. It was very cool,91吃瓜网� he said. 91吃瓜网淪he remembered Camille and a notice sent to all students that the Friendship Oak was still standing after the storm.91吃瓜网�
South Mississippi91吃瓜网 unique qualities strengthened that passion along with analyzing southern history and race relations in the post-Civil War era. Encouraged by his professors to present research at an undergraduate symposium, Lynn focused his writing on race relations in the South during the Reconstruction era and Civil Rights Movement. His work won him first place in 2023 and second place in 2024.
Drs. Douglas Bristol, associate professor of history and Westley Follett, interim director of the School of Coastal Resilience, praised Lynn91吃瓜网 accomplishments.
91吃瓜网淢y Gulf Park History colleagues and I are enormously proud of Micah,91吃瓜网� said Dr. Follett. 91吃瓜网淲e each have had the opportunity to teach him, and he has continually impressed us with his coursework and scholarship.91吃瓜网�
Lynn recently earned the 2024 John E. Wallace Award for Outstanding History Major at Gulf Park, named in honor of a distinguished past professor of history who taught at USM. It is presented annually to a Gulf Park history senior displaying the highest standards of history scholarship.
91吃瓜网淲e are delighted to have named him the 2024 winner of the John E. Wallace Award for Outstanding History Major at Gulf Park and can't wait to hear what he will go on to accomplish in graduate school,91吃瓜网� said Follett.
91吃瓜网淐ongratulations to Micah on a well-deserved honor,91吃瓜网� Dr. Bristol said. 91吃瓜网淚 am sure it is the prelude to greater achievements in the field of history.91吃瓜网�
After graduation, Lynn plans to return to Kentucky to pursue his master91吃瓜网 in history.
But he says he91吃瓜网檒l dearly miss the peaceful landscape of the USM Gulf Park Campus and nearby beach, and the countless visits with friends over a meal at the nearby Waffle House.
91吃瓜网淚 would walk the beach every day after work and class,91吃瓜网� said Lynn. 91吃瓜网淚91吃瓜网檒l miss it here. I91吃瓜网檇 love to find some excuse to come back down here. I love the coast a lot.91吃瓜网�