Sophomore Laura Staley

L-R SOPHOMORE PRESENTS PAPER AT ROCKY MOUNTAIN MODERN LANGUAGES ASSOCIATION

Laura Staley, a sophomore English literature major at Lenoir-Rhyne College, recently presented a scholarly paper at a conference of the Rocky Mountain Division of the Modern Languages Association in Tucson, Ariz.

Her paper was titled “Dante’s Hell: Just or Generous?” The paper was originally written for an English course called “Western World Literature Before 1400.” Dr. Jennifer Heller, who was teaching the class, encouraged Staley to submit an abstract of her paper to the conference. It was accepted, and Staley was one of three undergraduate students who presented at a session called “Undergraduates Unplugged.”

Staley’s paper analyzed the concept of mercy in Dante’s literary classic “The Inferno,” which describes the fate of sinners who are condemned to hell. After graduating from Lenoir-Rhyne, Staley plans to continue her education in graduate school.

She is currently the literary editor of the Hacawa, the college yearbook; a reporter for The Lenoir-Rhynean, the student newspaper; a member of the board of Cantos, the college literary magazine; a student assistant for the Visiting Writers Series; and a resident advisor for Isenhour residence hall. Staley is the daughter of Marlayne and Darrell Staley of Wilkesboro, N.C.