Generations Speaker Presentation by Dr. Melissa Marks

We are excited to host Dr. Melissa Marks’s presentation for the first time! The program will take place in Mellon Board Room, which is in the lower level of Mellon Hall (Mellon Center) on Chatham’s Shadyside campus. We will have HC Event signs directing you around. Click here for a map of Chatham’s campus. 

Registration link to come.

Bio: Dr. Melissa Marks is the daughter and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. Her desire to understand the history and psychology of the Holocaust led her to become a social studies teacher, a career she loved for a decade. Currently, she is in her 21^st year as a Professor of Education at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. She is a member of advisory boards for the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh, Seton Hill’s National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education, and the Westmoreland YWCA Racial Justice Committee.

Presentation Synopsis: When we learn about the Holocaust, we need to learn individual stories that inspire us: Inspire us to stand up for what is right,  inspire us to speak out against evil even when we feel scared, and inspire us to hope even in the darkest times. We need to recognize the power each of us has. The stories that I will share about my mother, my grandmother, and their extended family showcase the power individuals have in the choices we make. My mother and grandmother survived because of luck, quick wits, and the willingness of strangers to put what was right ahead of their own safety. My grandfather survived the camps because he hoped to see his baby daughter married under a chupah.

Generations programming is generously supported by the Sylvia & Martin Snow Family Fund.