Lindsay Fetherol
After completing her undergraduate degrees in Communication and Sociology from Wittenberg University in spring 2020, OHIO M.A. student Lindsay Fetherolf decided to challenge herself by pursuing two master’s programs at the same time.
Fetherol enrolled in the online master’s program in Law, Justice & Culture at Ohio University while also working to complete a master’s degree in analytics at Wittenberg University. “I feel that the two degrees will really combine nicely in a way that will allow me to use science and data to make smart decisions that will improve the lives of many people.”
She was drawn to the OHIO program because of how much she values a liberal arts education. Attracted by the Center for Law, Justice & Culture’s focus on law, culture and power, she felt that the M.A. program would enable her to become a better global citizen.
“Other than just making me a better person, this master’s degree is giving me the tools to analyze the law around me and the different ways it affects and reflects society,” Fetherol says.
The OHIO study abroad program on Human Rights, Law & Justice in Northern Ireland caught her eye. The nine-day course examines the post-conflict society of Northern Ireland after the Troubles, highlighting the importance of an anthropological approach to legal and political transitions, dealing with the past, contested memories, and the legacy of human rights abuses.
While preparing her application, Fetherolf sat in a class session of Dr. Kirstine Taylor‘s POLS 5739: Politics of Race. The class focused on how migrant farmers organize and mobilize to fight for their rights. Fetherolf says that the class reinforced that the OHIO program “would give me knowledge about the world around me and help give me a good foundation for my future.”
Enrolling in the part-time online program, Fetherolf began taking courses in the summer of 2020, taking a sociology class, Policing & Society taught by Dr. Bruce Hoffman, and a Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies class, Sexual Violence and Survivor Advocacy taught by Dr. Thomas Vander Ven. In the fall of 2020, she took two CLJC core courses, LJC 6500: LJC Research Methods, taught by Dr. Haley Duschinski, and LJC 6965: Legal Practice Workshop, taught by Larry Hayman, Esq.
In the spring of 2021, Fetherol is taking two core courses, LJC 6000: LJC Proseminar and LJC 6800: LJC Research Capstone, and a special elective offering, LJC 6940: LJC Externship, all taught by Duschinski. The externship is a practice-based course focusing on human rights advocacy strategies associated with the U.N. human rights mechanisms in Geneva.
During her time as an online student, Fetherol has been thankful for the CLJC’s work to keep her motivated and included in the Ohio University community. “They keep me engaged with OU and made me feel like an on-campus student through zoom sessions and the Pre-Law Day even though I am fully online.”
She has also found support from CLJC affiliated faculty. “Dr. Hayman and Dr. Duschinski have really kept me engaged in the program and helped more times than I’d like to admit.”
After graduating, Fetherol hopes to find a job that she is passionate about and that allows her to positively impact her community. She is confident that the skills this program has given her will help her succeed in the future.
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