HANNAH KUBBINS

News Editor

This year, Denison hired five new staff members to the hill. To introduce them to the campus, we talked to each one of them to welcome them to our community.

First we have Kelsey Jones, Whisler’s interim counselor for this semester. Originally from Lancaster, OH, Jones graduated from The Ohio State University where she received her Master’s degree in Clinical Counseling.

Jones knows college is a stressful and exciting time, and she said “I’m really looking forward to working with students and helping them have a fun and rewarding experience at Denison.” In her free time, Jones enjoys reading, listening to music and playing the ukulele.

Next we have Johan Uribe, a new assistant professor in the economics department. Uribe was born in Medellin, Colombia but grew up around Atlanta, GA.

Uribe will be teaching intermediate microeconomics and an upper level elective titled “Race and Ethnicity in the United States,” which looks at the economic history of racial and ethnic groups in the U.S.

Before joining Denison’s team, Uribe was a graduate student at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City where he taught as well as Westminster College.

Uribe said he’s “excited to integrate myself into the Denison community, get to know my students and teach my new courses in an experimental format.” After a skiing incident where Uribe ran head-first into a tree, he said “I have since learned to respect tree skiing a lot more.”

Phoebe Myhrum, Denison’s new Interim Director of Religious and Spiritual Life & Associate Chaplain, hails from Pittsburgh, PA. A Denison Alumna, Myhrum came back to the hill after finishing up her Masters in Divinity with a concentration in Social Ethics from Union Theological Seminary in New York City.

In her new position, Myrhum said “I’m here to be present with and support students in this exciting journey called college. Central to my role is understanding and meeting the religious and spiritual needs of the Denison community, which is wonderfully diverse and gives us ample opportunity to make meaning together in a variety of ways.”

When Myhrum isn’t in her office, she’s attempting  to run a race in every state in the country.

The new Assistant Director for Pre-Health and STEM Professions in the Knowlton Center for Career Exploration, Sara Harp, seeks to assists students exploring interests, taking advantage of opportunities and building skills for life after Denison.

Harp, originally from Kenton, OH, will be focusing primarily on supporting students interested in the health or STEM fields.

Before Harp arrived at Denison, she was an Academic Advisor and Pre-Health Advisor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Harp said, “I am so excited to get to know Denisonians on a one-on-one basis. Whether you are a first-year student or a senior, if you know exactly what you want to do with your life or have zero ideas, come visit us and make an appointment! We have free coffee, hot chocolate and friendly faces!”

In her college years, Harp joined the geology club and spent a summer in Utah excavating a site, where she discovered a fossilized tibia of a juvenile Allosaurus.

Finally, Miaja St. Martin is another addition to the Knowlton Center for Career Exploration.

Miaja St. Martin is the Operations Assistant for the center. “My job is a little all over the place in the sense that I touch almost everything that has to do with the operation of or center.”

St. Martin is mainly the point person for everything relating to Handshake. Additionally, she assists with projects involving social media, internships and the center’s student workers.

Also a Denison Alumna, St. Martin is from Nashville, TN. She graduated in 2014 with a degree in Educational Studies and a minor in Studio Art.

Before coming back to the hill, she worked as a nanny for two young boys. St. Martin is excited to be working with students from her alma mater. “It’s interesting to see the amazing changes Denison is going through thanks to Adam Weinberg. It feels great to be back on the hill in a center that has so much to offer!”

To learn more about Denison’s newest staff members, pop into their office during the week to introduce yourself or schedule an appointment.