Author: Keara Holt
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From Seven Cats to 1,000: How One Volunteer Helped Fix a Stray Crisis
The sound coming from her neighbor’s yard was a desperate cry that Jackie Crawford couldn’t ignore. Underneath a shed, she found a kitten, frail and infested with fleas. Taking it home with her, Crawford nursed it back to health and prepared the small animal to be adopted through a local animal shelter. This wasn’t the…
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At 21, Already a Teacher and Advocate for Change
While many PennWest students were enjoying their spring break by catching up on sleep or traveling, senior Edinboro student Gavin Mitsdarfer was exactly where they feel most at home: teaching in the classroom. At 21 years old, Mitsdarfer has presented at conferences, won multiple advocacy awards and graced the cover of a national magazine –…
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How Faith Helped Me Find Peace
In late October, I attended a Fall Retreat with PennWest Edinboro’s Chi Alpha. I went on this retreat to develop my practice in Christianity and also to reset after a stressful semester. In my first article on my retreat experience, I wrote about how a supportive community was essential in my faith journey. In my…
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Screen Detox: Five Days Without a Phone Was Easy – Until Her Car Broke Down
I have been rescued by cowboys a few times in my life. Just enough times, in fact, to start a joke among my friend group that my guardian angel must really like Stetsons. It’s only right that while going on a smartscreen detox for a school project that I would stumble across a very helpful…
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Mom for A Day: What First-Time Parenting a Toddler is Like
I am the firstborn daughter and the eldest of six children. With over a 15-year age gap between my youngest sibling, I believed I had rightfully earned my Ph.D. in childcare. I’ve survived everything from diapers to full-scale tantrums. I assumed motherhood was a skill I had already mastered, after gaining decades worth of experience…
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Solo Mio is The Valentine’s Day Movie to Watch
Solo Mio is a film about Matt Taylor, played by Kevin James, who is set to get married in Rome, but whose fiancée leaves him at the altar. The film follows James as he tries to get over the heartbreak in Rome and in the process, gets a new outlook on life. This film is…
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Finding Identity By Embracing My Own Gifts
This article is third in a series reflecting on how PennWest Edinboro’s Chi Alpha retreat helped me learn about the importance of community support and mindfulness. This installment focuses on how the experience helped me find my identity. After breakfast on the second day of the retreat, Edinboro Chi Alpha Minister TJ Shaefer gave us…
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PennWest to test emergency alert system
PennWest will test its emergency alert system, PennWest Shield, this week. Testing will occur at the three campuses on the following dates and times: California Campus: Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, from 11 a.m. to noon. Edinboro Campus: Wednesday, Feb, 4, 2026, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Clarion Campus: Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, from 1…
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The Retreat that Taught Me the Power of Presence
Jordan Mccown is co-captain of Edinboro’s Wheelchair Basketball team. Through a series of personal reflections, he shares his journey in discovering faith with Chi Alpha, a Christian ministry at PennWest. In late October, I attended a Fall Retreat with PennWest Edinboro’s Chi Alpha. I went on this retreat to develop my practice in Christianity, and…