Danielle Smith
Staff Reporter
With 24 years of experience at McDaniel College, Dr. Christianna Leahy manages to not just juggle but to “hacky sack” her way through the constant challenge of being a single mother a college professor, the head of her department, an avid equestrian, and unfailing making herself available to her many students.
“She is a force of nature,” academic secretary Elaine Barnard-Luce said when describing this political science professor who finds that every day presents a different obstacle course.
A typical day for Dr. Leahy begins before most people have even thought of hitting the snooze button. 5:45 a.m. starts the all-day marathon.
Besides getting herself ready, Leahy has to take care of her horse, Cheval de Reve (French for “horse of the dream”), and her dogs, Gramsci (a Labradoodle) and Whippersnapper (a Jack Russell ‘Terrorist’). After tending to the horse dogs Leahy then enjoys preparing a large breakfast for her ten-year-old son, Roan.
“I am a firm believer that nutrition has an effect on learning,” Leahy says as she describes how she makes sure her son has enough fuel in his stomach so he can concentrate on learning. Ironically enough, Leahy has yet to eat by 7:10 a.m. when the mother-son duo drive 20 minutes in the opposite direction of Westminster to make it to Roan’s school, St. Paul’s, on time.
Managing between stoplights to get her daily information fill from the New York Times, Leahy arrives at McDaniel by 8:00 a.m., 20 minutes before her 8:20 a.m. class and still with no food in her stomach.
After teaching for 90 minutes, things begin to open up. Administration work that comes along with being the department chair tends to occupy some of this time. But interaction with students is also a frequent occurrence. In fact, Leahy elaborates, “It’s my favorite part of my day, other than seeing Roan.”
Invested in providing the best education possible for her students, Leahy describes that after receiving her masters and from Georgetown University, she found herself teaching at Western Maryland College, now McDaniel. She figured she would teach at WMC until she finished her dissertation.
Surprisingly enough, Leahy found she actually liked it at the small liberal arts college. The small classes of 20 students proved a better fit for lecturing.
“I can see their faces and know if they are getting it or are lost,” Leahy explains.
However, her day is not close to being over. Teaching at least another two classes of her own, Leahy also finds time to be a guest speaker in several other classes, go on business lunches with guest speakers, then attend those speeches all before rushing to pick up her son at 4 p.m.
The radio is not on during their car ride home; instead the car is filled with conversation. Hearing how Roan separates his academic day from his social day is far more entertaining than whatever nonsense is on the radio. Once home Roan works on his homework while Leahy allows her son his independence and rides Cheval de Reve. The two reunite for a candle light dinner for two no later than 7 p.m.
They are not distracted by the television, rather they “relax and have real intellectual conversation,” Leahy makes clear.
After a large dinner and a healthy serving of news, she either enjoys fun activities like rock climbing with Roan, reads, or grades papers. If she is lucky, an international conference call won’t start at 9 p.m. since they tend to run at least two hours. Even so, Leahy enjoys ending her evening with reading something completely unrelated to political science, preferably some sort of poetry.
Having a daily routine as demanding as Leahy’s is difficult, but she takes pride in her ability to “juggle 9,000 different things.” Others, including students past and present, notice that skill too. They also notice that Leahy is more invested in her students and is completely willing to help them in any way possible.
“Leahy is really awesome,” Theresa Stromberg, a current student of Leahy’s, says with no hesitation. “She is so passionate about her subject that even though it is a lecture class, it makes it so much better because she is so passionate. You can ask her anything, even if it isn’t about class and she is more than happy to talk to you about it. She is just awesome.”
Lindsey Browning has taken two courses with Leahy and has her as an advisor. She says: “Dr. Leahy and I have very different view points but she is extremely helpful.” Browning also comments on one of the many volunteer jobs Leahy is involved in.
“She is the advisor for the Model UN and she doesn’t get paid for it. It is so cool she is willing to get involved outside of the classroom,” says Browning.
Nothing but the utmost respect and admiration was heard when political science secretary Elaine Barnard-Luce spoke of Dr. Leahy. “She is extremely enthusiastic and passionate about her subject and it comes across in her everyday conversations. She is a force of nature and full of energy.”
This “force of nature” chuckled as she elaborated on “growing old at McDaniel.”
“It depends on this election. Roan wants to move to France if Obama doesn’t win.”
Luckily, McDaniel doesn’t have to worry about losing Dr. Christianna Leahy any time soon.