By Audrey Stambaugh ’27
Oct 10, 2025
Advanced Studies: The Making of the 21st Century-Quinn Ferguson Honors Seminar is back. History department member Erin Caretti is bringing it to life with a new focus on public history.
After a pause of one year, Caretti is teaching the class following fellow department member Allison Stephens, who taught it before the hiatus.
The seminar has a strong legacy at Mercersburg Academy and is unlike any other history class offered. Caretti describes it as “an exploration of modern history leading to current history.” This course, designed for students to initiate and facilitate their own learning in a seminar format, emphasizes conversation and experience over traditional assessments. “I really am trying to limit the writing,” said Caretti.
Lily Hubbard ’26 and Joe Segal ’26 are taking the class as seniors. “There’s a lot of energy in all of our class discussions,” said Hubbard. Segal added, “I appreciate Mr. Caretti’s teaching style,” he said. “You’re a better student in the end.”
At the beginning of the fall term, the class took a field trip to the Flight 93 Memorial in Sommerset, Pennsylvania. The trip helped students gain perspective on the modern history of 911 and how it changed the nation. “We had a really good talk about the memorial after we came back,” said Hubbard. “It was nice to hear where people had similar experiences and where they had different experiences.”
Caretti explained that trips like this are an important part of the Quinn Ferguson curriculum because they allow students to grasp history that might otherwise feel distant. “Sitting in a classroom and reading articles, no matter how emotional they may be, for students who were not alive during 9/11 or are not American, these events are a very distant thing in the past,” he said.
Segal agreed with this philosophy. “It was eye-opening,” he said. “Being foreign and also not being alive during 9/11 makes it quite difficult to relate to a certain extent. But actually going to the place… there’s an ambiance to being where it actually happened. That helps you relate more to the people.”
In the Quinn Ferguson Honors Seminar, students find the significance of historic topics in the present and share these insights with their community. Caretti mentioned the possibility of a Quinn Ferg Instagram page this year.
By the spring, students are given almost complete freedom to pursue their own interests. Then, said Caretti, by “bringing it back to the class, going to the greater public at Mercersburg, or even beyond,” students can help the public learn, grow, and share.
Hubbard and Segal are proud to be taking the course and excited for the year ahead. “This class is really unique to Mercersburg,” said Hubbard. Segal added, “It’s all about building the skills to analyze the world and make positive decisions that push society forward.”