As her peers continue to present their Honors thesis defenses, Lizzie Molloy watches and learns while preparing for her own.
“I’m terrified,” Molloy said. “I’m a perfectionist, so for the longest time, I didn’t think my thesis was up to my standards. I’m the last person in my class to go, so I’ve been lucky enough to see other presentations and get ideas. But it’s also nerve-wracking. You never know what they’re going to ask.”
Molloy, a senior history major and Honors student (with an education minor), will be presenting her thesis defense, “The Burden of Patriarchy on Victorian Life and Literature” on Monday, May 14 at 2:45 p.m. in the Honors penthouse. She’s been working on the thesis for about a year and half.
“My defense focuses on how authors Charlotte Bronte and George Eliot used feminist elements in their novels,” Molloy explained. “I started off with just Bronte and imperialism, then focused on female characters in her novels. From there, it branched out to Eliot, another great Victorian figure.”
Though she has yet to present her defense, Molloy has already earned acclaim for her thesis. A condensed version of the 60-page paper earned her an honorable mention at the West/Central Regional Phi Alpha Theta History Conference at Canisius College in early April.
“I was very surprised,” she admitted. “Apparently, it really impressed the judges. It does give me hope for the defense.”
One of Molloy’s many jobs is at the reference desk in the library, so she has plenty of experience with research projects.
“My job is fine until a week before freshman history papers are due,” she said. “And then it’s just a mad dash for books. But I like helping people out. After a 60-page Honors thesis, I can help anyone with a 10-page paper.
“I’m also a camp counselor over the summer,” Molloy added. “It gives me more experience with kids and it’s nice after being trapped in the library.”
Molloy, who currently teaches 7th grade special education in Huntington, hopes to become a history teacher after graduating.
“Since high school, I’ve wanted to teach history at a high school level,” Molloy said. “I had a lot of great teachers who inspired me to do what I do.”
Within Le Moyne, Molloy is a co-founder of the Sandwich Makers, an organization that helps prepare meals for the Samaritan Center.
“I founded it freshman year with Andrew Lunetta and I’ve been doing it ever since,” Molloy said. “Lunetta had been researching soup kitchens in the area and he noticed that the Samaritan Center offered breakfast and dinner, but not lunch. So we put the group together to take care of that. It was independently funded at first, but we later got funding and budget two nights a week.”
Looking back on her time at Le Moyne, Molloy is grateful for everyone she’s met and everything she’s experienced.
“I’ve worked in three different departments and I’ve met so many great people,” Molloy said. “It all comes down to the relationships you make. And I think my favorite memory is of Dolphy Day my freshman year. It was very magical, like nothing I’d ever seen before.”
