Dewalt Lectures on Lessons Learned from Amish Schoolhouse Tragedy

Quick Facts

The lecture is set for 7:30 to 8:45 p.m. at Plowden Auditorium in the Withers/W.T.S. Building.

Donations of crayons, notebooks, or cash will be accepted at the event. Donations will be used to provide supplies to schools in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina.

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Mark Dewalt

ROCK HILL, S.C. – This weekend is the fifth anniversary of the tragedy at West Nickel Mines Amish School in Pennsylvania where a gunman shot 10 young girls before killing himself.

Mark Dewalt, education professor at Winthrop University and Amish education expert, will speak Thursday, Sept. 29 about “The Power of Forgiveness: Lessons from the Amish School Tragedy.” The lecture is set for 7:30 to 8:45 p.m. at Plowden Auditorium in the Withers/W.T.S. Building.

Dewalt said the Amish forgiveness of gunman Charles Carl Roberts IV and his family overshadowed the Oct. 2, 2006, story of the senseless shooting. Five of the 10 girls died. The school has since been torn down and another school, appropriately named New Hope School, has been built nearby.

“This is truly an amazing testimony of the power of forgiveness in the face of extreme grief.” said Dewalt, who chairs the Department of Counseling, Leadership, and Educational Studies.

Donations of crayons, notebooks, or cash will be accepted at the event. Donations will be used to provide supplies to schools in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina.

Sponsors for the event are the Department of Counseling, Leadership, and Educational Studies and Chi Sigma Iota, the honor society for counseling professionals and students. This is an approved cultural and global learning event.

For more information, contact Dewalt at 803/323-2158 or e-mail him at dewaltm@winthrop.edu

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