Martha Gellhorn EOTO

Martha Gellhorn was a well-known author, journalist, and travel writer in the 1900s. She specialized in war correspondence, covering almost every war and military conflict after World War II. 

Martha Gellhorn was born on November 8, 1908, in St. Louis, Missouri. She attended Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania but left school after her freshman year to pursue a career in journalism. 

Gellhorn got her first job working for the United Press in Paris during WWI, however, after reporting a coworker for a case of sexual assault against her, she left to travel Europe and write for other newspapers, even mixing it up a bit and covering fashion for Vogue for a little while. 

During this time, Gellhorn also wrote for several other magazines, including The New Republic which at the time was an up-and-coming magazine giving a start to young and talented journalists. After this, Gellhorn started working for the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and toured the US during the Great Depression. 

Gellhorn got this position working for the Federal Emergency Relief Administration through her friendship with First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. Gellhorn lived in the White House with the Roosevelts for two months and assisted the First Lady with correspondence and her section in the Woman’s Home Companion magazine, creating a close bond that allowed her special opportunities and helped push her ahead in her field. 

Following her time with the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, Gellhorn went on to partner with Dorothea Lange to write about how the Great Depression impacted Americans and how it led to homelessness and hunger for many people. This gave Gellhorn a chance to report on difficult topics before she became a wartime correspondent which is what she was most well-known for. 

 

Gellhorn accepted her first war assignment covering the Spanish Civil War for Collier’s Weekly in 1937. 

Gellhorn and Hemmingway

In terms of her personal life during this time, she had an affair with Ernest Hemingway, an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist who would later become her second husband. 

Gellhorn married another man, T.S. Matthews, from 1954 to 1963 before she married Ernest Hemingway from 1940 to 1945. 

Gellhorn and Hemingway had difficulties in their marriage because Hemingway preferred her to stay home and read about the news, whereas Gellhorn was eager to cover war herself rather than hear other people’s accounts of it. 

The final straw in their marriage was when Hemingway stole Gellhorn’s credential from Collier’s Weekly and used it to travel to England and cover his own news. Not only this, but Hemingway was having an affair with another woman in England, leading Gellhorn to end her marriage. 

Martha Gellhorn was an incredibly strong, and persistent woman. She was able to cover almost every war and military conflict following WWII. Some of these wars included the Arab-Isreali War, the Vietnam War, and the Invasion of Panama. 

Gellhorn also covered many of the pivotal moments of WWII. This was incredibly impressive for her because, at the time, it was not common to see female journalists in war zones. During her time, Martha Gellhorn became one of the first female wartime correspondents. 

World War II

After covering some of these high-profile wars, Gellhorn reported on the Invasion of France in 1944. However, in order to report on the invasion of France, Gellhorn had to sneak onto a hospital ship off the British coastline and hide in a bathroom for the journey across the English Channel. On the hospital ship, she recorded conversations between wounded soldiers in order to emphasize the presence of the human spirit despite the devastation of the war. 

Following this, Gellhorn was arrested by the British military and had her journalism credentials revoked. However, Gellhorn was a very persistent and dedicated journalist and didn’t stop until she was able to be a wartime correspondent once again. 

In terms of her writing as an author, some of Gellhorn’s most famous books include The Face of War and Travels With Myself and Another. The Face of War was published in 1959 and written quickly after Gellhorn’s coverage of different wars. This book is now considered a classic anti-war book. Travels With Myself and Another was published in 1978 to present the best disaster stories from her time as a war correspondent. This book was the closest Gellhorn ever came to writing a memoir. 

After all the work she accomplished in her lifetime, Gellhorn died on February 15, 1998, in the UK. 

Pros and Cons of HPU's Summer Advantage

Summer Advantage is a 4-week program from June to July and is available to all incoming freshmen before their first semester at High Point University. Students earn up to 8 credits and get a feel for HPU’s campus, but with sign-ups for the 2023 program being open, the real question is, what’s pulling students in, and what’s driving them away? 

By Lauren Schena

Q News

Summer Advantage is a well-renowned program meant to benefit incoming freshmen. According to the HPU website, “Over 98% of Summer Advantage attendees say they would recommend Summer Advantage to all incoming HPU freshmen.” Yet, where does that lingering 2% come from?

Lack of Snacks 

According to an anonymous assessment of Summer Advantage from the 2022 participants, many students suggested that the program could improve upon the lack of dining options offered. 

One respondent wrote, “There should be more dining options in the summer. It was way too limited.”

Another student responded that there should be, “More options for healthy food. It’s been very hard to eat healthy if I want to eat on campus.”

During the Summer Advantage program, students are able to eat at Starbucks and the Cafe in Slane, and The Point Sports Grille in Wanek. In a typical school year, the amount of dining options for students is nearly tripled in comparison to the summer dining plan. 

One student, Robert Miller, participated in the Summer Advantage program in 2022. He noted that the limited food options were difficult for him as a diabetic.

"I think the food offered, especially for me being a diabetic, was not the best at all. Options were very limited and I found at the end of the day that I was not able to control my levels whatsoever," Miller said.

Wondering whether fewer dining options should steer students from the program? Below, Cailee Calabrese, a freshman at HPU, shares her positive experience from Summer Advantage. 

Work For What You Love

Calabrese participated in Summer Advantage in the summer of 2022. From her experience, Calabrese made friends, got ahead, and is now a student assistant working for the program. 

“Ironically enough, summer advantage really gave me an advantage during the school year. I had a leg up on all my classmates because I already knew the campus and people and how everything runs. It made me feel comfortable being away from home and being on my own for the first time,” Calabrese said. 

Calabrese talks about how grateful she was for her experiences and how they lead her to now work for the progrm during the fall and spring semesters. 

“It was a great first job experience getting to talk to people about something I enjoyed,” Calabrese said.

In her current position, Calabres attends freshman orientation events where she gets the opportunity to talk to incoming freshmen about her experiences at Summer Advantage and how much she recommends the program. 

“I wanted to share my experience with others,” Calabrese said. 

Calabrese emphasizes how it was not only her academic experiences, but her personal experience meeting friends and getting acclimated on campus that made her experience everything she hoped it would be. 

“It was challenging, the classes kept me busy and my mind occupied, but it also let me have fun and bond with my classmates. I made so many friends and made such great memories,” Calabrese said. “The experience was great.”

To hear more about the benefits of the program, below director Jim Scott speaks on the pros of Summer Advantage for incoming freshmen. 

Pros From a Pro

Scott highlighted the measurable growth students have shown coming into the program compared to when they left.

“We’ve had some students that had very low overall GPA performance in high school compared to other admits, but at Summer Advantage, the lights go on. All of a sudden they produce a grade point average that is substantially higher than they had in high school.” Scott said.

Scott mentions that despite the common misconception, Summer Advantae is more than just an academic program. 

“It’s more than just going to class and getting good grades, it’s making friends, and making yourself feel right at home at High Point University so that when the fall hits and five thousand people descend upon you, you don’t feel isolated and alone. You already have your crew, you know where you’re going, you know what you’re doing, and you have enormous confidence,” Scott said.

Visit the Summer Advantage website or your Panther Page for more details.

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