My friend and teacher Sheryl Meyering was recently elevated to the rank of Dame in the Order of St. John. The investiture was handled in San Francisco by none other than Richard, the Duke of Gloucester.
The article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch lists Sheryl’s many activities and accomplishments, but it omits some important information. Sheryl is a loyal friend, and she is an amazing mentor.
Shortly after receiving my MA at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville in 1997, I received a call from a publisher saying Sheryl, who was working on a book project for this publisher, had recommended me for a book the publisher needed written on John Steinbeck. As an American literature specialist, Sheryl had a long list of established scholars she could have recommended, but instead she gave them the name of a newly minted MA who had yet to publish a word.
My most memorable academic experience with Sheryl was as a student in a graduate seminar on Sylvia Plath. An entire semester devoted to the life and literature of a mentally ill artist who eventually killed herself can be quite overwhelming. To keep some of the darkness at bay, Sheryl played along with the class’s efforts to cheer up our once a week seminars. Specifically, I remember the class dressing in red and black and eating caviar in celebration of Plath’s birthday. When things seemed really bleak, we lapsed into bashing Ted Hughes’ poetry, which made us all feel much better. Out of that class and under Sheryl’s guidance, I wrote and delivered my first paper at an academic conference.
I am lucky to have had such a strong and talented teacher as a mentor. I often catch myself saying something to my students that echoes of Dr. Sheryl Meyering. I am lucky to have maintained my friendship with her even after having been away from St. Louis for almost 15 years now. And I am happy my friend has been awarded this great and well-deserved honor. Aside from the heraldic meaning of Dame, there is also that more colloquial dame, a beautiful woman who is both sensitive and tough. Sheryl might be a new Dame to the Order of St. John, but she has always been a dame to me.
The article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch lists Sheryl’s many activities and accomplishments, but it omits some important information. Sheryl is a loyal friend, and she is an amazing mentor.
Shortly after receiving my MA at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville in 1997, I received a call from a publisher saying Sheryl, who was working on a book project for this publisher, had recommended me for a book the publisher needed written on John Steinbeck. As an American literature specialist, Sheryl had a long list of established scholars she could have recommended, but instead she gave them the name of a newly minted MA who had yet to publish a word.
My most memorable academic experience with Sheryl was as a student in a graduate seminar on Sylvia Plath. An entire semester devoted to the life and literature of a mentally ill artist who eventually killed herself can be quite overwhelming. To keep some of the darkness at bay, Sheryl played along with the class’s efforts to cheer up our once a week seminars. Specifically, I remember the class dressing in red and black and eating caviar in celebration of Plath’s birthday. When things seemed really bleak, we lapsed into bashing Ted Hughes’ poetry, which made us all feel much better. Out of that class and under Sheryl’s guidance, I wrote and delivered my first paper at an academic conference.
I am lucky to have had such a strong and talented teacher as a mentor. I often catch myself saying something to my students that echoes of Dr. Sheryl Meyering. I am lucky to have maintained my friendship with her even after having been away from St. Louis for almost 15 years now. And I am happy my friend has been awarded this great and well-deserved honor. Aside from the heraldic meaning of Dame, there is also that more colloquial dame, a beautiful woman who is both sensitive and tough. Sheryl might be a new Dame to the Order of St. John, but she has always been a dame to me.
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