Leah Merrill

In the classroom she calls "Academy 16," History Instructor Leah Merrill ’93 fell in love with the Academy—twice.

“I don't like to be the smartest person in the room,” she said. “I loved coming here [as a student] and knowing that there was always a group of people that was smarter, faster, better [than me]. I was energized by participating in a community so much bigger than myself.” The intellectual curiosity of the student body that drew her in as a highschooler has kept her here as an instructor.

As a student, Merrill was inspired by the late Stephen Smith, who taught history for over four decades. “He was someone who taught me European History, but he really taught me much more,” she recalled. She currently teaches in Smith’s old classroom–"Academy 16."

Smith became Merrill’s mentor upon her return as an instructor in 2000. “He was so generous—he spent endless amounts of time modeling excellent teaching and talking with me about the nuances and subtleties of Harkness,” she said. “He was a teacher to me once again while also being a colleague and friend.”

Merrill’s priorities now lie foremost in the student experience rather than the content of the class itself. “I’m not a historian. I’m a history teacher,” she said. “While I am passionate about the history I teach, what I really love is working with students.”

At Exeter, Merrill teaches many history electives, including Early Modern Europe, Absolutism and Revolution, The European Century, Modern India, World War and European Society and Genocide in the Modern World. In particular, World War and European History is a course close to her heart.

“The Holocaust has been my primary intellectual pursuit since middle school,” she said. “From an early age I have been wrestling with ‘What makes us human?’ and have focused on the Holocaust in my thinking about this question.” Prior to the Academy, Merrill worked at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. in the Office of Survivor Affairs, and she brings her experiences there into the classroom.

In addition to her devotion to World War and European History, she was instrumental in the development of the Modern India course. “The course came out of the natural evolution and healthy reflection that the History Department regularly undertakes,” she said. “We realized we had this gap in the curriculum, and that was India.” Having learned about India prior to the course’s inception, Merrill was interested in developing the class and spent two summers doing so.

A few years later, she worked with Global Initiatives to open a trip to India. As a chaperone for this trip, she provided a valuable wealth of knowledge to both students and faculty. “Having her on the ground in India helped the students bridge the gap between their theoretical knowledge and what they were seeing,” said Eimer Page, Director of Global Initiatives.

To promote critical thinking in the classroom, Merrill refrains from assigning tests to students.  “I certainly try to infuse my students with a greater passion for history,” she said. “The past is filled with amazing events and exciting people, but the content is how we get excited, energized, about developing a vast array of skills. I don’t care if students memorize anything.”

Merrill’s stress on analysis for her students has led her to providing in-depth feedback on major assignments. “When students write essays, it is a serious intellectual exercise. I think every student deserves serious intellectual engagement in response to that,” she said.

Students have seen Merrill’s comments transform their essay-writing skills. “I'll never forget receiving the comments on my first European History paper. I was a new lower, accustomed to coasting through my former school. Her comments highlighted both the strong writing and the lack of substantive ideas included in my paper,” Alison Economy ’11 said. “In hindsight, that critique became a device around which I framed my time at Exeter. It empowered me to value my own point of view as serious, original and worth interrogating. Just as early Europe relied on a system of masters and apprentices, Mrs. Merrill treated me as a vital apprentice in the study of history.”

In a similar vein, Merrill places Harkness as a central facet of her teaching style. “In my mind, what we do in class and what we do in writing parallel each other closely,” she said. “I want to validate both activities because they're working together.” For her final evaluation, Harkness factors heavily.

In class, Merrill seamlessly manages the flow of discussion, directing its arc towards concrete learning moments while still allowing the students to have a major role in the discussion. “Mrs. Merrill is the best Harkness teacher I have observed in my years at Exeter,” former History Instructor Giorgio Secondi said. “Without ever taking the ownership of the discussion away from the students, she succeeds in shaping the discussion and nudging the students to go in depth and learn more than they could have imagined.”

Merrill prioritizes injecting levity into her classroom. “The first image that [comes] to my mind is her smile. She's always smiling, and she loves to make jokes,” senior Gabby Allen said. “I sometimes actively seek out Mrs. Merrill outside of class, because I know that talking to her will always brighten up my day.”

Outside of the classroom, Merrill is known for her bubbly personality and approachable demeanor, which has spilled over into her dorm duty at Kirtland House. “She's very popular, so whenever she's on duty, so many kids come over … She's lovely to be around, and she's really got a great personality,” prep Liam Ahern said. Every week, Ahern looks forward to Merrill’s presence.

Prior to Kirtland, Merrill served in several other dormitories, starting with Peabody Hall. Former residents recall her presence fondly. “[Merrill] had something of an open door policy in Peabody. Multiple days a week, there would be three, four, six of us gathered in her living room for hours on end, discussing campus and current events and, as I remember fairly vividly, doing a lot of complaining about the stresses of Exeter life,“ Robert Baldi ’03 said.

Beyond Exeter, Merrill is an avid hiker. “I hike a lot in the White Mountains. Out there, you can realize that the world is far bigger—it's beautiful and inspiring. People aren't all the be all, end all. It's bigger than the world of man,” she said. “I love the natural beauty and scale.” As with the Exeter community, nature affords her a sense of humility and widens her perspective.

Much of Merrill’s world revolves around education, in whatever form that may take. “Education is a mindset. It is this intellectual curiosity that lets us not be afraid—it gives us the courage to ask questions, to put ourselves in uncomfortable situations, to try new things,” she said.

“Education is the push that runs inside of us to constantly make ourselves better,” Merrill said.