Sydney Merritt ’26
Honors Criminal Justice and Psychology major
Women’s Ice Hockey
Swapping the sun for snow, Sydney Merritt ’26 arrived at Saint Anselm from San Jose, California, equally motivated to prioritize her studies and sport. With ambitions to earn a doctorate in criminology, the ice hockey player chose to pair psychology with criminal justice for her undergraduate education. When it came time to brainstorm research topics, Merritt landed on labeling theory—how individuals absorb the positive or negative labels they are given. Knowing she had to incorporate both majors into the project and of her active involvement in athletics, a professor suggested Merritt work with the locally based non-profit Manchester Police Athletic League (MPAL).
MPAL connects police officers and kids in a safe environment that encourages them to make positive choices. The program hosts free enrichment, athletic, and intervention programs where cops serve as coaches or mentors for youth. After receiving proper approval, Merritt spoke with a handful of MPAL kids ages 12-17 by a series of questionnaires and brief interviews. By talking with adolescents in the juvenile court diversion program and the latter, Merritt sought to determine if their self-perceptions were impacted by being labeled one way or the other. From the rink to the ring, she took her athleticism to an officer-led boxing class to further bond with the kids.
Through studying labeling theory and inherited behavioral characteristics that accompany categorization, Merritt’s biggest takeaway was that listening to kids helps understand their perspective reasoning given their experiences and backgrounds. She found that assumptions about what youth want, need, and feel based on labels are unproductive compared to taking their opinions into consideration. Her connection with MPAL kids through conversation and sport not only expanded her subject knowledge but further provided the organization with suggestions for strategies they can utilize to support juveniles.