HOPEWELL, NY — Dossier. Now that is a cool word. 
So cool for Finger Lakes Community College professor of English Trista Merrill that she posted it on social media on Jan. 28, 2013. The next day, she posted another cool word.
Soon enough, Merrill would post “Today’s Found Word” — for days, weeks, months and now years — and include who said it or where she heard it. Suddenly, it became a “thing,” Merrill said. 
“Somebody in a meeting would say a weird word and everybody would look at me. ‘Oh, did you catch that?’” Merrill said, seated on a comfy love seat in her classroom on the college’s main campus.  
“People were competing to be in the Found Word,” Merrill said. “They would forward me emails that had cool words in them. Students, when I told them about it, they wanted to be in it. It was kind of a big deal.” 
After she had a year’s worth of words, Merrill needed to do something with it. A year’s worth of words? Sounds like a calendar. 
The calendar became a perk of donation for the Found Word Scholarship she set up. That first year, she raised over $2,000. 
The Found Word Scholarship has raised over $30,000 since then, with a scholarship given to a student in need each year, although she is aiming to raise enough this year for two. 
Merrill, who is in her 21st year of teaching at FLCC, is director of honors studies and chapter adviser for Phi Beta Kappa, which is the honor society for two-year colleges. 
A reader and avid crossword puzzle solver since she was a kid, Merrill also writes poetry and has had a book of poetry published. In fact, every year she writes a poem about words and includes it on a laminated bookmarker, which is given to people who donate $100 to the Found Word Scholarship. 
Yes, Merrill loves language. 
“One of the things that fascinates me the most about language is that on one hand, it’s extremely powerful. Words can make a difference,” Merrill said. “But on the other hand, it’s also very limited. Everybody can remember a situation where they couldn’t figure out what they wanted to say.” 
Merrill is always listening for fun and interesting words that just sort of show up, she said. 
For instance, Merrill and her husband, Jonathan Biddle, who works in IT in the medical field and is an excellent source of found words, had just watched the original version of the movie, “The Wicker Man.” A few days later, she read an article about it that contained the word “forfend” in the headline. 
“I’m like, ‘Forfend? Ooh,’” Merrill said. 
Found word.
While sitting in a classroom of an FLCC colleague, she heard the word “passerine.” That’s a good found word, especially for birders who enjoy feathered friends that perch. So is “nimrod,” which contrary to popular belief, is not meant to be an insult but is a word for hunter. Meaning to be rude, “churlish,” is a fantastic word related to “carnaptious,” which means bad-tempered or quarrelsome.
“Sometimes it’s just words that I really like,” Merrill said. “Forthwith, that’s a fun word. I don’t really have a process, just be a word that sticks out for whatever reason. These are cool words that don’t get used often so I’m going to celebrate them.” 
Occasionally, Merrill puts in a found word she hears from FLCC President Robert Nye, who said Merrill is one of those professors who gives way above and beyond to support the scholarships, which helps students transform their lives. 
“For me, it’s like a box of chocolates,” Nye said. “It’s always a pleasant surprise.”
Perhaps a commencement elocutionist who based his speech to students on Found Words put it best: unique, unusual or underutilized. 
“I could get lost in what words mean and why we use them and how we use them,” Merrill said. 
For her calendar, Merrill includes the word, the date, the definition and who said it along with a sentence in which the word is used. Occasionally, Merrill will draft a student to help with definitions and sentences. 
As of Feb. 6, more than $2,500 had been raised on GoFundMe toward a goal of $4,500, which would be enough to fund two scholarships (and pay the website).
A $5 donation lands you a PDF copy of the calendar. For $10, it’s a hard copy of the calendar; for $25, a signed copy; for $50, a signed copy of the calendar and a personal thank-you note; for $100, a signed copy of the calendar, a personal thank-you note and a laminated bookmark with this year’s unique Merrill-penned poem; and for $500, all of the above plus something special, Merrill noted.
The calendar is normally black and white, although FLCC students have designed previous calendar covers in color. This year’s cover has a detective noir feel to it, Merrill said. 
“It’s very cool,” Merrill said. 
Nye, who contributes to the scholarship, said he is amazed and fascinated at how imaginative the vehicle Merrill uses to raise funds each year is something that really matches her personality of being inquisitive, curious and helping people learn. 
“That’s what I’m really inspired by,” Nye said. 
As of early February, these are Merrill’s top 10 found words.  
“If you ask me again next week, this list would probably change,” Merrill said. 
Without further ado … 
To donate, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-a-student-with-flccs-found-word-scholarship.
Mike Murphy covers Canandaigua and other communities in Ontario County and writes the Eat, Drink and Be Murphy food and drink column. Follow him on X at @MPN_MikeMurphy.  

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