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ACADEMY OF SAINT ELIZABETH
LEGACY magazine SPRING 2020
One woman’s journey
Celebrating 160 Years
SEAster and cosmetic science pioneer Florence Wall
The New Normal Students and faculty transform the learning process overnight
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ACADEMY OF SAINT ELIZABETH
LEGACY magazine
ISSUE 2 | SPRING 2020 Lynn Burek Principal
Lauren Cor vo Assistant Principal
Jean Jackson Director of Admissions
Jeremy Mayer Director of Athletics/ Facilities Manager
Megan Knight Director of Development & Alumnae Relations
Helen Kotoulas Business Administrator
Beth Ellen Walsh Director of Counseling
Alison Minion
WE ARE STRONG. WE ARE BOLD. WE ARE THE CLASS OF 2020
Communications
@AOSENJ @academyofsaintelizabeth @panthers1860 @Academy1860
www.aosenj.org
The Academy of Saint Elizabeth is a Catholic, independent, college preparatory school for young women, founded by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth. Our mission is to promote the disciplines of academic excellence and moral responsibility within our young women by sustaining a scholarly environment and a nurturing community of faith. Sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth LEGACY Magazine | SPRING 2020
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The Early Days, page 5 During Catholic Schools Week, students participated in a trivia contest about the history of Saint E's. This issue of Legacy is dedicated to the illustrious history of the Academy of Saint Elizabeth. Our mission has endured since 1860, and we look ahead to future generations of the SEAsterhood. Re-Accreditation
Success, page 5
AOSE awarded new accolades for academics, safety and student life.
what’s
INSIDE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Letter from the Principal . . . . . . . 4 Accents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
‘Gather Ye Rosebuds’, page 10 The journey of Florence A. Wall, AOSE class of 1909.
Mary Poppins, Promethean Boards, Catholic Schools Week, Continuous Learning, Junior Ring Ceremony, Christmas At the Academy, Educational Trips, Career Day, Class of 2019 Care Packages
“Gather Ye Rosebuds” Greg Yarnall introduces us to Florence Emmeline Wall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
What Florence Means to Me A contemporary leader in cosmetic science discusses Florence's legacy . . . . 13
First Academy Principal What you should know about Sister Mary Agnes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Q&A with Sr. Rita Walsh ‘48. . . . . 18 100 Years of the Vote Ellie Gates '20 connects her Academy education to women's suffrage . . . . . . 20
Christmas at the Academy, page 8
Catholic Schools Week, page 6
Reasons I Give
Celebrating education excellence
Celebrations were held honoring alumna Patricia Avallone. . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Students, faculty and staff celebrate
grounded in faith
traditions old and new
Family Connection One woman’s gift honoring her Grandmother’s Academy experience
. . 23
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Faith, resilience and grit. Lynn A. Burek Principal Academy of St. Elizabeth lburek@aose.info
First, I hope this issue of Legacy finds you and your loved ones in good health and spirits. As I write, our battle with the COVID-19 menace continues, and we are acutely aware of the extraordinary losses and sacrifices so many have endured in recent months. With many events, performances, competitions, and travel opportunities canceled or postponed indefinitely due to social distancing, I am saddened that our students’ academic year is ending with some disappointment. In particular, I am sorry for what the Class of 2020 has been asked to give up, and I am proud of the maturity and poise with which they greeted the new normal. They say necessity is the mother of invention, and when we had to close the building and cancel in-person instruction, our students and faculty quickly adapted to digital learning. This demonstrated the creativity, collegiality, and work ethic of our learning community. As circumstances beyond our control forced us to pivot, our classrooms implemented a virtual model nearly overnight, and for that I am grateful. This isn’t the first crisis the Academy has weathered during its 160-year history. Founded just before the Civil War, our archives include letters from students desperate to learn the fate of the soldiers in their families. In 1918, the Spanish flu pandemic tore its way across the globe, not sparing the Academy and its students. During World War II, rationing required students to count a fork, knife and spoon as required school supplies. Alumnae from the 1960s recall huddling in grief over the assassination of a President. More recent alumnae witnessed the horrors of September 11, 2001. These events have penetrated the doors of the Academy, and touched our community. As we face these challenging times together, we rely on the faith, endurance and resilience that have sustained the Academy since 1860. Our cover girl, Florence E. Wall, embodies the “Since 1860” spirit. As you learn about her in Greg Yarnall’s cover story, I think you’ll agree she represents the way we have and will continue to learn, grow, worship and persevere together. Warm Regards,
Lynn Burek Principal 4
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accents
“The noblest art is that of making others happy”- PT Barnum
Cast members delivered music and magic at the final dress rehearsal.
A sentiment that the cast and crew of the Academy’s theater program believe in and share. Our theater students spent months singing, dancing, laughing, crying, building, exploring, and achieving the greatness that any theater program should, especially when they are delivering the magic of Disney. The AOSE theater program was set to perform “Mary Poppins” the day after school was closed due to COVID-19. Of
course there was disappointment, but the passion these students have for their craft led them to virtual practices twice a week during the quarantine. They continued to sing, work on dances, run lines, and perfect scene transitions. The show not only must go on, but WILL go on. “Everything is possible. Even the impossible.” So says everyone’s favorite nanny, the “practically perfect in every way” Mary Poppins.
Promethean Boards We have seen the future, and it’s dynamic, high-resolution, interactive, and limitless. Since January, the Academy has purchased eighteen Promethean Boards. These mind-bending classroom fixtures have replaced our old SmartBoards. Although it’s impossible to do justice to these instructional tools with mere words, try this: imagine your iPad is six feet wide. Now, mount it on a stand with wheels, so you can move it anywhere you like. Next, load it up with dynamic lesson plans, instructional tools and instruments with which students
can demonstrate understanding and make connections between distinct curricular areas. Finally, make it interactive, so that students and teachers can collaborate in real time on classwork. Are you getting a picture? The teachers, students and administrators of the Academy would like to thank the Board of Trustees for making this investment in the hardware that puts the Academy at the forefront of best practices in 21st Century education.
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Catholic Schools Week A history of charity, sisterhood and faith This year, we packed our calendar with many special events to make Catholic Schools Week a highlight of our winter. On 1860 Day, a schoolwide trivia contest about Academy history was fun, competitive and educational. That evening, we hosted Bingo Night for the Sisters of Charity. Guest speakers and a beautiful Mass celebrating Mother Xavier were also on the schedule. To wrap up our Catholic Schools Week celebrations, a large contingent of students, staff and parents pitched in at Community Food Bank of New Jersey. Students had been given the day off from school, so it was particularly gratifying to see how many chose to forgo an empty afternoon and instead trek to Hillside. We spent the afternoon checking, sorting and packing food for CFBNJ’s many clients. Dressed in our 160th Anniversary tee shirts and assorted other spirit wear, the Academy delegation enjoyed an opportunity to represent Saint E’s and thank the women and men who work hard day in and day out to feed our hungry neighbors. 6
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accents
Continuous Learning Discovering purpose in “the new normal”
Like the rest of the world, the Academy had to forge a “new normal” when Covid-19 struck in March. The school building went empty and dark, but learning did not stop. Students and faculty quickly adapted to our Continuous Learning Plan, and even managed to find some silver linings in the unfortunate situation. In order to keep ourselves engaged and connected during a very unusual spring break, faculty put together a program of virtual events open to the entire Academy community. Senora Sepulveda hosted a pasta making class live from her kitchen. Madison Jutchenko ‘23 and her
father, Robert, were proud of their homemade ravioli and fettucini. Senora Hans hosted a live trivia contest, testing students’ knowledge of their teachers and administrators. At the same time, students and staff also kept busy helping others get through a difficult time. Several Academy families worked diligently to make facemasks for the Sisters of Charity. Caroline '22 and Abigail Villa '24 made Easter greetings for residents of a nearby senior facility who couldn’t spend the holiday with their families. Abbi Passarella ‘22 honored our frontline workers.
Junior Ring Ceremony An Academy tradition was honored when the members of the Class of 2021 received their rings in a blessing ceremony on December 12, 2019. Families were welcomed into the Study Hall for a reception after the ceremony.
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accents
A Merry Good Time Celebrating a traditional Christmas at the Academy Always a special time, Christmas at the Academy in 2019 was made extra memorable by the addition of a new Academy tradition. Our first ever Christmas Tree Lighting event and gift show was popular with students, parents and alumnae. Old traditions also continued. On the last day of school, we wore festive attire to celebrate the season. The Parents Association outdid themselves with a bountiful
holiday luncheon for faculty and staff. Our young alumnae, home from college, made sure to come straight to Saint E’s for lunch and the usual boisterous group performance of “Twelve Days of Christmas.” Members of Toward Boundless Charity collected, wrapped and delivered holiday gifts to Josephine’s Place in Elizabeth.
Educational Trips Insight through experiential learning Experiential learning is a popular buzzword in education circles these days. Simply put, we learn by doing, visiting, trying, working, and applying theory to practice. Elena Ameres took her Criminal Justice students to jail for a first-hand experience of the corrections system. Also visiting the Morris County Correctional Facility that day were students in Banned Books, a College Now course taught by 8
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Alison Minion. The class was studying the censorship of materials for special populations, and were curious to learn more about the policies of the prison library. Students in World Religions with Rhian Jeong visited a local mosque, where they were able to place their understanding of Muslim worship within a proper context. As in past years, our Francophones studying with Madame Kuhn took in several theatrical performances en Français.
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accents
Career Day 2020
Lauren McDonald '89, an entrepreneur, networked with students.
Once again, we assembled a varied and lively group of professionals for Career Day. We thank all of our esteemed panelists for being so generous with their time and expertise. Cara Cavanaugh '12 Science Policy fellow
Mariel Martinez Gesualdo '97 Attorney
Margarita Restrepo Geotechnical engineer
Mary Kleban '02 Physical Therapist
Holta Jovani Civil Engineer
Danielle Setola Antes '06 Human Resources/Talent acquisition
Katherine (Karen) Lordi '67 Attorney Kelly Ann Dobos Cosmetic Chemist
Kelly Landrigan '07 Television producer
Emily Elizabeth Christian '97 Educator
Kelsey Werner Architect
Suzanne Bartsch Casana '69 Nurse practitioner
Erin Gilfillan '08 Dietician
Danielle Fraser '12 Event Planner (sports/entertainment)
Lisa Lomelo '96 Attorney
Andrea Antonelli '94 Veterinarian
Levitta Lawrence Architect
Class of 2019 Care Packages New annual tradition gives alumnae a taste of home. Our youngest alumnae class received care packages at college to remind them of home. Our heartfelt gratitude goes to trustees Deborah Baseil P ‘08 and Mariel Martinez Gesualdo ‘97 for underwriting this new tradition.
Pictured at left, Faith Panciello ‘19 posted in appreciation on Instagram. We love when our alumnae tag us on social media! Keep it coming, Saint E’s.
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“Gather Ye Rosebuds” By Greg Yarnall Editor’s note: Greg Yarnall has been teaching History at the Academy of Saint Elizabeth for 25 years while also serving as Head Coach for the swim team. For this issue of Legacy, we asked Greg to put on his historian hat and go deep into the Sisters of Charity Archives. What started as a lark — who is this Florence Wall and why is she writing in her scrapbook about Chemistry class? — soon turned into a full-blown biographical research endeavor. Greg’s work took him from the motherhouse to the city of Paterson public records, the New York University and Columbia University archives, and beyond. Thank you, Greg, for this excerpt of what we hope will be the full biography that Florence deserves.
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There is a scene in Dead Poets Society that I’ve always wanted to recreate in my classroom. While students standing on their desks reciting “O Captain, my Captain”1 would add a chapter into the ever-growing litany of awkward and unusual moments in my classroom, it is actually another scene that I refer to. You remember it don’t you? It’s when Mr. Keating brings the students out into the hallway to see themselves in the images of those who have walked the school hallways before them; the “Carpe Diem” scene. You and I have walked the same hallways. Scuffed by 160 years of uniform shoes, the Academy’s tiled hallways ooze with history. Those photographs in the main hallway were there the day you arrived as freshmen; like the Academy, they’re still there today. You remember them. The young girls in front of Mother Xavier. The decked out room of a boarder.
The study hall with desks, or my favorite, the photograph of Academy students playing minigolf in front of the building. Seize the day, he said in the film, make your lives extraordinary… I want to share a story about one of those extraordinary young women who walked the same halls that you did. Florence Emmeline Wall stepped onto campus for the first time in the year 1905. As Henry Ford’s Model T was still three years in the future, perhaps she took the train from her native Paterson. It’s likely that Florence’s path to school was the same that many of you have taken to Friendly’s, because at that time the Traction Line was the Morristown trolley line with service from Newark all the way out to Dover and beyond. Yes, Florence Wall arrived onto a campus that was only just beginning to look like the place you spent your high school years. Having moved from the mother-
How amazing is it that Walt Whitman wrote “O Captain! My Captain!” in 1865, five years after the founding of the Academy of Saint Elizabeth?
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house just five years previous; the classroom walls of the just-built Xavier Hall must have felt as new as the century that had just begun. Holy Family Chapel was finally beginning to transform from a prayer into a reality.2 In 1905, when many doors were closed to young women, the little area that had become known as Convent Station offered possibilities. Everything indicates that Florence enjoyed her years at the Academy. From notes to dance cards to a full handwritten calendar of her school events, love flows through the pages of Florence’s senior year memory book. “St. Elizabeth Academy Class of 1909 Rah! Rah!” she scribbled amongst notes to and from her friends. They would spend pages and pages sketching out pictures of one another’s likes and dislikes. Nicknames, places of origin, physical descriptions; it was their social media before social media existed. Florence described herself as “pale and freckled, outrageously,” and her hair, “reddish, decidedly.”3 Similar tidbits of information filled out the portraits of the rest of her classmates. In those first years of the last century, Florence “Fido” Wall came of age. In 1909 Florence and her classmates were fulltime residents at the Academy, living, praying and directly interacting with the strong women that laid down the foundation of the Sisters of Charity mission. Yet in their self-awareness and self-deprecating humor, they mirror many of the young women who have followed them through these same hallways. As a longstanding teacher at the Academy, Florence reminds me of so many of the young women that have passed through here over my 25 years of service. Strong young women who were, perhaps, not always comfortable with their emerging intellectual curiosity. The woman who would have a decorated and groundbreaking science career that would span more than half a century wrote in her school scrapbook, “Florence Wall of
chemistry will ne’er have enough, till she’s poisoned herself with some horrible stuff.”4 Akin to so many Academy girls that followed her, Florence was most likely making a silly joke at her own expense. Yet little did she know (or perhaps she did?) the force she would become in her field. She would begin a career in chemistry during World War I, more than 90 years before STEM became an educational buzzword. After graduating from the College of Saint Elizabeth, Florence would spend her first professional years teaching high school science. This was 1913, seven years before women were granted the right to vote, and options for women interested in the chemical industry were obviously quite limited. World War I would change all that. The year America entered the war, Florence joined the Radium Luminous Material Corporation in Orange, NJ. Luckily, Florence was employed on the laboratory side of the business; the unfortunate “Radium Girls” would later pass away prematurely from ingesting radium through the completion of their work for the war.5 While her connection to this company would be brief, her experience there would serve as a model for future pursuits in which her curiosity would determine her path. Florence would go on to other jobs but all throughout her life Florence would continually speak truth to power. In addition to testifying about the incidents at the Radium Luminous factory, Florence would also be let go from her job at U. S. Motor Fuel Corporation for reporting on the falsification of data in company records.6 Later she would testify in front of Congress in support of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938, one of the first attempts to standardize safety regulations in the cosmetics field. In fact, Florence Wall would go on to be a trailblazer in the field of Cosmetic Chemistry, receiving the Society of Cosmetic Chemists medal in
1956 for her outstanding efforts in the development of this new scientific field. She was the first woman the society had ever honored with this award. [Read the accompanying article by Kelly Dobos to learn more about Florence’s legacy in this organization.] Florence had come a long way from the Academy classroom in which she made light of her own abilities. Strength, determination and care for others were hallmarks of her long career. “Those of us who really know Florence Wall,” it was said, “know that enlightening both herself and others is a constant and dominating force with her.”7 The circumstances of the time seemed to have conspired to keep her from getting a doctoral degree, but all sources indicate that, in hindsight, Florence came to see this as a blessing. Along with being a prolific writer, she would become an inspired educator. Florence spent time as both a chemist and a teacher, carving a new niche in chemical studies while at the same time spreading her knowledge to as many people as possible. Oscillating between writing hundreds of technical articles and direct teaching, Florence’s drive touched many,
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Holy Family Chapel was consecrated in 1909, the year Florence Wall graduated, in celebration of the Sisters of Charity’s Golden Jubilee. Sisters of Charity Archives, Convent Station, NJ. 5 A full treatment of the Radium Girls can be found in The Radium Girls by Kate Moore, our 2020 summer reading selection. 6 https://alchetron.com/Florence-E-Wall 7 Kozlay, Hazel L. (January 1958). "Florence E. Wall: Rebel into pioneer". Journal of Cosmetic Science. 8 (3): 161–168. LEGACY 3, 4
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Gather Ye Rosebuds
many people. She would continue to write, travel and speak around the world in the years following her prestigious award. In 1958 she visited the East Yonkers Rotary Club, encouraging people to embrace rather than fear new medical procedures. The press at the time said, “Miss Wall deplored what she called an exhibition of ‘hysteria’ by many persons shunning X-ray photography. She contrasted its salutary results today with earlier catastrophes including numerous fatalities at the World War I radium plant in Orange, N.J.”8 Even though she had seen some of the excesses of science and technology at its worst, Florence would press on, always trying to use her expertise to make a difference. Believing that those who felt good about themselves were able to achieve more, Florence’s contributions to cosmetic chemistry changed people's lives. From assisting in the creation of scores of cosmetic chemistry curricula across the country to teaching hundreds of students in her graduate courses at New York University, your SEAster from the class of 1909 dedicated her life to an everlasting balance of knowledge and love that germinated in the halls of the Academy of Saint Elizabeth. 8 9
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she has the admirable-- but not “too“First, unusual--characteristics of intelligence, integrity and loyalty. But add to these restlessness, curiosity, ability to work untiringly, courage in entering new fields and a bit of Irish humor
and you have a unique human entity. The Academy is alive with the history of you. The enduring mission of the Sisters of Charity can be seen in the photographs of generations of young women who have walked these halls. And it pulsates through the veins of the young women who bring life to this building today. While my teaching years at the Academy began 85 years after Florence graduated, I have seen her many times in the years since. I saw her in Hannah Ferris (Class of 2003) who has shared her gifts across the educational world, from Montessori schools to Teach for America to some of the largest urban school districts in the country. I saw her in Emmie McCleary (Class of 2010) who serves her country as an environmental engineer with the Environmental Protection Agency. Florence is also in Emmie’s classmate Kelly Hering (Class of
Herald Statesman, Yonkers, NY, March 19, 1958. Retrieved at fullonhistory.com, https://bit.ly/3fEW9Eq September 28, 2019. Kozlay, Hazel L. (January 1958). "Florence E. Wall: Rebel into pioneer". Journal of Cosmetic Science. 8 (3): 161–168.
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2010), who quite literally became a rocket scientist. And she is in Shannon Fernandez-Ledon (Class of 2013), hard at work becoming a medical doctor. I see Florence in the students that still sit in these desks today. She was a genuine, good and giving person who reflected the precise mission that Sisters of Charity have seeded in young women for the last 160 years. Introducing Florence at her medal award ceremony in 1956, her colleague Hazel Kozlay stated, “Our medalist is one of the warmest-hearted people I know…her great urge to teach is based mainly on her desire to serve others.”9 “Deus est Caritas,” it is etched all over this building. Just as it always has, generosity continues to be the lifeblood of the Academy today.
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What Florence
Means to me The story of Florence Wall, alumna and cosmetic science pioneer. By Kelly A. Dobos Traditionally, careers in the sciences have been dominated by men and because of this there are often too few women to serve as role models and mentors to young women. And though we know many women have made significant contributions to the advancement of science, their stories seem to fall through the cracks, neglected and lost in time. I was determined not to let this happen to the legacy of Florence Wall. After graduating with a degree in Chemistry from Oberlin College, I was intent on pursuing a masters degree in analytical chemistry. That was until I luckily stumbled into a fulfilling career as a cosmetic chemist, where I have created a myriad of product types from sparkly lip glosses to hand sanitizers. I became quite passionate about the field of cosmetic science, learning as much as I could and volunteering for the Society of Cosmetic Chemists (SCC). The Society of Cosmetic Chemists’
mission is to further the interests and recognition of cosmetic scientists while maintaining the confidence of the public in the cosmetic and personal care industries. I was elected to serve as the President of the SCC in 2019 and took these objectives to heart. One of my duties was to serve on various committees charged with nominating and selecting honorees for awards. The Society’s highest honor, the Maison G. deNavarre Medal (named after the Society’s founder), acknowledges an individual for their meaningful technical contributions in the field of cosmetic science. As an avid collector of historical texts about cosmetic science, I was only slightly familiar with Florence Wall and knew she was the ninth (and first female) recipient of this award. Unfortunately, she was also one of only a handful of women who have received this award since its inception in 1948. I was curious to learn more about
Florence; I had heard so little about her but it was already evident her story deserved to be heard. A search in the archives of the Journal of Cosmetic Science provided some record of her scientific contributions and, to my surprise, some anecdotes about her life and career contained in articles written to commemorate her deNavarre Medal award. Simple searches of the internet turned up a little more. Florence Wall was born in Paterson, NJ in 1893. She attended both the Academy and College of St. Elizabeth. She graduated with Bachelors’ degrees in Arts and Education, with honors in both English and Chemistry. During my visit to the Academy, arranged through some serendipitous events, I was able to see her senior scrapbook and I learned she was a true Renaissance woman who also enjoyed music, arts and athletics. There were few opportunities for women in chemistry when she finished LEGACY Magazine | SPRING 2020
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What Florence Means to Me
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com
college, so Florence took to teaching high school science. World War I would later open doors for women in many careers when men were sent off to war. Florence began working as an industrial chemist and later a cosmetic chemist. In 1924 she took a position at the leading manufacturer of hair dyes at the time, Inecto Inc. She was a liaison between the lab and the salon where the dyes were evaluated, presumably because of her savvy communication skills, which would continue to benefit her long into her career. Because of her strong technical writing abilities and knowledge of several languages, she took charge of Inecto’s research library and department of technical advice. Shortly thereafter, she was asked to write a text on the science of hair biology and dye chemistry. She coined the term canitics (which apparently didn’t stick) for the art and science of hair dyeing, and used this as the title of the book. Florence continued to pursue her passions to educate and publish throughout her career. Florence fought for the validation and recognition of cosmetic science as a true science, even delivering a lecture in defense of the field to the Society of Medical Jurisprudence entitled “Cosmet-
Florence literally wrote the book on the science of hair dye. Original hardcover donated to the Academy by Kelly Dobos.
ics - Outcast of the Medical Sciences." Florence was also involved in updates to legislation of cosmetics in the US. She attended hearings and worked closely with Senator Royal Copeland, sponsor and principal author of the Food,Drug and Cosmetics Act of 1938, with the intention to fight scientific inaccuracies and ensure accurate representation of the cosmetic industry. I was inspired by the important contributions Florence made to the cosmetics industry and, as a woman in the sciences, would have very much benefited from hearing her story earlier in my career. My first proposal as President of the SCC was to create an award to honor the contributions of women in the field of cosmetic science, elevating their accomplishments with hopes of further inspiring future scientists. At the SCC’s Annual Meeting in New York City in December 2019, I presented the first annual Florence Wall Award for Women in Cosmetic Science to Dr. Zoe Draelos. Much like Florence, Dr. Draelos is recognized as a pioneer in her field, cosmetic dermatology, having authored what is considered the first text book on the topic. Her research and work spans a vast array of topics that are important to our understanding of skin care including aging skin, acne, rosacea, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, actinic keratoses, eczema, and aesthetic procedures in the cosmetic, OTC drug, and pharmaceutical arenas. I was proud to recognize Dr. Draelos as an authority and a distinguished researcher in the fields of both cosmetic science and dermatology and honor the legacy of Florence Wall so that her story is not be lost to time. Curious and passionate are two words I saw repeatedly used to describe Florence Wall. While these attributes seem perfectly suited for scientific pursuits, they are universally applicable to whatever career you choose to pursue and advice I take to heart myself.
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Kelly A. Dobos A cosmetic chemist with expertise in both skin care and color cosmetic formulation, Kelly A. Dobos graduated from Oberlin College with a Bachelors degree in chemistry. She also obtained a Master of Science in pharmaceutical sciences with an emphasis in cosmetic science from the James L Winkle College of Pharmacy (WCOP) at the University of Cincinnati. Kelly is a recent recipient of the GOLD (Graduate of the Last Decade) Distinguished Alumni Award from the WCOP. She also holds an MBA from Cleveland State University. Serving the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, Kelly has held numerous roles at the local and national level including Chapter Chair, Area II Director, National Treasurer, Executive Committee, Committee of Scientific Affairs (COSA), and Committee on Chapter Affairs (COCA), Constitution & Bylaws Committee, Nominations & Elections Committee, and the Editorial Review Committee for Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists. She served as the Society’s President in 2019.
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In memory of our first
Academy Principal by Molly McKenna ‘21 I’m sure we all have our own ideas of what the Academy of Saint Elizabeth is. Some of us may think of scrunchedup socks, some of stairs upon stairs upon stairs, some of morning prayer or the bell tower stretching into the sky. From transfers who have been here mere months, to teachers with tenures longer than their students have been alive, we’ve all been here long enough to develop our own image of this school. What most people won’t think of, I’m willing to wager, is the time before the SmartBoards (now Promethean tablets) or the skirts that show our knees or even the electric lights. For there was a time, long, long ago, when this school was lit only by flame and oil, when you could count on two hands the number of students in attendance, and when the building we all know was but a glimmer in the eyes of a few particularly ambitious sisters. Amidst the echo of gunfire in the South and the development of the first periodic table, this school was built from the ground up through the labor and tenacity of a handful of young women. And one hundred sixty years later, we’re still here. The Academy was one of a handful of schools founded out of a desire to edu-
cate Catholic children. Catholicism, at this time, was seen as a low-down, dirty religion belonging to the immigrants, a new wave of whom were crossing the Atlantic from Ireland and Germany. In Ireland, many parents would simply keep their kids home from school, or else subject the children to anti-Catholic teachings at the hands of the Protestant authorities. In New Jersey, however, Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley, nephew of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, for whom our school was named, saw the importance of educating the Catholic children. In 1858, five young women volunteered their lives to the education and care of children, orphans, and the unfortunate. They were sent to Cincinnati for their training and in 1859, Sister Mary Xavier Mehegan (better known now as Mother Xavier) and Sister Mary Catherine Nevin, two New York Sisters of Charity, were lent to Bishop Bayley to be Mother Superior and her assistant, respectively. The first motherhouse was in Newark, but in July 1860, they moved to the property we now call our campus. Immediately after, they started a select school for girls. Sister Mary Pauline Kelligar, the second directress of the Academy, would later write in her
diary, describing three early sisters as “David’s mighty men of old” who “could do the things that David did, and were ranked high among the royal followers of the divine King.” The first two of these three were Mother Xavier and Sister Mary Catherine. The third was Sister Mary Agnes O’Neill. Born Margaret Anne O’Neill, Sister Mary Agnes was one of the five young women who made up the first of the New Jersey Sisters of Charity. She was twentytwo at the time. Sister Mary Agnes came from a prominent Catholic family in Paterson. Her brother John would become the city alderman and treasurer, her brother Charles the mayor of Jersey City. Her younger sister Teresa would enter the
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First Academy Principal
Mother Mary Xavier Mehegan founded the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth in 1859
Sisters of Charity in 1866, and the daughters of her other sisters would attend the Academy of Saint Elizabeth. I think it’s safe to say that very few of us have heard her name before. I certainly hadn’t. But it was Sister Mary Agnes O’Neill who spearheaded the growth of the Acad-
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Bishop Bernard McQuaid would later remark, “We men could never have done with this place what [the] sisters have managed to do.” Sister Mary Agnes O’Neill, twenty-four years old by now, was made directress of the Academy as soon as it was founded. At this time, the Motherhouse and the Academy were both housed in a small building at the bottom of the hill. The Sisters had built it themselves, along with every other crop they sowed, path they laid, and stone they carried. That building was razed in 1883, five years after the ground was broken for the building on the top of the hill which now houses our school. The Academy’s first enrollment was seven girls. For seventeen years, Sister Mary Agnes ran this school, stopping only when it became absolutely medically necessary. She was called by the other sisters “The Angel of Cheerfulness,” for in her many ambitions and relentless zeal, she offered nothing but optimism. As the young community struggled through hard
She did not let this stop her in her “devotion to the Academy; if anything
it sparked a new ambition.” emy during its early years. It is due to her efforts that we have, say, the grotto at the bottom of the hill; that the early sisters were granted the privilege of a local post office; that the Academy, some years after its founding, was said to offer young ladies an education comparable to that of a university. It was due to her that a new generation of young women was educated in not just music and art, but Latin, Greek, math, and science, for the Academy was not, and was never intended to be, a finishing school. And it was due to Sister Mary Agnes and her compatriots that
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labor and endless service, she came to be seen as a source of encouragement and support. The prosperity of the Academy consumed her entire being, and her entire life, short as it was, came to revolve around this school. Year after year, she sent off girls with Elizabethan laurels to join a fledgling group of educated women By 1875, fifteen years after the establishment of the school, Sister Mary Agnes’ health began to fail her. It was a pulmonary disease of some design, though whether they knew this at the time, I can’t quite say. She did not let this stop her in
her devotion to the Academy; if anything, it sparked a new ambition. As her work at the Academy was taken on by several other sisters, she set her sights on the construction of a grotto, which was to be a replica of the one found in Lourdes. Designed to “receive the first kiss of the rising sun,” the grotto was completed in 1876, miraculously coming to fruition in her lifetime. Always the dreamer, Sister Mary Agnes cast her gaze up, to the top of the hill, where she often walked with her father, despite her failing heart. Her greatest dream was to see the Motherhouse, along with the Academy, move to the top of the hill. For Sister Mary Agnes envisioned a time when the community would outgrow the home-made building at the bottom of the hill. She, unlike many of her fellow sisters, knew that the snail’s pace at which they currently marched would not last forever. There was a future for the community, one which involved a “white city” (the new Motherhouse, Xavier Hall and Holy Family Chapel, all constructed of white stone) which overlooked the hills, rather than gazed up at them. In 1870, a mere decade after the establishment of the community, she created what she dubbed the “New Building Book” to raise funds so that her dream could become a reality. As the years creeped along, and it became harder and harder for her to ascend that hill, the dream stayed alive in her. I’m sure it’s no surprise that this dream was realized, for here we sit now, in the very spot Sister Mary Agnes had envisioned for us. Sister Mary Agnes, however, never lived to see this happen. It wasn’t until four months after her death that construction began on her beloved white city. In April 1877, an ailing Sister Mary Agnes put in a special request with Mother Xavier that young Sister Mary Pauline Kelliger be her successor as directress of the Academy. For the next few months,
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students
This, what this “school is, what we are, is something she dedicated her entire religious life to creating.
We are her dream come true.” The original AOSE schoolhouse was a white frame building in Madison that still stands today; the renaming to Convent Station would come in the 1870s, when Mother Xavier funded the construction and staffing of the train station just beyond the Academy gates. Today, the campus is over 200 acres and also the home of the College of Saint Elizabeth, founded in 1899.
she instructed Sister Pauline in all her duties, even when she was too weak to do so from anywhere but her bed. By September, the start of a new school year, when Sister Pauline assumed her new position, Sister Mary Agnes’ condition had worsened considerably. She was only forty-one and, if one were to judge by her family history, she should have had many years left ahead of her. But on November 9, 1877, the community of sisters and students could hear the De Profundis bell tolling, signaling her worldly death. The senior class would not receive their laurels that summer. A commencement ceremony seemed out of place in the absence of their beloved directress. The community of students, parents, and sisters, for whom her death left a gaping void, would wait until June 1879 to send off Sister Pauline’s first graduating class. A newspaper of the time, echoing the sentiments of Revolutionary hero Nathan Hale, would write of Sister Mary Agnes that it was her “regret that she had but one life to give for the Community and the schools which she so loved.” Others would say that she lived “a long life in a short time.” It is true that her life was
marked by great accomplishments, despite the short duration. She was only forty-one when she died and it had been just nineteen years since she first volunteered to join a community that didn’t yet exist. In those nineteen years, she built from the ground up a school which still stands to this day. The O’Neill family would continue to be benefactors of the Sisters of Charity. The chapel and Academy were constructed largely with their support. In the chapel, there lies in the right transept a stained glass window depicting Saint Agnes. It was at Mother Xavier’s insistence that this, along with the stained glass window depicting Saint Catherine, be included to memorialize Sister Mary Agnes, as well as Sister Mary Catherine Nevin. It’s one of those things, along with the grotto about which she was so passionate, that I never noticed until a book told me it was there. I went to look for it, immediately after leaving the archives with this new knowledge, and every time I enter the chapel since then, I find my eyes drawn to it. Sister Mary Agnes O’Neill never saw that stained glass window, nor did she see the chapel for
which it was made, nor did she even see the building which houses it. I think many of us have gotten over the novelty of this school which captivated us upon first arriving. We no longer take the time to appreciate the intricately tiled floors or the walls lined with pictures of students from decades ago or the long and rich history of this community, which many students don’t even know. If there’s one message I want to impart here, it’s that to see this school still standing and to see what it has become would have been something Sister Mary Agnes could only have dreamed of. This, what this school is, what we are, is something she dedicated her entire religious life to creating. We are her dream come true. So the next time you look at that stained glass window or pass by the grotto or gaze upon the “white city” for which she so longed, I’d like to ask that you take a moment to think of who gave you the chance to be here, and how happy she would have been to have you in her community.
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students
Sr. Rita Walsh ’48 The life of both a SEAster and a sister. ALUMNA SPOTLIGHT
by Katelyn Rohlf | ’21 and Samantha Insler | ‘22
What was life like at the Academy when you attended? The Academy when I was there was very different from what it is now. It was like a convent. There were only 25 in each class, so 100 students. The principal was Sister Mary Josephine Bauer; a very oldtimer, everything was sinful, you know. When we went to class we always gathered in the study hall. There was no talking in the study hall. It was a study hall, you studied there. And when you left to go to class, you walked one behind the other in silence. I don’t think you’re doing that now. But it was a wonderful school, I got a wonderful education. I’m never sorry for my decision to go there. We had a very heavy schedule. You had to maintain your grades. There were eight of us who were day students who came from Dover and picked up girls along the train line. Every year we had a silent retreat. We lived like nuns. And look what happened?
At what age did you enter the convent? Seventeen. My birthday is on November 2. On October 2, 1948, I entered the convent and turned 18 a month later.
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I started very young, so really convent life is all I know. But I’ve never regretted my choice. Even as old as I am, I’ve never regretted my choice.
Do you know when you wanted to join the convent, or when you knew that you had a calling? I was a kid, maybe 5th grade. I always wanted to be a teacher and I always wanted to be a sister. So I put the two together and entered the convent. It worked out very nicely. I had Caldwell Dominicans in grade school but I prefer the Sisters of Charity. They’re a bigger order. We now have 228, which is not a lot but that’s the way religious life is going, that’s the way the church is going.
How did you choose your name entering the convent? Well, when I was born, my mother named me Camilla Walsh because she had a teacher, named Sister Camilla. And she said, “If ever I had a daughter I’m going to name her Camilla after her.” So here I am. I don’t like it. As I got older, I liked it but I didn’t like it growing up; Camilla, gorilla, how kids are. My confirmation name was Rita. Then when we chose
names in religion, I chose Anna David because that was my mother and father’s name. Then in 1965 [after Vatican Council II] we had the opportunity of going back to our own names. I didn’t want to go back to Camilla and I’ve been kicking myself ever since. Everyone was changing so I took my name, Rita. That’s how I am here. I hope when I die, they bury the right one of us, out of all these names.
Do you have a favorite saint? And why? St. Joseph is my favorite saint, Patron of the Dying. And we all have to do it, you know. I lost a nephew at the age of 23. He had just come home from Vietnam. He and his buddy were out, his buddy was driving and a tractor trailer hit them and killed them both. He came home from Vietnam without one scratch.
Can you tell us a little about your family? My mother and father were very religious, we were always in church. It was very nice and I fell into this naturally. I had one sister. My mother and father were pregnant 5 times but only 2 of us made it. My sister and I were 10 years
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apart. I lived with her the last 7 years of her life when she needed help. I loved it. I had finished teaching, had enough of that, and I was old enough to retire. She was married and had 4 sons and the sons were great. Two of them are still living, my nephews, and they are very good to me.”
“Do you have any anecdotes or stories from when you were in high school here?” Well, we were kept very strict. There was no horsing around. We had senior prom right there in the study hall. We were very old fashioned. Everything is “old fashioned” now; it wasn’t old fashioned then. You just didn’t misbehave. Sister Ann Gertrude was an English teacher and she was tough. You didn’t bat an eyelid in her class. We were all in her class one day and between the double doors you could hear “shhhhh” and everybody was listening and it kept going on, a little sizzling sound. Ann Gertrude picked up her head. Do you know what was going on, what would make fire? An emery board. One of the girls had an emery board and she took it and rubbed it in the keyhole. And that was mortal sin. And Ann Gertrude tore out of that room and into the next room. Dorothy Whaley was there doing it just to torment her, but didn’t know she had been caught. That’s the biggest thing I remember. Poor Dorothy was shoving the emery board in there and Ann Gertrude was there watching her. The rest of us were sitting there in mortal fear. I'm 89 years old and I’ve never forgotten it. Ann Gertrude nearly crucified her. You wouldn’t think twice about something like that now. I’ll tell you a gory detail. The Academy
dining room used to be in a different area before the fire. Right now as we speak, I cannot tell you where I ate my dinner every day. The fire destroyed it. [The original dining room was in the grassy area next to the senior parking lot.] Well we were not allowed to chew gum. So this one girl in my class, Ann Featherston, a natural wit. She walked into the dining room with gum in her mouth. She said I have got to get rid of this gum. So she took it out of her mouth and put it under the table. After she finished dinner she took it out from under the table. The gum she had put under the table was pink. The gum she took out and was now chewing on was black. She had somebody else’s gum!
Was there a teacher or classmate that made an impact on you? Someone you looked up to? Sister Patricia Mary McMullen. Do you know McMullen Hall? [the theater] She was my good friend. She taught me Latin IV and she was a good teacher. She was in the convent when I entered. They named McMullen Hall after her because she was the principal of the school for years. She deserves to be recognized. We remained good friends. She was a graduate of the college.
Were there any extracurricular activities at school like a play or sports that you took part in? I was not a sports person at all. We had plays but they were not too popular. They never caught on. For us to have a play when I was at the Academy was big news. And the news did not grow. And the nuns that were running the school were
My mother and father were very “religious, we were always in church.
It was very nice and I fell into this naturally.
not into that. It was all academic.
What were your favorite classes or subjects? English and Latin. I don’t like math or science.
Can you tell us more about your education after high school? When you enter the convent, they educate you. So I got my college degree through the Sisters of Charity. They sent me through college. They sent me through a Masters in Greek and Latin. Another one in Administration and Supervision from Seton Hall on a full-ride scholarship. So I have a lot of education and much of it paid for by the community, which is very nice. But I gave all these years of service and they said if you enter now, we’ll educate you. Well that sounded good to me.
Where did you teach? Not at the Academy? No. I’ve taught at many other high schools. I started out in grade school at St. Peter’s Jersey City which is now closed. The next one was St. Peter’s New Brunswick, a high school where I taught Latin. Followed by Bayley Ellard right here down the street. St. Aloysius Jersey City, taught Latin there. I was principal there for 15 years. After that, I went to Marist High School in Bayonne.
And how many total years did you teach? 62 years.
What was your service work as a Sister of Charity? I taught. Any service I did was right here at home, helping out. But you wouldn’t call it service, you would call it a job. You taught all winter and relaxed all summer.
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students
100 Years of the Vote STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
by Ellie Gates | ’20
In February, we celebrated the centennial of the 19th amendment. I was honored to introduce guest speaker Sharon Hallanan, an attorney and member of the New Jersey State Bar Foundation’s speakers bureau, who guided us through the history of the women’s suffrage movement. We were particularly excited to learn of New Jersey’s special role in this episode; Alice Paul, a New Jerseyan, was among the most effective advocates for the women’s vote. In 2020, as we celebrate one hundred years since the legal shift that gave women voices, I cannot think of a more appropriate time to reflect upon the place that has fostered thousands of empowered women over the past 160 years. The Academy of Saint Elizabeth self identifies as a space “resolved to empower each of our young women with the compassion and self-reliance that is intrinsic to her femininity.” The unique nature of an empowering, single-sex environment is what allows girls to become fierce young women by the time of graduation. I can affirm that the culture created by the faculty and students at the Academy has had this effect on many women in past generations and will continue to develop 20
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strong women for many more to come. This is why I am proud to call the Academy of Saint Elizabeth home. As I prepare to graduate, it has become clear to me that among the many things I have gained during my time here, the most valuable is undoubtedly my voice. As a first-year, I was at a large public high school, and I was quite shy. I would get shaky and nauseous when it was time for a presentation in a class of twenty. I was debilitatingly self-conscious and con-
rooms, these experiences have helped to shape how I view my role in social justice in a broader context. Not only have I grown as a public speaker, but this new self-confidence affirms to the world that my unique female voice matters. One hundred years ago, life changed for American women. The United States Constitution validated the voices of females by acknowledging our right to vote. Women were no longer viewed as property of anyone else, and our votes
“
Among the many things I have gained during my time here, the most
valuable is undoubtedly my voice. stantly concerned that my ideas were wrong, that I would be judged. My evolution into a confident young woman began when I transferred into the Academy of Saint Elizabeth. As a senior, I am the co-president of the Women’s Empowerment Club. I’ve also had the privilege to lead the Mock Trial team into two tournaments; the team has grown from six members into a place where auditions are required to compete at all. Far beyond my high school class-
”
gave us agency. This empowerment is mirrored in the unique educational community of the Academy of Saint Elizabeth. The Academy breeds strong, smart, mature, sophisticated young women every year, and I am honored to be celebrating the centennial of the 19th amendment among my SEAsters.
Ellie will attend Providence College in the fall, where she plans to study Marketing.
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support
Reasons I Give “We had visions of our mother sitting in the same pews, attending daily morning mass some 75 years ago.” On February 11, we celebrated Mass for the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes in memory of Patricia Avallone '47. We were pleased to welcome Patricia's son and daughter to the Academy, where their mom made so many friends and memories. According to her daughter, Patricia always said it was God’s grace that led her to St. Elizabeth’s and her experience at the Academy was God’s blessing. Our alumna’s daughter and son were moved beyond words by our celebration of their mother. After Mass, they visited
the Archives with Sister Noreen to show them the registry book, yearbooks and pictures of their mother. While chatting and flipping through pages of records, an amazing connection was made. Sister Noreen realized the person they were talking about was actually Sister Thomas, who currently works in the Sisters of Charity Development Office in Saint Clare Hall upstairs. Sister Thomas (or Mary Salerno before she became a Sister) was Patricia’s childhood best friend in Newark. Megan Knight made a phone call to Sister Thomas, who ended up joyfully receiving
our guests in her office -- which also happens to be the former location of "YLD" or "Young Ladies Dorm" because those offices are where the Junior and Senior boarding students once lived. Sister Thomas and the adult children had known of each other through many stories over the years but had never actually met in person; they treasured the serendipitous opportunity to swap stories about Patricia during her childhood and beyond. The Frungillo family will be back and promise to be involved in our community
"As a boarder, St. Elizabeth’s was her second home. She cherished her time at the Academy and would always speak of her love for the good sisters and all that she learned from them. How they inspired her deep faith and love of God and service to others; how nurturing they were in helping with homework in Study Hall, caring for you when you were sick, comforting you when you were lonely or homesick. She always spoke fondly of one of her favorite nuns, Sister Josephine Mary, who was her music and piano teacher. She would remember how very beautiful she was and how her face was radiant with her love of God. She would often speak of the high academic standards of the Academy, the rigorous curriculum which was challenging, but which inspired one to achieve her fullest potential. If her children ever complained about too much homework, she would laughingly reply, 'You don’t know what homework is!' Patricia attended St. Elizabeth’s in an era when times were dramatically different. But the values she learned at the Academy, those of unshakable faith in God, moral integrity, solid character, and service to others are timeless and sustained her throughout her entire life. She held St. Elizabeth’s in her heart with love and gratitude." — Patricia Frungillo, daughter of Patricia Avallone '47
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Reasons I Give (continued from page 21) Dear Ms. Burek,
for many years to come. They were completely overwhelmed by the Academy’s warm welcome and now have first-hand knowledge of how special our small community has been for generations of young women. They expressed their appreciation for the gracious welcome extended by our students, staff and faculty. Everyone who has walked through these hallways has a story, and it was a joy to honor the memory of one person’s story, together as a community.
We had planned to send you a formal note, but I could not wait to extend a heartfelt thank you to you and all who contributed to such a special and meaningful memorial for our mother, Patricia Avallone. A special thank you to sensational Megan who was outstanding from the first moment of planning this memorial. She is truly exceptional at what she does and she cared about making every aspect and detail of the experience as meaningful as possible. Having the students at the mass was extra special and gave us visions of our mother sitting in the same pews attending daily morning mass some 75 years ago. The Priest’s homily, the beautiful rendition of Ave Maria, the sensitive reading of our mom’s memories of St. Elizabeth’s, the mass program in memory of our mother, all deeply enhanced our experience. The Academy students are indeed exceptional! It was perfection! The opportunity to have a tour of the school and to see old attendance records and yearbooks of when our mother attended the Academy was extraordinary. Sister Noreen Neary was wonderful to have retrieved these documents for us and we thank her so much. We even had the opportunity to spend time with our mother’s best childhood friend, Sister Thomas. Who would have thought that! Everyone we encountered at the Academy was most warm and gracious and it truly was hard to leave. My brother and I hope to be involved with supporting the school in any way we can and in helping to carry on the values and tradition of such a fine Academy. God bless you and all at St. Elizabeth’s! Best, Patty & Ben Frungillo
There are so many ways you can support the Academy’s tradition of excellence. In addition to annual giving, donations can live on through a gift from your estate. A planned gift creates a perpetual legacy through a provision in your will or estate, where your generosity will continue to empower countless future generations of young women at the Academy.
For more information, please call 973.290.5226 or email mknight@aose.info 22
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Angelica Cuervo and AOSE classmate Charlotte Kuchler in Havana, Cuba.
Family Connection One woman dedicates support to her beloved Grandmother’s treasured moments at the Academy over one hundred years ago. DONOR SPOTLIGHT
A letter from Adriana Swanson Although living in Texas, I had heard about St. Elizabeth’s my entire life as my grandmother Angelica Cuervo had been a boarding student from Havana, Cuba more than one hundred years ago. At age 61, when fleeing the Communist revolution, she lost everything but managed to take her photo album and a campus pictorial brochure, which we are giving to the school. She taught us her school songs and told us about chaperoned weekend outings in New York and about Charlotte Kuchler, her life-long best friend from St. Elizabeth’s. While planning a trip through Morristown to see close friends (parents of Caroline Nielson, ’19), my husband, with a big assist from Megan Knight, arranged to give me a tour of the school as a Valentine’s present. Never would I have imagined my grandmother’s memories coming to life when being on campus in
March. I was not sure what to expect in visiting the archives, especially after going through the basement to get there! I could not believe that Sister Noreen Neary had tracked down my grandmother’s semester grades, recorded in leather-bound archival records from around WWI. I was not surprised to see that painting and piano were her best subjects, as they remained her passions ever-after. It was also a thrill to set foot where she lived in the upper-school dormitory area, where the art studio is today. I was captured by the beauty, history and sense of community that my grandmother found so central to her childhood and her life. Our small gifts to the school in her memory have brought me and my family closer to her. It is an honor to have a renewed connection with her beloved St. Elizabeth’s.
Best friends Angelica and Charlotte at the Academy in May 1914.
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The Academy mission is stronger than ever before. Wishing you a healthy, happy summer— we’re in this together!
