Our Holy Child Community Celebrations, kudos and news

A Monument to the Mission

The Society of the Holy Child Jesus’s yearlong 175th anniversary celebrations culminated in fall 2021 with a joyful Liturgy at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, Pa.—Cornelia Connelly’s hometown and the headquarters of the Society’s American Province. After Mass, Archbishop Nelson Pérez solemnly blessed the Cathedral’s new Holy Child shrine and memorial to Venerable Cornelia Connelly. “With the new shrine and memorial, Cornelia’s life and faith will have greater visibility and offer hope to anyone seeking God’s presence, especially during difficult times,” says Sr. Carroll Juliano, SHCJ, the Society’s American Province Leader. If you’re ever in Philadelphia and would like to visit this beautiful monument to our founder and her enduring mission, you’ll find it to the right of the Cathedral’s main entrance.

Community of Care

Although in-person volunteering at South Central LAMP has been on hold, our Mayfield family is still finding creative ways to support the moms and children at our sister Holy Child-sponsored ministry in South Los Angeles. Bravo to the Mayfield chapter of Girls Learn International, Inc., whose research on period poverty for low-income women fueled the launch of an incredibly successful period product drive. Ninette Ayala, LAMP’s Director of Development at the time, was deeply grateful for their efforts. "LAMP takes care of the babies as well as the moms, so all of this is so helpful—especially right now." We look forward to continuing our close relationship with this special organization as Nicole Cosand, Mayfield’s former Director of Alum Engagement, took on a new role as LAMP’s Director of Development in July 2022.

Mayfield’s Girls Learn International, Inc. chapter collected almost 2,000 period products for the moms at LAMP. Our Campus Ministry Council’s annual toy drive made Christmas bright for the families at LAMP.

Our National Honor Society students took steps to support LAMP—with a fundraising walk.

Reconnecting With Our Sister Schools

We were excited to resume our Holy Child Network exchange program this spring. Four sophomore students—Ella Yoon ’24, Rory Rago ’24, Rachael Yoon ’24 and Viviana Salazar ’24— enjoyed a springtime visit to Connelly School of the Holy Child in Potomac, Md., and we were thrilled to return the favor, hosting four Holy Child students in late April.

‘Inspiring’ our adult faith community in new ways

SR. EILEEN MCDEVITT, SHCJ,

Director of the Holy Child Network of Schools

SR. HELEN PREJEAN, CSJ

Anti-death penalty activist and author

SHARON AND DAVID HOOVER

Founders and Spiritual Directors of Inscape Ministries

HEIDI MCNIFF JOHNSON ’84

Founder of Charity Matters and the Spiritual Care Guild at CHLA

The distinctive charism of Holy Child spirituality is something that Mayfield students spend a lot of time exploring, both in their theology classes and as part of the school’s Campus Ministry programs. But how to share that spiritual richness with the adults in our community was a question that came up time and again for Director of Campus Ministry Teri Gonzales. “Our parents kept saying that they were so inspired by their daughters and the ways they discuss their spirituality…they would say they wish they could be in our classes themselves!” So, when COVID-19 hit, Ms. Gonzales decided to leverage the new era of Zoom meetings to “see if parents and alums [would] actually be interested in exploring and nourishing their own spirituality” through a quarterly online lecture series.

Ms. Gonzales credits a longstanding tradition of on-campus Advent and Lenten reflection evenings with helping her conceptualize the “Inspire” program. Founded by Sr. Barbara Mullen, SHCJ, in the 1990s and continued by Associate Head of School for Strategic Initiatives Angela Howell ’76 after Sr. Barbara’s passing in 2016, these intimate weekly gatherings in the Strub Hall Living Room brought together a group of faith-filled alums and Holy Child Associates (lay “members” of the Society) to reflect and pray during these special liturgical seasons.

This year’s inaugural “Inspire” speaker series was designed to illuminate aspects of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus’s “incarnational spirituality”—the mystery of the humanity of God, and the human as the divine. “ ‘Inspire’ is really an opportunity for people thirsting and searching for a deeper relationship with God manifested in the world around us,” Ms. Gonzales explains. Although the speakers chose their own topics, Ms. Gonzales did have a very clear curatorial idea in mind: to continue the “Love and Serve” theme that the Society of the Holy Child Jesus chose for its recent 175th anniversary celebrations.

The first two speakers, Sr. Eileen McDevitt, SHCJ, Director of the Holy Child Network of Schools, and Sr. Helen Prejean, CSJ, the internationally acclaimed author of “Dead Man Walking,” certainly embodied that theme. Both reflected on how incarnational spirituality shaped their vocations and work—Sr. Eileen’s in education and faith formation in schools and Sr. Helen’s anti-death penalty advocacy. “Inspire” participant Catherine Huston ’73 described the Sisters’ presentations as “illuminating stories of women of promise and hope, rising to love and serve, even in the face of obstacles and suffering.”

Holy Child Associate Missey MoeCook ’71 says she was especially moved by hearing Sr. Helen talk about her life’s work: “It was one of the most inspiring and jaw-dropping presentations I’ve ever heard…Her work is so awe-inspiring. This woman should receive a papal award for her humanitarian work!” The two final “Inspire” presentations were equally enlightening. Sharon and David Hoover, founders of Inscape Ministries, shared ways to see and experience God with an open heart, and alum Heidi McNiff Johnson ’84 shared how she uses her Charity Matters nonprofit and podcast platforms to elevate stories of people living the Holy Child motto of “Actions Not Words” through their lives of service.

Ms. Gonzales was overjoyed to see members of the extended Mayfield community come together to find spiritual renewal, and perhaps even forge a new path on their faith journeys—one that Ms. Huston says, for her, highlighted “awakenings, revelations and sacred callings.” Ms. Gonzales is still exploring the best ways of fine-tuning the program, but this much is sure: “Inspire” is living up to its name, and then some.

To listen to excerpts from these speakers, visit www.mayfieldsenior.org/inspire

A New Society Leadership Team

We send hearty congratulations and heartfelt prayers to the new Society of the Holy Child Jesus Leadership Team for 2022-2028. Sr. Pauline Darby, a member of the European Province, was recently elected to a six-year term as Society Leader. Joining Sr. Pauline on the Rome-based team will be Sr. Susan Igelle and Sr. Oyidu Okwori from the African Province and Sr. Carmen Torres of the American Province.

Sr. Oyidu Okwori, SHCJ; Sr. Pauline Darby, SHCJ; Sr. Susan Igelle, SHCJ; and Sr. Carmen Torres, SHCJ.

Each year, the American Province of Society of the Holy Child Jesus recognizes two members of our extended Holy Child community for their commitment to “Actions Not Words” service at an annual gala celebration. This year’s 14th annual Holy Child Awards Dinner at The Westin Pasadena, honoring Margaret Morrow ’68 and Marina Marmolejo ’13, felt like a Mayfield Senior School family reunion!

Though the two honorees graduated 45 years apart, both are passionate social justice warriors who embody the Holy Child spirit of love and service. Proud mom and fellow Mayfield alum Dr. Rosemarie Bustos Diaz ’90 was on hand to present the Holy Child Spirit Award to her daughter, Marina, who is reimagining ways to address homelessness with her energetic advocacy and creative solutions. Margaret, a trailblazing attorney, judge, CEO and legal justice advocate, was introduced as the lifetime Faith in Action Award honoree by fellow former Mayfield trustee Stephen Sweeney and his wife, Karen. See page 56 to learn more about—and be inspired by—Margaret and Marina’s extraordinary service-driven lives.

Holy Child Awards Dinner

Mayfield alums honored for serving their communities with ‘a love full of action’

1

2

3

4 5 6

7

9 8

1 Hon. Margaret Morrow ’68 (center) with

Mike and Debbie Maddigan 2 Amber Berrios ’07, Angela Howell ’76 and Mary Fitzpatrick ’72 3 Linda Mennis (center) with son Michael and husband Liam

4 Jacquie Dolan, Marie Poulsen and Mimi Collins Stolpe ’83 5 (from left) Karen Sweeney, Mimi Collins Stolpe ’83, Tillie Collins, Annette Carhartt Brandin ’66, Sr. Carroll Juliano, SHCJ, Virginia Schlueter Jones ’64, Kathleen Clougherty Regan ’64, Jim and Becky Sarni 6 Fr. Dorian Llywelyn, S.J. and Fr. Wayne Negrete, S.J. 7 Ted and Tina Fogliani, Annette Carhartt Brandin ’66 and Sr. Susan Slater, SHCJ 8 Marina Marmolejo ’13 (center) with Joe Sciuto, Head of Mayfield Junior School, and Kate Morin 9 Marina Marmolejo ’13 (right), Dr. Rosemarie Bustos Diaz ’90, Aaron Diaz and Madora Marmolejo Photo credit: John Dlugolecki

ALUM ADVoCATES

A conversation with 2022 Holy Child Awards honorees Margaret Morrow ’68 and Marina Marmolejo ’13

We set up a Zoom chat so these two social justice advocates could compare notes on the issues they both care so deeply about—and have worked so hard to address with “Actions Not Words.” Here’s an edited excerpt of our discussion.

When you were setting the course for your life, how did Holy Child values help direct your path?

Marina: From what I can remember, “Actions Not Words” was a part of the [Mayfield] mantra, but I think it’s more so how the school handles and provides opportunities to think about our privilege—with a capital “p”—in juxtaposition to the world around us…whether those are service days…or just actively learning about the organizations and activists doing the work, and figuring out how we…support them in that process. It is unimaginable to think of my life without the central point of being conscious of your environment and making sure that, however you’re thinking about the world, you recognize your privilege and make space for other people to thrive. Margaret: So I graduated in 1968. I don’t think it was as explicit back then. Service days and things of that nature didn’t exist at that time. We were taught by the nuns much more than is the case today. And so, of course you have their example, of people who have basically devoted their lives, not only to Christ, but to other people—doing service for other people. We had a nun, Sr. Catherine Morris ’52, who was head of the school…and she left to run the Catholic Worker service organization in Downtown L.A. So there were examples of what “Actions Not Words” was all about. At least an equally important issue was empowering young women to believe that they could do whatever they wanted to do.

The Holy Child ethos embraces both incarnational spirituality and Catholic social justice teachings, which prioritize the most vulnerable. Do you think learning these principles and serving others during high school helps inspire students to do more courageous and more compassionate things?

Margaret: I went off to Bryn Mawr, and it was a pretty tumultuous time in the late sixties, early seventies. And I think most people—I won’t say everyone in my generation, but most people—became more active in the sense of things that we cared about. And I have to say that my Catholic faith is a significant part of why I have chosen the road that I’ve walked down. I’ve grown up with a version of Catholicism that is all about social justice, and it’s about activism in support of social justice. When I was interviewing for the job at [pro bono legal firm] Public Counsel, the search committee was asking all kinds of questions and somebody said, “Why do you even want to do this? What’s the hook here? You’ve never been a public interest lawyer. Why now?” And I actually answered that it had a lot to do with my…faith-based social justice principles. I love the concept of “Actions Not Words,” because anybody can talk a good game. Many people do talk a good game! But then it’s really, at the end of the day, who’s in the trenches, who’s doing the work. Marina: Mayfield kind of hand-holds students into that first exposure, because then folks are way more likely to [volunteer] on their own…outside of that environment.

Hon. Margaret Morrow ’68 Faith in Action Award Honoree

Margaret has spent more than 50 years practicing law, focusing on ensuring equal access to justice.

Most recently, Margaret served as the president and CEO of Public Counsel, a nonprofit that provides free legal services to low-income communities and advocates for policy changes that address inequalities and homelessness. A Harvard Law School graduate, Margaret previously served for 18 years as a judge on the

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. She was the first female president of the State Bar of

California and also served as president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. In addition to her decades of pro bono legal service and advocacy, Margaret has served on many nonprofit boards and commissions, 56 POSTSCRIPTS 2022 including at her alma maters, Mayfield Senior School and Bryn Mawr College. I don’t know if the direct correlation would be that strong if “Actions Not Words” didn’t allow folks to…do it together for the first time with other people in a safe way. It was more so…recognizing that the backdrop was always: “Look around you. You exist in this bubble.” Mayfield Junior, Mayfield Senior, they are privilege bubbles, and that’s okay. You can have both, you can grow up with these resources and mentors and a safe place to think. But also, once you step out, here are the tools, and make sure that you remember everyone around you.

Is there a specific quality that you think distinguishes Mayfield from other high schools?

Margaret: I would say it is a sense of caring. It is a sense of caring for the whole person, both the students themselves, as well as individuals in the community, which is kind of what we’ve been talking about—“Actions Not Words.” I think imbuing young women with that kind of caring spirit is an incredibly important part of the Mayfield education. You can go to all kinds of wonderful places and get an amazing education that will set you on the right path for whatever it is you want to do, but getting that spirit of caring and outward-looking to other people is not always something you get at other educational institutions. And I think it’s a hugely important part of the Mayfield experience, and just generally, I think, in Catholic education.

You have both worked for, and alongside, groups that are traditionally on the margins of our society. It feels like homelessness is one of the issues at the center of the Venn diagram that emerges between both your arenas of work…

Margaret: Over the course of my time at Public Counsel we became involved in a lot of different coalitions and movements to try to have an impact on the homelessness problem here in L.A. We really tried to look much more broadly to be involved in these groups that were trying to come up with original solutions, different solutions to the problem. And I found it incredibly frustrating that so little progress was made in that space. So to see someone with Marina’s enthusiasm and energy and new ideas and new ways of attacking this issue…Honestly, when you think about it, can you imagine that we live in the United States and this is happening to our fellow residents? It’s outrageous, and it’s a failure of our society. Marina: I appreciate that. And I agree…How is this truly a problem here? And to think this doesn’t actually have to be such a significant kind of a public health issue and epidemic as it is right now. I think I’m one of many—I

Sr. Carroll Juliano, SHCJ, American Province Leader (center) with Hon. Margaret Morrow ’68 (left) and Marina Marmolejo ’13 at the Holy Child Awards dinner in March 2022.

Marina Marmolejo ’13 (MJS ’09)

Holy Child Spirit Award Honoree

Marina is an anti-poverty advocate who is breaking new ground with innovative approaches to supporting communities experiencing homelessness. She currently manages a $400 million rental assistance program for Connecticut residents financially impacted by COVID-19. Marina earned her Master of Public Health degree from the Yale School of Public Health, where she was awarded two teaching fellowships and also founded DreamKit, a groundbreaking tech nonprofit that supports youth experiencing homelessness. Marina graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a bachelor’s degree in health and human services.

reference my generation a lot, just because it gives me so much hope and curiosity—we’re not afraid to say: “Hmm, who is benefiting from the status quo? How can we redirect this economy that has benefited people in such significant and longstanding ways to really reimagine what that future could look like?”

Do you have any burning questions to ask each other?

Marina: Your commitment to justice has been so longstanding. I’ve seen mentors and other folks kind of drop out after five years, 10 years, 15 years, because it’s just too emotionally exhausting for them. I’m really intrigued by how you have not burned out. You have worked with such heart-wrenching communities and stories. If you only see folks who are experiencing homelessness look a certain way, if you only see domestic violence look a certain way, how does that not subconsciously get into your veins and then inform your decision making [from] the [judicial] bench? Margaret: There are a couple of questions in there. First, I have been burned out along the way, for sure! I just either wasn’t in a position, or was unwilling to put myself in a position, to give into that. I think those opportunities for regeneration and sitting back and contemplating where you’ve been, and where you might be going, are important. And I never really did that, to be honest with you, until after I left Public Counsel [in 2021]. But your other question—which is really deep—is when you’re exposed to these things on an ongoing basis, how do you not internalize them and, and what does that do to your decision making? I was always really aware of the fact that the legal profession in particular was just falling down on the job in terms of diversifying the profession and providing opportunities for folks who wouldn’t even think of law as a possible career. Hopefully [we would be] using that diversification to make sure that services were being distributed more evenly. When I was president of the [Los Angeles] County Bar, I started this committee to set guidelines and goals for, in particular, private law firms—“Big Law,” as they now call it. These were hiring goals, retention goals, promotion goals for people of color in those firms. [At Public Counsel], we brought in consultants, we did surveys, we had focus groups for the employees, and the employees took on the process themselves. We did implicit bias training, too. I will say that at times that was a painful process for me. It was a learning experience. But those kinds of things have to happen in our culture if we’re ever going to get to the other side. Marina: I fully agree with that, and kudos for you for listening to that kind of feedback. It takes a really intentional leader to do that.

Do you have any advice for people who are embarking on something new, whether it be starting their college journey, facing a career shift, bringing a nonprofit idea to life or challenging the status quo in some way?

Marina: Give yourself grace, like you would give your best friend grace, because as women, we have been socialized to be too hard on ourselves and to make ourselves small….we sometimes are our [own] biggest barriers. I just want to breathe into people the permission to be confident and be excited, to stand in your power because you can, and you should. That’s my first piece of advice. The second is that failure is the most inevitable thing. Sit in it and journal and figure out what brings you peace. Drink a cup of water, stretch, whatever—but don’t run away from sitting in that feeling of failure, because some of my biggest reflections or moments of selfawareness have come from that sadness. If you don’t fail, it means you’re not doing it right. You’re not taking enough risk, and you’re not honoring the newness and the innovation of your idea. So you must fail in order to be great.

Do you have final words for each other?

Margaret: Brava! You are truly an inspiration, Marina. I thought that on the night of the event, and I think it again here today. You are so reflective of the massive energy and creativity that your generation has, and that you all are bringing to the problems in the United States. It’s so wonderful to see the freedom with which you attack things and don’t take current solutions as the only solutions that exist and just keep looking for new avenues in new ways. Marina: I feel the torch is being passed, and I accept it enthusiastically! [laughs] And I think something that I’ll say to you, Margaret, is you’re the best type of leader to follow after, because you recognize the context and the ecosystem in which you lead and you are excited to pass it on. I’m really, really grateful. And the people who have learned from you definitely feel that, too. I can pretty much guarantee that…your willingness to listen and just hear them out is rare. I’m excited to collectively change minds, change hearts and change directions of where things have been going.