Mount Magazine fall 2022

Reshaping the

Mount Magazine Fall 2022

PRESIDENT

Timothy E. Trainor, Ph.D.

VP UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT

Robert J. Brennan, C’85

VP ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

Jack Chielli

EDITOR

Donna Klinger

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Katherine Stohlman Pieters, C'19

COPY EDITOR

Joe Paciella, C’03, MBA’11

WRITERS

Donna Klinger

Nicole Patterson

Katherine Stohlman Pieters, C'19

ALUMNI NEWS TEAM

Kim Johnson, MBA’18

Emily Myers, C’13, MBA’15

Nicole Patterson

PHOTOGRAPHY

Isabella Laurel, MBA'22

Mike Miller, Ph.D. Paige Roberts, C'21

DESIGN

Laura C. Moyer

SPECIAL THANK YOU

Jessica J. Boyer, Ph.D., C'16 Jeff Simmons, Ph.D.

PRINTING HBP Inc.

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The Office of University Marketing & Communications publishes Mount Magazine two times a year for alumni, parents and friends of Mount St. Mary’s University. Opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the author and do not specifically represent opinions of the magazine staff or the university. Reader responses and alumni contributions are welcome. The Mount reserves the right to refuse or revise comments or contributions for style and length.

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"When I was a student here, we had just moved to Division I athletics, and this arena was almost new. With the legendary Jim Phelan, or Bowtie, coaching, the loud crowd became like the sixth man on the basketball court, making it tough for our opponents to win. The same is still true today on what is now Jim Phelan Court. I expect an even larger and more energetic fan base as we move to the MAAC!"

MCDERMOTT, C’93 CHAIR, MOUNT ST. MARY’S UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES

GRACELYN

Dear Alumni, Parents & Friends,

IN EXPANDING AND RENOVATING Knott Academic Center, we built in numerous spaces designed to encourage collaboration and increased engagement between students and among students and faculty. It makes my day to go to Saxbys Café and see students and faculty continuing the conversation after class over cold brew and grilled cheese or to walk past the Honors Suite and get a glimpse of students writing on the whiteboard as they collaborate on a project. I love seeing the spontaneous discussions erupting in the Robert W. Bream Academic Commons and the interactive seminars in the high tech John F. Donovan, Ph.D. Seminar Room.

This issue of Mount Magazine looks at these enhancements to the Knott Academic Center (see pages 18-19) as well as other improvements that are reshaping the Mount student experience for the better. At the same time, I assure you that our core values are unchanged, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to a core curriculum in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition.

Some of the most exciting changes involve new experiential learning programs, two of which are highlighted on pages 14 and 15. Saxbys Café, fully managed and staffed by students, offers students the opportunity to build on their business know-how through the company’s Experiential Learning Program. Through the on-campus ESPN Broadcasting studio, students gain experience in high-end broadcasting of home athletic events. The opening of the ESPN studio provides a handson, high-quality learning experience, made possible by our move to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The MAAC, which also offers enhanced competition and greater exposure for student-athletes, has a partnership with ESPN, where member schools broadcast home athletic events through ESPN channels and platforms.

Turn to page 16 to find out how students are also gaining managerial and leadership experience at the Makers House, a new gathering place on campus where students, faculty, staff and administrators can make, teach and create within a community. The Makers House is operated

by student managers who oversee daily open labs and host weekly workshops that frequently attract a crowd.

We also look to the future and the past in this issue. On pages 20-21, you’ll learn about exciting programs being planned for a third university location at St. Joseph House in Emmitsburg: the School of Health Professions and Mount St. Mary’s Seminary’s Blessed Stanley Rother House of Formation. I am grateful for our partnership with the Daughters of Charity that has helped make possible these programs that will serve our Church community, state and nation. In looking back, we remember St. Joseph College as we continue to mark the 50th anniversary of women at the Mount.

As you read this issue, you also will find a Donor Impact Report, starting on page 25. Many of the changes in the Mount student experience celebrated in this issue would not have been possible without the support of the university’s alumni, partners and friends. We are truly blessed by your generosity.

And we’re not done yet either. In March 2023, we will begin expansion and renovation of the Coad Science Building. The project will include 21,000 square feet of computational and laboratory space. Go Mount!

TIMOTHY E. TRAINOR, PH.D. President

Saxbys crew

(left)

(right) with Student

Chloe Knill.

Jessalyn Powell in the ESPN Broadcasting studio.

Mount News

Mounties Contribute to Catholic Economic Renewal Effort

A MOUNT ST. MARY’S STUDENT AND PROFESSOR were among more than 1,000 young economists, entrepreneurs and change makers who came together to help give a new soul to the global economy at the third (and first in person) Economy of Francesco summit in Assisi, Italy. Associate Professor of Economics Alejandro Cañadas, Ph.D., spent nearly a week in Assisi as part of the planning committee for the conference. Meghan Fleming, C’24, followed soon after, spending September 21 through 24 in Italy for the program that culminated in meeting Pope Francis.

The Economy of Francesco is an annual conference, sponsored by Pope Francis. Named for St. Francis of Assisi, a medieval monk who championed the poor and the environment, the event brings young people in businessrelated fields together to dialogue on building economies that respect human life, the poor and the Earth. Pope Francis introduced this idea in a letter published in 2019, addressed to young adults in economics and entrepreneurship, asking them to work together “for combating the culture of waste, for giving voice to those who have none and for proposing new styles of life.”

During the event, participants were split into 12 “villages” or small groups, each with a focus on a particular economic, environmental or social justice issue. They spent the weekend hearing talks and reflecting and ended it with an address from Pope Francis and the chance for each village to present their ideas to him.

Cañadas not only helped plan the Economy of Francesco event, but lead a workshop. Alongside two other economists, one from London and one from Pakistan, he co-led groups in a workshop where they wrote and shared stories of how they are working to create an economy based on Catholic principles.

Fleming, a business major who has had Cañadas as a professor several times, was a member of the policies for happiness village, which focused on human life and related issues, and how governments, businesses and economies can work to promote human life and dignity.

She noted that the location of the conference in Assisi, St. Francis’ birthplace, “could not have been more perfect,” given the saint’s example of caring for the most vulnerable in our world. Fleming has a particular regard for St. Francis, inherited from her mother, and expressed gratitude to be attending a university where the business education so prioritizes the values St. Francis, and Pope Francis, have espoused.

Cañadas echoed her thoughts, observing that the Economy of Francesco conference, despite being held halfway across the world, is quite relevant to Mount St. Mary’s, especially since the Mount is one of the first Laudato Si’ universities. Based on Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical that encourages greater respect for the environment, Laudato Si’ universities commit to undertaking a seven-year, three-stage process of becoming a school with an integrated ecology.

“The ideas we formulated must become reality,” Fleming emphasized. “Pope Francis sent us forth with the intercession of Saint Francis, to work toward a world that values all living things, and the natural resources of the Earth, an economy that fights poverty in all its forms and reduces inequality, an economy at the service of the human person, rooted in love.”

She will continue to fight for this mission at the Mount.

Meghan Fleming and friends explore Assisi.

Economy of Francesco session with Pope Francis.

Meghan Fleming and Associate Professor of Economics Alejandro Cañadas, Ph.D.

Getting to Know CLA Dean Bryan Zygmont

BRYAN J. ZYGMONT, PH.D. , became dean of the College of Liberal Arts (CLA) on August 1. He replaced Peter Dorsey, Ph.D., who served as dean for six years. Dorsey, who came to the Mount in 1987, is taking a sabbatical before returning to the university as an English professor.

Zygmont came to the Mount from Louisiana Tech University, where he served as associate dean of its college of liberal arts. Previously, he was a faculty member at Clarke University, a Catholic liberal arts institution, in Dubuque, Iowa for a decade. He recently answered a few questions.

Tell us about your vision for the College of Liberal Arts. One of the most important factors in choosing to come to the Mount was my deep admiration for our Core, a course of study that is a wonderful model for a liberal education. As such, my vision for our college is to continue to reinforce and grow its value for the students we have the honor to teach, and to endlessly advocate for the amazing faculty who do that good work. We have wonderful strengths we can build upon, and my conversations with our faculty have revealed places where we can add and grow. And I am excited about both of these challenges as we move forward.

Please share your elevator pitch on the value of the liberal arts.

For many years, it seems, the liberal arts has lost the ‘what are you going to do with that [insert liberal arts major here] degree?’ argument. However, this is an argument that is easy for us to pivot around, for the very nature of

the liberal arts is that they do not prepare you for a (single!) job, they prepare you for every job. Through a course of study in the liberal arts, students learn to write with clarity and grace, they learn to critically think and analyze the world, and they learn to effectively and clearly communicate. These three skills—writing, thinking and communication—are three most desirous abilities of every potential employer. I have taught both lawyers and doctors who studied art history, and it is the very skills they learned in art history classes that have propelled them to great success in advanced degrees in unrelated fields. Those successes are because of their liberal arts training.

What is your initial impression of CLA students? Faculty?

I have been sincerely dazzled and impressed with the students I have met during my short time at the Mount. They have proven to be wonderfully able and committed to learning, and these are the two things any college professor dreams of for the students they teach. I have been as impressed with the dedicated faculty of the college. We have amazing scholars and gifted teachers who daily share their passions with our whole community. And importantly, I have been inspired by their willingness to engage with the idea of what we can be, rather than relying upon what we have been. This inspires me as one of the stewards of our college.

What has been your biggest delight at Mount St. Mary's?

I have a bit of a personal saying I have somewhat appropriated from one of Paul’s letters to Timothy: Fight the Good Fight. One of my greatest joys thus far has been to learn how that good fight is so much a part of the ethos of the Mount. I do not have to ask others to join me in that good fight. Instead, I have been allowed the great joy to join in with the greater community in this mission.

Your background is in art history. Tell us about the works of art you have encountered at the Mount. This campus is filled with some compelling art, and it has been wonderful to find it in unexpected places. As a scholar of American portraiture, I particularly enjoy strolling the second and third floors of Bradley Hall and looking at the images of past presidents of the Mount. I also love the copy of a Raphael Madonna and Child that is in Phillips Library. But perhaps my favorite work is what looks to be a 13th century altarpiece in the Smith Board Room (in meetings in that room I always aspire to sit across from it). I also love the vista from Founder’s Plaza.

Caring for our Blessed Mother Statue

May 2021

Thanks to the generosity of donors, the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes began the process to regild the beloved statue. Engineers discovered that the statue’s interior structural steel supports had been corroded by age and weather and needed to be refurbished. Vice President for Business and Finance Bill Davies, along with Todd Otis and Channing Kern of the university’s physical plant team, quickly put together a team of experts to devise a plan.

AFTER 57 YEARS of watching over the Mount St. Mary’s community with her loving gaze, outstretched hands and motherly heart, our beloved 26-foot statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary needed us to take care of her so she would be there for future generations. This is the story of the landmark statue’s sabbatical year in which we both felt her absence and her presence every day.

December 2021

National Shrine Grotto Director Dawn Walsh and Vice President for University Advancement Robert Brennan, C'85, visited the facility to check on the progress of the project. In removing the deteriorated armature and blast cleaning the statue, the restoration experts discovered multiple micro surface fractures in the bronze casting that have to be repaired to ensure that rain would not continue to seep in and damage the supports. (Each piece of blue tape marks these small surface cracks.) This painstaking process slowed the restoration as did supply chain issues in obtaining the stainless steel for the new armature.

July 2021

ADTEK Engineers, Inc. and Big Hook Crane and Rigging carefully removed the statue from Pangborn Campanile and took her to a Virginia facility owned by ADTEK for refurbishment. Over the year-long project, nine experts worked on restoring the statue.

July 20, 2022

The statue returned to her perch atop the campanile but was scaffolded so that the originally planned gilding work could be done. In preparation for this day, the campanile’s masonry was repointed and internal voids were filled.

July 25, 2022

Show Your Support

Due to the severity of the damage and length of the project, the statue’s refurbishment has been considerably more costly than anticipated.

Prayers and financial contributions continue to be appreciated.

To make a gift online, visit msmary.edu/ restoremary

August 23, 2022

On the second day of the Fall 2022 semester, the university community gathered to celebrate Our Blessed Mother’s return and to bless the statue, lovingly referred to by students as Mom. Our Lady will long continue to fulfill her purpose on Mary’s Mountain.

August 6, 2022

Upon completion of the project, the scaffolding was removed. The landmark statue is once again visible, shining more brightly than ever in the summer sun and radiating goodness and hope over campus.

Robert Marshall of R. Alden Marshall & Associates and his team began to apply about 10,000 three-inch squares of gold leaf to the statue. The heavyweight 23.75K gold came from Italy, where the statue was cast in 1964.

Seminary ESL Coordinator Takes Sabbatical for U.S. Department of State Teaching Fellowship

CAROLINE PURCELL , ESL coordinator and instructor at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, is in the midst of a 10-month U.S. Department of State fellowship teaching English and developing curricula in Palestine at An-Najah National University (ANNU). Purcell, who has been with the seminary since 2007, is one of only 200 U.S. citizens selected for the 2022-23 English Language Fellow Program. The seminary is the only ESL accredited Catholic seminary in the United States. “Caroline is a very dedicated ESL instructor and coordinator of our program,” said Msgr. Andrew Baker, S.T.D., rector of the seminary. “It comes as no surprise that she would be one of only 200 selected for this prestigious fellowship.”

Purcell has taught English to speakers of other languages for over 15 years. She was motivated by the opportunity to explore a new side of TESOL and meet others in the profession. “When I learned about and began researching the English Language Fellow Program, I considered it to be a wonderful opportunity to not only teach English as an international language abroad but become part of a collaborative community of English language educators,” she noted.

She hopes to bring together her work in Palestine and at the Mount, by connecting her honors class via Zoom at ANNU with one of her classes at the Mount that either focuses on Islamic studies or the relations between Palestine and Israel. Purcell will return to the seminary in June 2023.

Seminary Partners with the Catholic Leadership Institute

MOUNT ST. MARY’S SEMINARY has begun a three-year partnership with the Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI). The institute provides pastoral leadership formation and consulting services to pastoral leaders. To date, CLI has supported the leadership of more than 200 bishops, 2,600 priests, 700 seminarians and thousands of lay leaders in more than 95 dioceses in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. CLI works with some of the bishops who send their seminarians to the Mount.

Over the past several months, CLI CEO Dan Cellucci has given presentations to the seminary pastoral field education supervisors, faculty and staff. Recently, CLI conducted sessions with the second theologians on “Versatility in Leadership.” The seminarians gained greater self-understanding into their personality (through a DISC profile) and leadership style and how to be a more effective pastoral leader.

Throughout the partnership, CLI will collaborate with the seminary by providing the following:

Means for fostering ongoing greater self-understanding that supports a seminarian’s human formation as a man of God.

A framework and tools to support the formational staff’s important ministry.

An appreciation for leadership as it applies to their unique behaviors and value set.

A context for leadership that enables each man to more effectively lead himself in the seminary and in their Apostolate.

An adult learning methodology of formation that models more effective pathways for evangelization and catechesis and supports the seminary in offering a well-rounded program for priestly formation.

Ximena DeBroeck, Ph.D., faculty and administrator of pastoral formation for the seminary, coordinated the relationship with Dan Cellucci and CLI. The seminary is appreciative of Janice Obuchowski’s generous assistance with the seminary’s commitment to CLI. Obuchowski is president, CEO and founder of Freedom Technologies, Inc. and a member of the Mount St. Mary’s University Board of Trustees.

Mount Introduces Center for Lifelong Learning

JENNIFER STAIGER, PH.D. , associate provost for the Division of Continuing Studies, invites Mount St. Mary’s alumni and friends to expand their horizons, sharpen their professional knowledge and enrich their participation in cultural activities and community tours through the new Center for Lifelong Learning.

“These day and evening noncredit programs meet the needs of busy adults with workshops, short courses, bootcamps and more,” Staiger said.

In recognition of the importance of lifelong learning for professional and personal growth, Mount St. Mary’s University’s Division of Continuing Studies has launched the Center for Lifelong Learning. The center, based at the Mount’s Frederick campus, is offering a wide range of programs, events and activities, both in person and online, for learners of all ages.

A recent Pew Research Center study found that nearly 90% of working adults report that it will be necessary to get training and develop new skills throughout their careers to keep up with changes in the workplace.

Assistant Professor of Management

Christina Green, Ph.D., is offering a Connection Through Coaching bootcamp, designed to help supervisors and managers to better connect with their employees through coaching and motivation. In addition, Green is presenting a Gender in Business workshop and a series of yoga classes. Associate Professor of Business Alejandro Cañadas, Ph.D., is providing instruction on personal money management in a seven-week course.

Registration for these noncredit courses and other programs is open at msmary. edu/lifelonglearning. Courses are in person, online or in a hybrid format.

The center also designs personalized training programs to meet the needs of businesses and organizations; offers dual enrollment and college preparatory courses for high school students; and provides seminars on special topics in faith formation.

Ph.D.

Bessie Andrew

Celebrating 60 Years of Service

THIS FALL, THE MOUNT COMMUNITY has something extra-special to celebrate: Bessie Andrew’s 60th anniversary of becoming a Mount employee. The baker started as an employee in the Mount’s seminary dining hall on November 1, 1962, during her senior year of high school. She was planning to attend nursing school the following year and didn’t originally think she would stay at the Mount for very long. But she loved the Mount, and the people, and never looked back. After 37 years in the seminary, she switched to baking for ARAMARK, the university’s food service provider. Her love for the Mount has blessed

students now for six decades. An experience that has connected alumni through the years is approaching the bakery in Patriot Hall or the lower sub, receiving a warm smile (and sometimes a hug!) from Bessie, and often having their favorite treat already waiting for them. She makes a point to get to know her “regulars” and their orders.

To celebrate, the Mount collected hundreds of messages from alumni as well as current students, faculty, administrators and staff and surprised her by hosting a gathering and posting the messages on this momentous day. Mount St. Mary’s Seminary hosted a Mass and dinner, in early November, to thank Bessie for her decades of joyful dedication.

"I love you all," Bessie said. "I hope to be here for a few more years, but not 60!"

Alejandro Cañadas,

Reshaping the Student Experience

Bright Lights, Big Opportunities

MOUNT AMBASSADORS

STUDENT ADMISSIONS TOUR GUIDES, known as Mount Ambassadors, crammed at the beginning of the fall semester to learn about all the new programs and amenities that are enhancing the Mount student experience in 2022 and for many years into the future. The enthusiastic volunteers even quickly memorized a modified route for visiting the newly expanded and renovated Knott Academic Center, with stops at the John F. Donovan, Ph.D. Seminar Room, Honors Suite, the entirely student-run Saxbys Café and the Robert W. Bream Academic Commons. They found themselves talking about collaborative spaces that encourage teamwork and engagement, gathering spaces that facilitate continuation of student and professor discussions beyond the classroom, and technological features of classrooms.

Barbara Marinak, Ph.D., dean of the School of Education, praises the Knott Academic Center as a “space that redefines collaboration and engagement in higher education.”

Among the other bright lights of the Mount student experience in 2022 are the Frederick Health Emmitsburg urgent care center on campus that serves as the greatly enhanced student health center and tends to the health needs of the local community; the ESPN Broadcasting studio where students are gaining experience in highend television production of athletic games; the Makers House where students can get creative during open hours and structured workshops; and internships with professional athletic teams such as the Washington Commanders football and Old Glory rugby teams and with financial firms such as M&T Bank and BlackRock. In addition, the recently established Center for Service provides students the opportunity to participate in academic-oriented service opportunities that seek the common good.

The future is bright with nearly endless opportunities for Mount students, who continue to be guided in moving toward lives of significance in service to God and others.

Mount students receive an excellent education, rooted in the liberal arts and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, in a gorgeous setting. The welcoming family-like culture leads to the forming of loyal lifelong friendships and a continuing desire among alumni to return to their mountain home for reunions, homecomings, presentations to students and admissions visits with their children.

LET'S EXPLORE WHAT'S NEW TO THE MOUNT STUDENT EXPERIENCE!

Learning by Doing New Experiential Learning Opportunities on Campus

By Katherine Stohlman Pieters, C’19

THIS FALL, MOUNT ST. MARY’S STUDENTS have two new experiential learning opportunities available on campus. The Mount now boasts an on-campus ESPN Broadcasting studio, where students broadcast home athletic events. Additionally, Saxbys Café, fully managed and staffed by students, offers students the opportunity to build on their business knowledge through the company’s Experiential Learning Platform. These new programs supplement existing opportunities such as the Mountain Echo student newspaper and WMTB radio as well as established external internships with numerous professional sports teams, banks and financial firms, government agencies and more.

Chloe Knill’s determination and perseverance, coupled with leadership skills, are important traits for success as the inaugural chief executive officer of a new café on campus. When Knill, now a senior, came to Mount St. Mary’s in the fall of 2021 as a transfer student, she initially struggled academically. With the support and encouragement of faculty in the Richard J. Bolte, Sr. School of Business, such as Josey Chacko, Ph.D., and Christina Green, Ph.D., the business major blossomed. By the spring of 2022 she felt confident enough to apply to become the first student chief executive officer (SCEO) of the student-run Saxbys Café.

In the first two months of operation, the café has become a popular gathering spot in the renovated and expanded Knott Academic Center. Knill, who is earning nine credits as SCEO as well as three credits for a leadership course, will complete her stint as SCEO in December and graduate in May 2023 with valuable experience leading a business. Interviews for the next SCEO are underway.

Working as a sports information intern for Mount athletics in her junior year, Colby Davis, a communication major, discovered that she enjoyed working in social media. This year she is continuing the internship and is one of approximately 30 students who are gaining experience in broadcasting home athletic events through

ESPN channels and platforms. She anticipates that this experience will be beneficial as she applies for jobs in the coming months.

ESPN BROADCASTING STUDIO

The ESPN Broadcasting studio came about as the result of the Mount’s transition from the Northeast Conference to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). The MAAC has a partnership with ESPN, where many member schools broadcast home athletic events through ESPN channels and platforms. The Mount previously streamed games, but the switch to ESPN broadcasting required updated equipment and technology. High-speed, highbandwidth cables were run from the ARCC to the new, state-ofthe-art broadcasting studio in Lower McGowan.

Best of all, the broadcasting is being done entirely by students. While the Mount once had basic broadcasting for students in the form of a news channel, it’s been years since it’s been available. The opening of the ESPN studio provides a hands-on, highquality learning experience, with students overseeing “the entire range—from running cameras, to creating graphics, to real-time production, to directing and even some on-air positions,” notes Sheldon Shealer, C'90, lecturer in communication and director of the ESPN studio program. The studio is overseen by the Department of Communication and David Haag, coordinator of live productions for athletics.

Students have the chance to work in the ESPN studio as volunteers, as interns earning three credits, or as part of a oneto-two credit communication practicum. Anyone can participate, regardless of the classes they’re taking or their major. In fact, Haag observed that at a smaller university like the Mount, students can begin broadcasting from their first year, whereas bigger schools typically restrict it to certain majors or class years.

Pratibha Kumar, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the

"Being able to say I am creating content that is broadcasted on ESPN is an amazing accomplishment."

Colby Davis, C'23

Department of Communication, is especially excited about the possibilities the ESPN studio opens up for Mount students. She’s been wanting to offer broadcasting through the department for years, she relays, and was happy to learn that “it just came about serendipitously through the switch to the MAAC.”

Through this real-world, experiential learning platform, students can not only hone an interest or passion, but potentially bypass entry level jobs or training, by already having experience with high-quality broadcasting. Kumar even notes that students who work in the studio during the early months and years will have a background not only in broadcasting, but also in starting a studio and building it from the ground up.

With the ESPN Broadcasting studio on campus, a new generation of Mounties will be equipped to explore the intersection of their talents and passions.

“There are many aspects of broadcasting; some you don’t even realize until you’re thrown in the mix. For me, this is a resume boost,” Davis says. “Before we were on ESPN, this internship was important to get started in sports communication. However, being able to say I am creating content that is broadcasted on ESPN is an amazing accomplishment.”

SAXBYS CAFÉ

Another major new opportunity for students opened, in the form of Saxbys Café. Saxbys made its Mount debut this August, as students returned to campus from their summer break, with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony on the second day of the fall semester.

Saxbys started in Philadelphia but has since spread across the Mid-Atlantic region and has locations on several college campuses. As part of their Experiential Learning Platform (E.L.P.), each café is staffed entirely by students, and managed

by a Student CEO, overseen by a business professor. Like the ESPN Broadcasting studio, Saxbys provides Mount students the opportunity to gain real work experience and apply the material they’ve learned in their classes in a practical way.

SCEO Knill is mentored by Christina Green, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Bolte School of Business. The Mount’s team leads include Chayla Thomas, C’23, and Catherine Bentz, C’23. Reflecting on their first several weeks as participants in the E.L.P., the three young women had plenty to say about the benefits. Knill emphasized the value of the management training she has received, regardless of one’s major or career plans. “No matter what you want to get into in your career, this internship will help in so many ways. I have learned things specifically related to running a business, but also leadership skills that can help you whether you’re running your own business or not,” she shared. Thomas, also a business major, noted that working at Saxbys is a great way to get involved on campus both academically and socially, as it allows students “to meet people they may have never met before, as well as provide them with the opportunity to genuinely experience the position they are presently working on for their degree.”

Bentz, another business major with a concentration in marketing, also mentioned how enjoyable it is to interact with students and faculty daily. Additionally, she’s looking forward to being able to put the skills she’s learning on her resume, and in practice in her future career. “Working at Saxbys is an awesome opportunity to learn about businesses and how they are run,” she said, relating that she’s already had the chance to hone skills related to “supply chain, talent acquisition, and training and development.” To echo Knill, these are worthwhile skills, even for a science or liberal arts major.

"No matter what you want to get into in your career, this internship will help in so many ways. I have learned things specifically related to running a business, but also leadership skills that can help you whether you’re running your own business or not."

Chloe Knill, C'23

Makers House

Create in Good Company

By Nicole Patterson

“I WANTED TO MAKE A SPACE FOR CREATIVE COMMUNITY, a place for coming together, learning and teaching one another,” says Associate Professor of Art Nick Hutchings, MFA.

After a decade in the making—the idea has come to fruition.

The Makers House is a new gathering place on campus where students, faculty, staff and administrators can make, teach and create within a community. Located behind Archbishop Borders Hall and inside the Art Annex, the Makers House is operated by student managers who oversee daily open labs and host weekly workshops.

In the first month, the Makers House welcomed hundreds of students who participated in workshops including bookbinding, hand-made pottery, knitting, crocheting, beading, jewelry making, embroidery and painting. Workshops are led by a student, professor or other maker and are available to members of the Mount community, regardless of experience level. Participants can learn a new skill and create in good company.

Students can also utilize four open labs: ceramics, craft, shop and fabrication. Ceramics lab involves hand forming clay and will eventually expand to throwing on the wheel. Craft lab involves jewelry making, knitting, crocheting, sewing and embroidery. Shop lab is woodworking and sculpture. Fab lab comprises digital fabrication, 3D printing, laser-cutting and CNC routing.

“The main thing that attracted me to the Makers House was my need for creativity,” says Taylar Terry, a junior studying fine arts and creative writing, who attended a ceramics workshop. The event was so popular that stools, chairs and tables had to be borrowed from other campus locations to accommodate the crowd. “There were so many people that I ended up helping by handing out clay. It was amazing to watch how many students and staff came out to create art together and quite heartwarming to see a community in which we can all come together like this,” she says.

A distinguishing feature of the Makers House is that students and other attendees do not have to pay for materials or lessons; they can simply come and create. Deans graciously

Students and staff making ceramic bowls.

Student pinching a bowl.

Jasmine Mouring, C'25, showcasing workshops in the space.

More than 65 students attended a Thursday workshop.

Student carving an edge on a bowl.

Associate Professor of Art Nick Hutchings, MFA, wearing a Makers House T-shirt made in the studio.

supported the space with $2,500 to purchase supplies and equipment for the Makers House.

Students are looking for grants to sustain costs as they continue to see an increase in interest and participation. “We are building it in faith. The funds will come,” Hutchings says. This semester he introduced a Maker Lab Practicum where 15 students work to manage the space and lead workshops. The team is an essential part of how the Makers House functions. The “Homies,” as they call one another, build, clean, design, plan and execute workshops and monitor open lab hours.

Craft manager Emma Edwards, a junior studying art education and music, has seen the Makers House’s impact. She led the first Knit Night workshop and taught students the handicraft. A kit of knitters sat inside the Makers House with pairs of long needles forming loops using colorful skeins of wool and acrylic yarn. Nearby, she taught a cache of crocheters beginner hand positions and how to hook simple chain stitches with a single needle. “I was excited to see the influence we had on so many people outside of the art department. I saw the results of this in my own roommates, all STEM majors, who have a newfound love for crocheting,” she jokes.

Carly Beres, C'24, one of those STEM roommates, says the space helps her relax and recenter herself. “I had a lot of fun talking to new people. These activities are very relaxing and soothing to me because it helps redirect your energy into something other than schoolwork and other responsibilities,” she shares. Beres is a health sciences and nursing dual degree major. She now serves as the garden manager and is in the initial planning stages of creating a community garden—another endeavor for the Makers House. “It’s very exciting, and it is going to be nice to add some more beauty and life to our space,” she adds.

In addition to a community garden, Hutchings says a mural will eventually showcase the Makers House. Students are learning to lead from their strengths and creating a culture of collaboration. Whether tackling ideas, completing administrative tasks or physically constructing furniture and shelving, students are inspired to make and help one another. New workshops on how to make zines and fun opportunities like flower arranging and woodworking are popping up on a regular basis.

“The Makers House will grow through word of mouth and find interesting ways to engage the community,” says Trevor Kern, C’22, who earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts with a concentration in art and is now pursuing an MBA. This summer he completed the Saxbys mural for the student-run café in the newly renovated and expanded Knott Academic Center. Now he

works as the graduate assistant for the Department of Visual and Performing Arts; he brings a wealth of knowledge to the Makers House with a well-rounded understanding of 3D printers and CAD software as well as an understanding of basic design.

Jasmine Mouring, a sophomore studying psychology and art, is a staple and major force in the space. Updating the schedule, she quietly concentrates on the kerning as she pushes white letters into a felt menu board outside the Makers House. Students inside are listening to music. “What attracts me the most to the Makers House is the inclusivity and inviting nature of the people in the space. There are plenty of friendly faces ready to greet newcomers at the workshops, and it really creates a warm atmosphere—especially in an artistic way,” she says.

During the pinch pot ceramic workshop, where students formed and molded the clay, Mouring witnessed students arrive with their friends or in small groups to enjoy the stressfree environment. “The happiness radiated off their faces,” she reflects. Students returned days later anticipating details on the bowls they had made, eager to start glazing. That glow represented what is good and right and true. Mouring says the community helps her feel less secluded, more connected and grateful to be part of something larger than herself. The Makers House, a reference to God as the builder of all things, aims to foster the spirit of creativity and community at the Mount.

On a crisp Friday afternoon on the cusp of fall, a student is sculpting clay inside the Makers House. Another is sweeping sawdust off the cement floors while two students crochet and laugh. Hutchings is with a small group of students at a T-shirt press making shirts with the Makers House logo on them. The symbol, a 3D printer extruding the name Makers House, represents the source from which all good things flow. Hutchings is hopeful students will learn and teach others what is good and right and true: they are made in God’s image, and as they create they participate in God’s creativity.

"I had a lot of fun talking to new people. These activities are very relaxing and soothing to me because it helps redirect your energy into something other than schoolwork and other responsibilities."

Carly Beres, C’24

Mount Family Photo Album

Reenergized Academic Center

By Donna Klinger

Photos by Mike Miller, Ph.D., and Isabella Laurel, MBA'22

FOR THE PAST 47 YEARS , every Mount student has spent a portion of their weekday in the 49,074 square foot Knott Academic Center, especially those in the College of Liberal Arts or the Richard J. Bolte, Sr. School of Business. Since the renovated and expanded AC opened on the first day of the 2022-23 academic year, many Mounties are spending more time in the building as they take advantage of new spaces in which to study, collaborate and just hang out with friends.

Let’s take a pictorial tour of some of the AC’s exciting new spaces, both in the 12,500 square foot addition and renovated areas, starting on the first floor.

HONORS SUITE

On the second floor, students in the Honors Program are congregating in the Honors Suite, where they study in good company and often with a dry erase marker in hand as they use several whiteboards to collaborate. Sarah Scott, Ph.D., professor of English and director of the University Honors Program, shares that she sometimes returns from class to an empty and neat suite, so she assumes that nobody has been there until she notices the writing on the whiteboards.

JOHN F. DONOVAN SEMINAR ROOM

This bright and technologically sophisticated classroom and seminar space is named in memory of the beloved Professor Emeritus of Philosophy John F. Donovan, Ph.D. Students and faculty who enjoy learning and teaching in this space are grateful to Raphael, C’92, and Charlene Della Ratta, who gave generously in support of the College of Liberal Arts spaces and the seminar room. Associate Professor of English Tom Bligh, Ph.D., teaches Modernity in Literature here at noon three days a week.

The view from Route 15.

Studying in the Honors Suite.

Robert Bream, C'75, MBA'86, in the academic commons he and his wife Susan made possible.

SAXBYS CAFÉ

Tables in the new student-run café, located near the building’s main entrance, are filled with students and faculty continuing the discussion from class or students putting together a team for trivia night or making weekend plans as they drink cold brew and munch on grilled cheese sandwiches or breakfast burritos.

BLOOMBERG FINANCE LAB

Adjacent to the

W. Bream

Commons is the

ROBERT W. BREAM ACADEMIC COMMONS

An inviting and open space on the third floor, the academic commons provides commuter and residential students with space in which to collaborate and study. The academic commons was made possible through the generosity of Robert W., C’75, MBA’86, and Susan Bream.

Cutting the ribbon at the grand opening are, left to right, Boyd Creasman, Frank Bolte, C'87, President Tim Trainor, Raphael Della Ratta, C'92, and Robert W. Bream, C'75, MBA'86.

where

terminals bring together all the data, news and analytics from Wall Street to a student’s fingertips. Updates in the Bolte School were made possible by a major

Robert

Academic

Bloomberg Finance Lab

Bloomberg

donation from the Bolte Family Foundation.

In the Robert W. Bream Academic Commons at the grand opening celebration.

Working together in Saxbys Café.

Emmit S. Burg at Saxbys Café.

Collaborating in the Bloomberg Finance Lab.

On Sacred Ground

Caring for America in Partnership with the Daughters of Charity

By Donna Klinger

IN 2023, MOUNT ST. MARY’S UNIVERSITY will open a third location when Mount St. Mary’s Seminary welcomes seminarians in the new propaedeutic stage of priestly formation to the Blessed Stanley Rother House of Formation in the C Wing of the St. Joseph House in Emmitsburg. The following year the university’s graduate School of Health Professions will open in the E Wing of the complex to students seeking physician assistant and applied behavior analysis degrees.

The location of both of these programs in Emmitsburg has been made possible through the university’s strong partnership with the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. It is fitting that the Mount’s third location will be on sacred ground as is our main campus encompassing the university, seminary and National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. St. Joseph House sits on land given to Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton on which to start the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, the first community for religious women founded in the United States, and begin St. Joseph’s Academy and Free School, one year after the Rev. John DuBois established Mount St. Mary’s two miles away in 1808. Built in 1964-65 with a central courtyard and four spokes, St. Joseph House remains home to the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, including the Basilica of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.

SCHOOL OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS

The growing graduate applied behavior analysis (ABA) program and a comprehensive two-year graduate physician assistant (PA) program will be the foundation of the School of Health Professions, expected to open in the fall of 2024.

The Daughters of Charity will be active partners in the school, particularly in the Care for America component of the PA program. Care for America will teach students how to care for underserved patients by incorporating a focus on service, advocacy and volunteerism in the curriculum. This element of the program dovetails with the missions of the Mount and the Daughters by seeking to graduate healthcare providers who possess the desire to provide equitable and compassionate care and the ability to thrive in difficult work environments.

“In committing our energy in common, we can do far more,” says Sister Teresa George, provincial treasurer of the Daughters of Charity and a member of the Mount St. Mary’s University Board of Trustees. “We have buildings, we have space and we have some resources. The Mount has resources and the ability to develop the academic side of this. Let’s see what we can do together.”

The Daughters have a legacy and experience in healthcare as well as sisters who can serve as mentors and as support for PA students, says George, who has worked as a healthcare administrator. The religious order also plans to provide scholarships for students who wouldn’t be able to afford this type of education.

Another unique element of the PA program is the Center for Clinician Well-Being, which will teach students to mitigate burnout using wellness tools, meditation techniques and coping strategies.

“Our graduates will be especially desirable to employers because they will be resilient, adaptable and mindful providers who are able to thrive in challenging environments,” says Physician Assistant Program Director Mary (Lueben) Jackson, MMS, PA-C, CAQ-EM, C'05. Mount graduates also will be able to share these wellness tools with their patients.

The PA program will meet a critical need for healthcare providers in Maryland. Combining average annual growth and replacement needs, the state is projected to have 340 annual PA job openings. The current programs will graduate 166 students per year, leaving an unmet need of 174 vacancies.

After receiving approval for the PA program from the Maryland Higher Education Commission, the Mount this summer began

the process of application for provisional accreditation through the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant. Jackson hopes to seat annual cohorts of 40 students starting in January 2025.

The ABA program also is meeting a critical need in Maryland and has already expanded since its establishment last fall, aligning the growing demand for skilled professionals in psychology, education and the health professions. ABA is a discipline concerned with the application of behavioral science in real-world settings such as clinics, schools and industry with the aim of improving socially important issues such as behavior problems and learning.

The program recently received a $200,000 grant from the Maryland Department of Commerce, matched by private donations, to fund the endowed chair of the ABA program. With the goal of expanding compassionate care to underserved local individuals with intellectual, developmental, and behavioral disabilities and disorders, ABA Chair Griffin Rooker, Ph.D., will lead the development of an applied behavior analysis clinic to serve Northern Frederick County. Rooker will also develop an undergraduate program to train registered behavior technicians, who administer behavior therapy.

BLESSED STANLEY ROTHER HOUSE OF FORMATION

Mount St. Mary’s Seminary is excited to provide a home for the new stage of priestly formation called the propaedeutic stage. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops published the 6th edition of the Program of Priestly Formation (PPF6). The PPF serves as a guide for seminaries and priestly vocations programs in forming men for the ministerial priesthood. The new national guidelines for priestly formation are to be observed in all seminaries, effective August 4, 2023. These guidelines call for an initial year of formation, introducing seminarians to the spiritual life of a priest and providing a solid foundation in human formation.

Knowing that individual dioceses may struggle to organize such a program in their own diocese and confident in the formation expertise of the seminary, the Mount has entered into a special relationship with the Daughters of Charity at their St. Joseph House complex. The C Wing of St. Joseph House will undergo major renovations, beginning this month, in order to serve as the home for seminarians in the propaedeutic stage of priestly formation.

The House of Formation is dedicated to Blessed Stanley Rother, S’63, Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. Blessed Stanley is the first American-born martyr.

The men of the Rother House will be a community of discerners under the guidance of the Rev. Daniel Hanley, who has been named the priest formator for the propaedeutic stage. Hanley, from the Diocese of Arlington, is the associate director of the Secretariat of the Committee for Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He is also a national expert in PPF6.

During their time at Rother House, the men will pray together, work together and grow together as brothers, as they begin their journey of priestly formation.

“This grant will help the university to continue its support of Dr. Rooker's important research and the university's establishment of an operational ABA behavior health clinic to serve the rural communities of Northern Frederick County," says President Timothy E. Trainor, Ph.D.

Renovations to the E Wing are expected to begin in 2023. In addition to the applied behavior analysis clinic, the facility will include cutting-edge technology in classrooms and labs, spaces that encourage collaboration and a serenity garden.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SCHOOL OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS

Watch a recent interactive panel discussion on the changes and innovations in healthcare at msmary.edu/healthcarepanel. Panelists included Mary Jackson, C'05, Sister Teresa George, Gracelyn McDermott, C'93, and Rich Miller, C'74.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BLESSED STANLEY ROTHER HOUSE OF FORMATION

With the propaedeutic stage set to begin in August 2023, Mount St. Mary’s Seminary is conducting the Blessed Stanley Rother House of Formation Campaign to fund required renovations, program support and an endowment that will ensure long-term sustainability. The success of the campaign will ensure the Mount continues as a national leader in forming tomorrow’s clergy. For more information, please visit: msmary.edu/rotherhouse You may also contact Diane L. Favret, director of seminary development & alumni engagement, at 301.447.5902 or d.l.favret@msmary.edu

All Together, All Together

The Legacy of St. Joseph College

By Katherine Stohlman Pieters, C’19

IN OUR SUMMER 2022 ISSUE, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Mount St. Mary’s admitting women as fulltime residential students. Since 1972, the Mount has graduated thousands of women, and those women have gone on to achieve extraordinary things.

The daughters of the Mount stand on the shoulders of the women of St. Joseph College, the sister school to the Mount. In the same year St. Joe’s made the disheartening announcement that it would be closing, the Mount opened its doors to women, first as full-time commuter students and then as residential students in 1972.

To continue celebrating 50 years of coeducation, and in honor of these foremothers of Mount women, 1,700 of whom are living, we caught up with some of these alumnae to hear more about their college experiences.

THE HISTORY OF ST. JOSEPH COLLEGE

St. Joseph College grew out of St. Joseph’s Academy, the school for girls founded in Emmitsburg by Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in 1809. The school was opened not long after Rev. John DuBois founded Mount St. Mary’s, and the founders were colleagues. St. Joseph, much like Mount St. Mary’s, served as a boarding school and preparatory school in its initial decades,

and began offering four-year college degrees to women in 1902. St. Joe’s was run by the Emmitsburg Daughters of Charity until it closed in 1973, and the former campus is located on what is now the Seton Shrine and the Emmitsburg FEMA complex.

Though the college has been closed for nearly 50 years now, it remains a beloved part of the lives of its alumnae. The St. Joseph College Alumnae Association remains extremely active, with regular meetings, class reunions, fundraising and charity efforts in Emmitsburg, and even an annual alumnae magazine.

The alumnae sill recall the words of their alma mater, written and arranged by Dorothy Graham of the class of 1926. ”All Together, All Together” beautifully describes the alumnae experience:

All together, all together still, still we meet. Hearts and voices light as ever, Alma Mater thus we greet.

Hail to St. Joseph School of all our faith and light. Hail to our college, school and home, forever right.

Friendship's links may ne'er be broken, bright still is its chain. Tho' the parting words be spoken, through the years we'll meet again.

Hail to St. Joseph School of all our faith and light. Hail to our college, school and home, forever right.

ACADEMICS AT ST. JOE’S

Alumnae unanimously praise the quality education they received at St. Joseph College. In the words of Ellen Krieger Smelas, C’63, “academics were the heartbeat of campus life.” A variety of majors were offered, with nursing being the most popular and a highly regarded program. Other popular majors included French, English, chemistry, education, social welfare (akin to today’s human services) and even secretarial services and home economics.

Students took at least six classes per semester, and countless hours were spent in the library studying, keeping up with an 18+ credit course load. In addition to the coursework for their major, the women had required classes, akin to the Mount's core curriculum, in subjects like theology, philosophy, writing composition, gym, math and history. Off-campus learning opportunities were plentiful, as well. Nursing majors spent their junior year at Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C., and education majors student-taught for a semester in the Baltimore school system. Women studying French were given the opportunity to spend a year studying abroad in Quebec. And of course, starting in 1970, students of St. Joseph College could enroll in classes at Mount St. Mary’s, with new options such as economics or political science. A poster at the time declared "Going steady for 160 years, finally engaged." “There was a shuttle available to drive us to the Mount for classes. We were also permitted to use the Mount library and would frequent the student center,” recalls Trudie Mangiaracina Glazewski, a former St. Joe’s student who transferred to the Mount in 1972 and graduated in 1974. Karen Mattscheck, C’72, remembers how strange it was at first to be one of only a few women in a classroom, but how enjoyable those classes often were. “Some of the professors didn’t like our being there, but the guys enjoyed having women there.”

All the alumnae agreed that it was ultimately the faculty who made the academics at St. Joseph so impactful. “Most of the professors were excellent,” says Sr. Anne Higgins, C’70, a member of the Daughters of Charity and also professor in the Department of English at Mount St. Mary’s. The professors and teachers were a mix of sisters, priests, brothers and laypeople. The alumnae recalled their high qualifications, rigorous curricula, and most of all, their dedication to the students.

CAMPUS LIFE IN THE 1960S AND 1970S

“We were not allowed to wear pants or slacks, even in the dorms,” shares Mary Anne Kelly, C’68. The rule against pants— at least until 1969—was mentioned by nearly all the women. Campus life was certainly different then; drinking wasn’t permitted until a 1967 survey of parents revealed that they were okay with their daughters drinking once they were legally old enough. Only double dates were allowed, there were strict hours for when men could be in the dorms, and students signed out when they left campus. Lines of girls waited to use the phone stationed at the end of each dorm floor.

The social life and rural setting of St. Joe’s was beloved by students. “Life on campus was peaceful,” recalls Maureen Smith, C’65. “The ‘valley’ and Tom’s Creek were gorgeous in the snow as well as the spring. We were surrounded by historic buildings

Sports announcer Adam Pohl, at right, interviews basketball alumni Tony Hayden, C'99, at left, and Koki Adasi, C'04, for the

and holy ground...it was simply grand.” Amidst the “bucolic,” to quote Smelas, setting, lifelong friendships sprung forth.

St. Joseph College was never large—at most, it had about 500 students—but this allowed the women to form a tight-knit community that continues today. In their very first semester, “we began to form life-long friendships. To this day, we remember folks by which dorm they were in during freshman year,” shares Kelly. The time between classes was spent with friends, playing football, skating on Tom’s Creek, walking into Emmitsburg for a sandwich or Coke, attending “mixers” and parties at the Mount, or just chatting in the dormitories.

Campus traditions bound the women together, as well. “As a freshman, one got to know seniors as they conducted our orientation the first week on campus. Each freshman had a junior ‘Big Sister’,” to help her get acquainted with campus life, explains Claire Maurer, C’64. Athletics were integral to campus life, much as they are now at the Mount, and organizations like the Children of Mary, the glee club, a literary magazine produced with the Mount, and the club for the yearbook, Allegra, were big. Annual traditions included a Charity Fair for the local community, picnics at Tom’s Creek at the start of the academic year, and a weekend for parents to visit.

“A great ‘sisterhood’ developed and, as you realize from our still vibrant SJC Alumnae Association, persists,” notes Smith.

THE LEGACY OF ST. JOSEPH COLLEGE

At the heart of the alumnae association is not only the desire to keep in touch with old friends, but also the goal to preserve the memory and continue the legacy of this beloved college. “When the letter went out about the closure in 1971, we were all devastated,” recalls Higgins—a sentiment echoed by every woman interviewed.

In some ways St. Joseph College lives on through Mount St. Mary’s. “They’ve been together all their lives,” explains Mattscheck. “The origins, traditions, social lives and romantic lives were shared by the two.” Many marriages were begun at the mixers and events between the two schools, and many of the daughters and granddaughters of St. Joe’s alumnae have become Mount alumni.

The deep connection between the two is recognized by the Mount. Former president George Huston invited St. Joseph alumnae to join the Mount’s Board of Trustees, and former President Tom Powell hosted an annual tea for the alumnae, along with his wife Irene. The university manages the St. Joseph Alumnae Association, and since 2015, it has funded a scholarship for Mount students.

Ultimately, the two colleges were founded in the same town, in the same era, and on the same principles. St. Joseph College graduates have certainly gone on to lead lives of significance, and they tend to credit much of this to the education they received in Emmitsburg. As Sr. Higgins observes, “our foundress St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s legacy was education, and the Mount has always valued her legacy.”

Donor Impact Report

Hard Hat Report

Completed Projects

Knott Academic Center

Completed August 2022

Knott Academic Center (AC) is the primary academic facility and home to the Richard J. Bolte, Sr. School of Business and the College of Liberal Arts. It had not undergone a major renovation since opening in 1975. The renovation and expansion of the AC was funded primarily by generous gifts from the Bolte Family Foundation and Raphael Della Ratta, C’92, and a state grant. Work completed in August 2022 includes technologically advanced collaborative spaces, additional classrooms, faculty offices and a Bloomberg Laboratory.

ROBERT W. BREAM ACADEMIC COMMONS

Robert W. Bream, C’75, MBA’86, is a grateful alumnus. When other individuals in the young man’s life didn’t recognize or nurture his potential, the Mount offered him the encouragement and opportunity necessary to change his life. The Robert W. Bream Academic Commons allows all commuter and residential students the space to collaborate and achieve their goals.

JOHN F. DONOVAN SEMINAR ROOM

Thanks to the generous capstone gift from Raphael Della Ratta, C’92, a member of our board of trustees, the first-floor presentation space is named after beloved philosophy Professor Emeritus John F. Donovan, Ph.D.

Express Studio

Completed Summer 2022

The Express Studio offers a simplified video recording setup that can be used by faculty and students without any previous video production experience by pushing a single button to begin recording. One Express Studio is located in Phillips Library and another at the Frederick campus. Thanks to the work of the Center for Instructional Design and Delivery, the integration of media within delivery modalities provides faculty with an additional resource to meet the needs of all learners and offers students another tool to demonstrate their knowledge.

Super Cottage

Completed Fall 2021

The two-story, 29-bed residential double cottage is home to juniors and seniors. Completed in the fall of 2021, it has single and double rooms with two shared bathrooms and a shared eat-in kitchen and private living room. Amenities include onsite parking and laundry, air conditioning, ceiling fans, cable TV, internet access, a small porch with Adirondack chairs and secured door access.

Rooney Tennis Courts

Completed Spring 2022

Six new tennis courts represent the first phase of the Rooney Athletic Performance Center project. The multi-phase project is made possible by a $6 million transformational gift that John J. Rooney, C’60, and Patrick J. Rooney, C’60, and their spouses JoAnn and Sandy, respectively, made to promote growth and enhanced performances for the Mount’s NCAA Division I athletic program, intramural sport and recreational opportunities for students.

ESPN Broadcasting Studio

Completed September 2022

The ESPN Broadcasting studio is located in Lower McGowan. As part of membership in the MAAC, our students are benefitting from learning opportunities through the partnership with ESPN’s student-run, high-end television production studio.

Membership in the MAAC is also a leap forward for our athletic program, offering a bigger audience and enhanced competition for our studentathletes and exposure to colleges performing at an excellent academic and athletic level. The ESPN studio broadcast its first game on October 19, a women's soccer match against Rider University.

Welcome Center

Completed Fall 2020

Our beautiful 1,400 acre campus is gorgeous in every season. Located on Echo Field, the Welcome Center offers expanded space to greet more students and their families while they experience enhanced admissions tours, daily discussions and presentations at the Mount.

Our Blessed Mother Statue Restoration

Completed July 2022

Our Lady has returned to Mary’s Mountain! The restored Blessed Virgin Mary statue returned to her perch atop the Pangborn Campanile at the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in late July. The landmark statue had been undergoing considerable structural refurbishment in Virginia for the last year due to the extent of damage to her interior structural steel supports and multiple micro surface fractures.

Fueling Station

Completed Fall 2021

The Fueling Station, located in the ARCC, provides free supplemental nutrition for student-athletes when they need it most. Students can choose from a variety of healthy, dietitian-approved snacks, bars, fresh protein smoothies and hydration beverages to stay at peak performance. Whether they need a boost on the way to practice or they need to recover after a tough training session, student-athletes can be mindful about their nutritional wellbeing.

Seminary Enhancements

Completed May 2022

The entire seminary community remains very grateful to the donors who supported the FORWARD Campaign, allowing for upgrades and repairs to the historic home. This year windows were replaced, the front porch was repaired and repainted and St. Bernard’s Chapel has new lighting and an upgraded audio visual system. Improvements were made to the roof, and new boilers and air units were installed in Keating Hall, providing more efficient heating and air conditioning. NEXT: UPCOMING PROJECTS

Hard Hat Report | Upcoming Projects

Coad Science Building

Continued growth, student interest and an increased demand for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs has informed the 21,000 square-foot addition to the Coad Science Building.

The scope of work includes three phases. The first phase is the addition of neuroscience, computational and environmental research labs as well as collaborative learning spaces. The second phase will outfit the new addition with more science labs, classrooms and experiential research spaces. The third phase will renovate the existing space in the Coad Science Building.

Rooney Athletic Performance Center

As the Mount attracts and retains more student-athletes, the need for improved sports medicine and athletic training capabilities has become a top priority in perfecting the athletic, educational and cocurricular experience of current and future students. Located within the PNC Sports Complex, the Rooney Athletic Performance Center will be part of a project that includes a new campus recreation space, renovated Dillon Field House, expanded sports medicine area and new Legends Concourse at the entrance to the ARCC.

This multi-phase project is made possible by a $6 million transformational gift from John J. Rooney, C’60, and Patrick J. Rooney, C’60, and their spouses JoAnn and Sandy.

The Way

The National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes is fundraising to preserve the holy grounds known as “The Way” to Mother Mary’s grotto on the hill. The stone path behind Mount St. Mary’s Seminary that leads to the National Shrine Grotto has a special history.

The path has been a pilgrimage of reflection and prayer for many, including the first native-born American to be canonized a saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton, who prayed and celebrated Mass with Rev. John DuBois, founder of Mount St. Mary’s College and Seminary. Much later the first U.S.-born martyr, Blessed Stanley Rother, S’63, along with hundreds of seminarians, assisted in the care of the National Shrine Grotto and its grounds after it became a national shrine and walked the way. Efforts to uphold the history and unique intercessory power of prayer on these holy grounds are underway.

Blessed Stanley Rother House of Formation

With the new propaedeutic stage of formation to begin August 2023, the seminary is excited to offer a home for the propaedeutic stage. The program will be housed in a to-berenovated wing of the St. Joseph House of the Daughters of Charity and dedicated to seminary graduate Blessed Stanley Rother, the first American-born martyr.

The seminary is conducting the Blessed Stanley Rother House of Formation Campaign to fund this program. The three-year campaign with a goal of $5 million will provide funds for renovations, program support and an endowment, to ensure long-term sustainability. Demolition and modifications are scheduled to begin December 2022. It is imperative to raise $2 million as soon as possible for the costs of renovations to the chapel, classrooms, 35 seminarian rooms, bathrooms, library, office space, etc.

The success of the campaign will ensure the Mount continues as a national leader in forming tomorrow’s clergy. We prayerfully encourage your support in assisting us with this program as we continue forming better seminarians and better priests. For more information, please visit: msmary.edu/rotherhouse.

School of Health Professions

The School of Health Professions will offer a comprehensive two-year graduate physician assistant (PA) program as well as the thriving graduate applied behavior analysis program. The PA program, led by Physician Assistant Program Director Mary (Lueban) Jackson, MMS, PA-C, CAQ-EM, C'05, will offer a curriculum with two unique elements of the School of Health Professions: the Center for Clinician Well-Being and Care for America.

The Center for Clinician Well-Being will teach students to combat burnout using wellness tools and coping strategies. In partnership with the Daughters of Charity, Care for America will teach students how to care for underserved patients by incorporating a focus on awareness, service, advocacy and volunteerism.

Renovations for the state-of-the art facility, to be located at the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, two miles from the Mount’s Emmitsburg campus, are anticipated to begin in 2023.

How will you fuel excellence?

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS

Communication and Business

"Thanks to the liberal arts educational environment and practicum requirements, I’ve loved my years at the Mount and am excited for the future opportunities my education brings me."

YOU MAKE IT POSSIBLE for Mount students to have life-changing experiences and seize opportunities that might otherwise remain out of reach.

You provide merit awards for students

You help recruit top-notch faculty

You integrate a solid grounding in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition

SCHOOL

OF NATURAL SCIENCE & MATHEMATICS Computer Science, Data Science and English

"To think of technology as something that’s going to be the doom of humanity does not serve technology any justice. It’s only going to make people’s lives better, from my view."

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

Elementary Education with Dual Certification in Special Education and Spanish

"I am forever thankful and blessed to enhance my academic and spiritual growth here at the Mount, which will last a lifetime. I am overjoyed to see the plan that God has for my life."

"My professors are very willing to answer all questions and care very deeply about each and every student’s intellectual development." ORELLI, C’24

As a member of our strong philanthropic community, help us elevate the value of a Mount education. These students know firsthand the life-changing difference your gift makes; as a result they’re on the path to living significantly. Visit msmary.edu/annualfund to fuel excellence at the Mount .

Give today to fuel the future for Mount students.

NICHOLAS SANTORELLI, C’24

RICHARD J. BOLTE, SR. SCHOOL OF BUSINESS Economics and Math

TAYLA STEWART, C’23

COLLIN NJI, C’23

NATALIE TORTA, C’23

Alumni News

NAA President’s Letter

GREETINGS FELLOW MOUNTIES,

I trust you and your family are well. The Mount is breathtakingly beautiful in every season; hope is in the air.

It was wonderful to see some of you at Mountoberfest in October. We had fun as we shared in friendship and fellowship with one another—eating schnitzel and sauerkraut and enjoying local beer. I had the pleasure of talking to alumni from the Class of 1960, and all the way to the Class of 2022. I was especially impressed with alumni from the Class of 1998. Not only did they come to the Mount to celebrate Mountoberfest, but they were also there to start planning for their 25th reunion in June of 2023. I had the pleasure of sitting in on their planning meeting at the Alumni House, and I was pumped up by their desire to ensure that as many of their classmates attend their 25th reunion at possible. I’m always encouraged by how these moments together reinvigorate my spirit and strengthen my resolve to inspire and lead.

My new favorite saying is “the Mount is the biggest small university in the country.” Why do I say this? Well, here’s an example. I was on vacation in Barcelona, Spain, and I was attending Mass at a Catholic church in the city. I’m waiting for Mass to begin, and in walks Brian Smith, C'70, (former member of the Mount Board of Trustees) and his wife Sue, SJC'71. This happens more often than you may think, and I’m sure you have experienced this as well. We are everywhere!

The next National Alumni Association election season is coming up soon, so I ask you to nominate yourself or someone you know who will make an excellent National Alumni Association (NAA) Council member. We are accepting nominations through the end of the year. Learn more about the NAA and nominate online at msmary.edu/NAA. If you are looking for ways to volunteer your time, we can use help with all of our chapters. Please contact the Office of Alumni Engagement if you want to get involved with your local chapter. It’s important to foster our alumni community network and spread our Mount pride—but we need your help.

I am pleased to invite you to return to the Mount to celebrate Winter Homecoming on January 28, 2023. If it has been a while since you returned to your mountain home, you’ll notice

many exciting changes happening across campus. With men’s and women’s basketball games, a social and the Athletic Hall of Fame inductions, there will be a lot to keep you and your family entertained. Join us as we recognize the newest members of the Athletic Hall of Fame and cheer on the men’s and women’s basketball teams as they take on Saint Peter’s and Niagara Universities, respectively.

While you’re marking your calendars, please make sure to save the date for June 2-4 for Reunion 2023! While we celebrate those classes ending in 3 and 8, I promise you, no matter your year, you can share in the fun of the weekend. Thank you to those of you who have written, called and otherwise positively influenced your classmates and friends to mark it on their calendars. Registration will be available after Winter Homecoming.

In closing, we are at such an exciting time at the Mount. With the completion of the expanded and renovated Knott Academic Center, the new Frederick Health Urgent Care and student health center, and the return of the Blessed Mother back to her mountain home, it’s a great time to be a Mountie. We have many ways to express our Mount pride and engage with one another and students to shape the future of the Mount.

In this exciting season of hope, may we be mindful that hope must be nurtured. Please keep the Mount in your heart and in your prayers. Consider joining me in making a gift to the Mount and becoming part of the Cornerstone Society. You can learn more at msmary.edu/cornerstone. I encourage you to continue the legacy of generous Mounties who have given their time, talent and treasure to shape our beloved Mount.

Spes Nostra.

SUSAN JANOWIAK, C’81 National Alumni Association President

Great Friends & Great Beer

SIGHTS

Alumni and friends celebrated Mountoberfest layered in Mount gear and full of smiles. Children and dogs sniffed out good company and found adventures at the bounce house and face painting stand.

SOUNDS

Mounties enjoyed live entertainment by the band Two of the Four while catching up over brews and competing in cornhole tournaments. Sounds of the women’s rugby and soccer games could be heard in the distance.

TASTES

Antietam Brewery, Smoketown Brewing Station and Monocacy Brewing Company provided a variety of beer.

Emmit’s Street Eats served pork schnitzel, fried Brussels sprouts, sauerkraut with caraway and bacon, grilled bratwurst and a satisfying black forest trifle dessert made with rich chocolate, sweet cherry filling and light whipped cream.

See more photos from the event at: msmary.edu/mountoberfestalbum

Class Notes

Find out what your fellow alumni are doing!

Stories are listed by class year, in ascending order to most recent and alphabetically by last name.

Accomplishments

CLASS OF 1961

Members of the Class of 1961 held their annual gathering in Lewes, Delaware, on October 9, 2021.

JOSEPH AMBERG, C’73

Joseph Amberg, C’73, published Pharo’s Ghosts, a fictional account of murder, mayhem and romance in the Caribbean. The book is written under Amberg’s pen name, Joe McCallion.

CHARLES NEWTON WEAVER JR. C’75

Charles Newton Weaver Jr., C’75, was elected president of the Ocean City Museum Society. He was also re-elected president of the Worcester County Historical Society.

PAMELA (WALSH) LYNCH, CPA, C’91

Pamela (Walsh) Lynch, CPA, C’91, was promoted to controller/ chief financial officer of SAMBA Federal Employee Benefit Association in Rockville, Maryland. She has worked for the company for 27 years.

KEVIN PARKER, C’94

Kevin Parker, C’94, is the head coach of men’s lacrosse at Tennessee Wesleyan University. He was named the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Coach of the Year for 2022 after finishing fifth in the country, with a 13-4 season, and earning a bid to the NAIA national tournament.

MOUNT ALUMNI OUT WEST

Julie (Hatch) Maxfield, C’99, Sarah (Codori) Goulet, C’99, Jessica Loehr, C’99, Kathleen (Kennedy) Smart, C’00, hiking in Grand Teton National Park.

BRETT MOORE, CFP, C'11

Brett Moore, CFP, C'11, has been named an Advisor Today 2022 4 Under 40 awardee by the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. In addition, he was named best financial advisor in Newnan-Coweta (GA) Magazine

Reader's Choice Best of Coweta 2022.

Left to right: Norm Richards, Ron Cooney, Joe Healy, Pete Moore, Jerry O’Brien, Jack Walsh, Dick Christopher, John Gill and Tom Courtney

Julie (Hatch) Maxfield, C’99, Sarah (Codori) Goulet, C’99, Jessica Loehr, C’99, Kathleen (Kennedy) Smart, C’00

Pharo's Ghosts by Joseph Amberg, C'73

Brett Moore, CFP, C'11

JASTIN MOSTOWTT, C’12

Jastin Mostowtt, C’12, was promoted to senior vice president at Bank of the West. Julia (Todd) Mostowtt, C’13, and Jastin reside in Phoenix, Arizona, with their daughter.

REV. MATTHEW G. SMITH, C’16, S’22

Rev. Matthew G. Smith, C’16, S’22, was ordained June 4, 2022, in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, by Bishop Ronald W. Gainer. Smith’s Mass of Thanksgiving was celebrated Pentecost Sunday on June 5 in his home parish of St. Patrick’s in York, Pennsylvania.

Births

MELISSA (ISMEY) ZIMMERMANN, C'02, AND BRIAN ZIMMERMANN welcomed son Ethan Grant Zimmermann on March 25, 2022.

DR. LORY RICHTER, DDS, C'03, AND HER HUSBAND JAMES MCCRUDEN welcomed their baby boy, Rory James Richter McCruden on August 3, 2022.

KATIE STAAB, PH.D., C'03, AND JOE PACIELLA, C'03, MBA'11, welcomed their first child, Jude Joseph Paciella on June 8, 2022. The couple was married by Fr. Jim Donohue, Ph.D., in August 2010 in St. Mary's Chapel.

CARLY DEEGAN DIBARTOLO, C'13, AND T.C. DIBARTOLO, C'11, welcomed son James Deegan DiBartolo, born on October 3, 2022.

KAITLIN WILLEY, C’15, MHA’17, AND ANDREW WILLEY, C’15, were married in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception on September 8, 2018, and welcomed their son, and first child, Mason.

SHANNON MONAGHAN, C’18, AND ERIK NARVESEN welcomed daughter Olivia Narvesen on June 8, 2022.

Rev. Matthew G. Smith, C’16, S’22

Photo by Jamie-Leigh Bissett, C'03

Photo by Jamie-Leigh Bissett, C'03

Engagements & Weddings

JACKIE BUZAID, C’18, AND MARQUS CHAMBERS, C’19, became engaged in May 2022 in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Tom Healy, C’13, Anthony Adams, C’16, Christopher Maldari, C’11, Alan Coulson, C’12, Kathleen Bosse, C’17, Shannon Bosse, C’17, Chris Phillips, C’15, Charles Brothman, C’14, Ali Donahue, C’15, Kelson Yearwood, C’15, John Looney, C’15, John Brosse, C’15, Mike Dwyer, C’14, Rebecca Schisler Adams, C’17, Paige Pohopin, C’16, Ashley Davidson, C’15, Nirup Pupala, C’15, Rob Samuels, C’15, Colleen Healy, C’15, Shannon Michael, C’17, Allison Baker, C’17, Kathy Philips, C’87, Kathy McGuire, C’87, Trish Spillman, C’87, Allie Albrecht, C’17, Stephanie Bosse, C’15, Emma Blake, C’19, Samantha Barbato, C’18, Rosie Barbato (bride), C’18, Joe Barbato Jr. (groom), C’15, Kathy (Dougherty) Kalvaitis, C’87, Sara Looney, C’15, Joey Barvir, C’15

ERIN (ROSIE) BOLTE, C’17, AND JOSEPH BARBATO, C’15, were married February 19, 2022, in Hainesport, New Jersey. Read about this Mount Love Story on page 42

MEGAN MOLLOY, C’00, AND JAMEY HEIN were married in Easton, Maryland, on April 9, 2022.

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Members of the Cornerstone Society are distinctive, loyal donors who provide transformational financial support that is vital to the success and enduring legacy of Mount St. Mary’s. Contribute an annual total gift of $1,000 or more to join.

MEMBER BENEFITS: for Mount students to have life-changing experiences and seize opportunities that might otherwise remain out of reach.

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LET'S TALK!

Call Charlotte Barry Powers, C’15, MBA’19, at 240-409-5389 to learn more and make a gift.

In Memoriam

JUNE 16, 2022 – NOVEMBER 9, 2022

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace, Amen. May their souls and all the souls of the faithfully departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Laurence "Larry" F. Orendorff,

MOUNT WAS MY GOAL BEFORE I ENTERED SCHOOL.”

Born and raised in Emmitsburg, Maryland, Larry Orendorff had formed a connection with Mount St. Mary’s well before graduation, and his loyalty and dedication to his school and fellow alumni remained strong up until his passing when he was serving as an elected member of the National Alumni Association (NAA) Council. His classmates and fellow NAA council members remember him for his love and unwavering dedication to his alma mater.

A graduate of Mount St. Joseph High School in Baltimore, Maryland, Larry attended the Mount and received a bachelor’s degree in education with a concentration in biology. He earned his

master’s degree in education from Towson University in 1973.

As a lifelong educator, he began his career as a biology teacher at Kenwood High School in Baltimore, Maryland, and eventually retired from Kenwood as a guidance counselor in 1998. He also coached junior varsity soccer and varsity tennis. In 2000, Larry reentered the workforce as Baltimore International College’s alumni and transfer coordinator. In his free time, he officiated local lacrosse, football and soccer games. He also served as a volunteer firefighter and a member of the Knights of Columbus.

He is survived by his loving wife, Jean Orendorff (Topper); daughters Jennifer Triaca-Puller (Joe); Tara Orendorff, and Gail Orendorff-Weiner (Barry) and numerous grandchildren.

“THE

Raymond R. Lauer, Ph.D., C’50

December 24, 1925 – December 6, 2021

RAYMOND LAUER, PH.D., C’50 , was a dedicated professor for more than 30 years and was a teacher, mentor, colleague and friend to many in the Mount community. He holds the distinction of serving as the first dean and “founding father” of the Mount’s Graduate School of Business from 1975 until 1981.

Awarded a Bachelor of Science from the Mount in 1950, a year later he completed his Master of Science at Bucknell University before earning his doctorate in economics from Pennsylvania State University in 1969 and completing post-graduate study at the University of Chicago in the 1970s. He was a member of Delta Mu Delta, Phi Kappa Phi and Pi Gamma Mu honor societies.

In 1943, while in his senior year, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He began as a medic and was later assigned to the U.S. Marine Corps, with whom he served for 31 of the 37 months he was in the military. He served in the Pacific Theater of Operations during WWII and was awarded the WWII Victory Medal, the American Theater Ribbon, the Pacific Theater Ribbon with three stars and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one star. On May 20, 1950, Lauer married the love of his life, Colleen T. Forbes. His wife preceded him in death on June 26, 2014.

Lauer was a faculty member at the Mount from 1957 until 1988. He served as professor of economics, chairman of the business and accounting department and dean of the Graduate School of Business. He also taught at Pennsylvania State University and for the military at Letterkenny Army Depot in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and the Frederick Command Center in Frederick, Maryland.

He served as vice president of the Coal Township Alumni Association and was a member of the Emmitsburg, Maryland, chapter of the Knights of Columbus, American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was a member of Our Lady of Hope Church in Coal Township.

Deceased listed in order by class year.

Raymond R. Lauer, Ph.D., C’50 December 6, 2021

John F. Barisits, C'51 May 14, 2022

Robert F. Horan Jr., C'54 October 28, 2022

Charles D. Heisler, C’56 October 8, 2022

Dr. Richard A. Naso, C’56 July 21, 2022

John Martin “Jack” Sinon, C’56 August 14, 2022

Dr. James P. Johnson, C’58 July 3, 2022

Thomas M. Leahy, C’58 April 18, 2022

George F. Karam, C’59 March 28, 2022

Kevin J. McMahon, C’59 July 2, 2022

George M. Springer, C’59 September 23, 2022

Edward J. Edelen III, C’60 December 31, 2021

Richard “Dick” F. Prinzing, C’60 August 20, 2022

John Troffo, C’60 May 14, 2022

Col. Michael F. Scanlon, C’61 March 16, 2014

Daniel Henry White, C’61 September 22, 1983

Gerald P. Curran, C’62 June 14, 2022

John C. Lauer Jr., C’63 May 13, 2022

Philip D. Topper, C’64 June 19, 2022

Edwin M. Cole, C'65 April 5, 2019

Edwin L. Folk, C’65 May 12, 2022

Laurence “Larry” F. Orendorff, C’65 August 1, 2022

Louis V. Polzella Sr., C’65 April 11, 2022

Frank J. Rafalko, C’65 July 13, 2022

Bernard J. Fink, C’68 July 29, 2022

William “Bill” E. Sanders, C’68 March 24, 2022

Paul S. Rizza, C'70 August 2, 2021

Sheldon Shealer, C’70 July 31, 2022

Joseph Boland, C'71 November 6, 2022

Samuel “Sam” P. Gutridge, C’74 September 23, 2022

Eugene “Gene” C. McKeon, C’75 May 5, 2022

Michael L. Hooton, C’76 March 24, 2022

Jean C. Wagner Walker, C’76 June 25, 2022

David M. Causa, C’77 August 29, 2022

Robert W. Golibart, C’77 June 11, 2022

Barbara Ruby Jean Meccia, C’86 December 9, 2020

James E. Rohanna, C’89 July 31, 2022

Anne E. Boyle, C’97 June 24, 2022

Jeffrey A. Koenig, C’02 June 18, 2022

Mount Love Story

Erin (Rosie) Bolte, C’17, and Joseph Barbato, C’15

Erin (Rosie) Bolte, C’17, and Joseph Barbato, C’15, met at the Mount in 2013. The couple started dating after he graduated, and while she was a senior in January 2017. Joe grew up in northern New Jersey and Erin was raised in southern New Jersey. The happy couple, meeting in the middle, now reside in Hopewell, New Jersey.

1808 Society Mercedes

Carter, C’91

SAINT POPE JOHN PAUL II, AT THE END OF THE EVENING TORCHLIGHT PROCESSION ON AUGUST 14, 1983

MERCEDES CARTER, C’91 , has a strong connection to her family, her faith and her mountain home—so naturally she considered all three in her estate plans. As a teenager, Carter would visit the Mount with her cousin, Helen, to research their family genealogy. Later, Carter's older brother Bobby, C'87, would lead the way as six of their family of eight, from McLean, Virginia, followed in his footsteps and graduated from the Mount: Mercedes, C'91, Kathryn, C'93, Anna, C'93, Deborah, C'95, and Elizabeth, C'99.

Today, Carter stands in front of the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes with a joyful heart underneath the compassionate gaze of Our Blessed Mother. She had just prayed the rosary and visited the National Shrine Grotto cemetery, the final resting place of her older brother, Bobby, who passed away from a brain tumor in 2002. She visits often. They both had a mind for business and studied economics, but she also majored in philosophy thanks to beloved friend and mentor Rev. Paul Redmond who came to the Mount in 1955 to teach philosophy and serve as dean of students.

“He taught here for about 60 years. He was a wonderful priest; he was a wonderful teacher,” Carter says, recalling his fondness for Aristotle and lessons on happiness. Her philosophy training prepared her to think strategically in the workplace and throughout her life.

In her estate plans, she has generously remembered the National Shrine Grotto, which is a replica of the Grotto in Lourdes, France. Carter would like to duplicate the experience she had when she visited: a beautiful Marian Procession with thousands of united pilgrims, waving banners, singing “Ave Maria“ while recalling the story of the apparitions and carrying their candles to illuminate the night. She is working with National Shrine Grotto Director Dawn Walsh to establish a regular candlelit rosary walk, and reinforce the connection between campus and the grotto.

“I really hope the candlelight rosary walk takes off,” she says, envisioning students, seminarians, alumni, locals, pilgrims, faculty and staff reflecting and praying the rosary in the nighttime. Like her confirmation saint, Joan of Arc, who was beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920, Carter has remained true to her calling. Her vision is to bring people close to the Church through prayer and a deeper relationship with Christ. Her hope is to let light shine.

Carter took stock of everything and everyone she loves—and created a strategic plan to protect her future and ensure an enduring legacy that’s true, good and beautiful. “Happiness is finding joy and peace in your daily activities, but especially through Christ. That’s why I love coming up to the grotto and praying the rosary,” she says.

To help you make your plans, consider using FreeWill, a free and easy-to-use and self-guided software program that can help you begin the conversation with your estate professional. Visit : freewill.com/msmary

If you have already named Mount St. Mary’s University, Seminary or National Shrine Grotto in your estate plans, please let us know so that we may thank you! If you would like more information about how to include the Mount in your plans, please contact Kim Johnson, MBA’18, at: kjohnson@msmary.edu or 301-447-5361

Please note: This information is not intended as legal or tax advice. We advise you to work with your financial, tax or legal advisor to determine a charitable giving strategy that fits your situation.

"In this peaceful night we keep watch, we pray, no longer in the secret of our hearts, but as a great crowd on the move, following the risen Jesus Christ, each one lighting the way for the other."