Chachere’s Angels

DONNA CHACHERE ’83 BELIEVES IN THE POWER OF ANGELS. Not just the Biblical versions, mind you, but the kind that walk the earth, the flesh-and-blood variety that sit next to you at church or stroll by in the grocery store.

In fact, she’s had too many encounters with them not to believe in their existence and the capacity they have for blessing those around them.

“I want to say this without crying,” she said. “God’s been looking out for me; he always has.”

Chachere’s angels have taken many forms through the years. When she was born at what was then St. Elizabeth’s Mercy Hospital, her unmarried mother insisted on giving her up for adoption, moving a flock of angels to action.

“The Sisters of Mercy kept me in that hospital for over three months while they could find someone that they trusted to adopt me,” Chachere said. “If this happened today, you’re talking about newspaper articles, court cases, legal ramifications. Can you imagine a 3-month-old infant staying in a nursery?

“But they cared for me. Matter of fact, when I graduated, one of them actually took an ad out in the yearbook and congratulated me. I always say I’m a Mercy Baby; the Sisters of Mercy saved me.”

The Mercy Values are everywhere in the little things. Like when they talk about the intrinsic worth of each person, that compelled me to raise my children as individuals, as people.

Chachere’s encounter with angels continued during her growing up and education. There was the parishioner at Little Rock’s St. Bartholomew Church, one of the few predominantly Black Catholic parishes in the state, who made it his mission to help African American girls in the congregation afford Mount St. Mary. And once in school, the teachers and administrators all showed their halos at various times during her four years there.

“I appreciated Mount so much. I didn’t realize it at the time, but they were giving me the tools that I needed to have a complete life,” she said. “The Mercy Values are everywhere in the little things. Like when they talk about the intrinsic worth of each person, that compelled me to raise my children as individuals, as people.

“A lot of people raise their children to be little versions of themselves, but I listened to mine from day one to tried and assess their personalities and give them what each one of them needed. And they have exceeded all expectations in life as a result.”

Rooted in these principles, Chachere said her Mount education not only taught her the academic content she needed but instilled her with the leadership and self-confidence her professional life would require. What would ultimately lead to a career in IT began with a BASIC language class taught by Sister M. Fintan Killian during her sophomore year. She’s now a senior business systems designer for UAMS and an adjunct professor for UA Little Rock.

Donna Chachere in front of UAMS Medical Center, where she is senior business systems designer.

Photo by Jason Masters

“I have been at UAMS for 27 years, and I’ve been the only woman and the only person of color all that time until we just hired a gentleman of Hispanic descent,” she said. “And I’ll tell you, Mount did such a phenomenal job preparing me for that. They gave you support, but it wasn’t cuddly, baby-stepping you along. It was the expectation that I needed to do my best and take the support that I needed. It gave me the confidence that it’s OK to be less than perfect, but to strive for perfection.”

It is said that the only people who can’t see angels are the ones who fail to look for them, and the same is true with Chachere and her fellow Mount St. Mary alumnae. She’s become adept at spotting the markings of an MSM education, a phenomenon that came in handy about 10 years ago.

“When I was on the Marketing Committee for the Mount, I told them the story about how a student was in class — I believe it was at the University of Tulsa — and she said something and the professor looked at her and asked her, ‘Did you go to Mount St. Mary?’ And she said, ‘Yes,’ and he said, ‘I knew you must be a Mount Girl.’

“I said that should be our catchphrase: You must be a Mount Girl, which represents a woman who has a service heart, be it to family or community — a woman who is confident, who believes in high quality in every aspect of her life. That’s what being a Mount Girl means to me, and that’s what they continue to produce at Mount St. Mary.”