The gifts from alumni, faculty, staff, and others—made between March 4 and 5—surpassed the amount raised on Giving Day last year and propelled the University closer to completing its $350 million fundraising campaign, Cura Personalis | For Every Fordham Student, in the campaign’s final stretch.

For this year’s Giving Day campaign, 2,433 donors gave in support of scholarships, academic centers, diversity and inclusion initiatives, athletics, and other University priorities, often responding to other donors’ giving challenges and matching funds. Gifts ranged from $1 to $12,500, with $100 as the median gift.

Piecing Together the Future

The campaign was titled Piecing Together the Future, with a message that “you are a vital piece in shaping Fordham.”

This year, for the first time, Giving Day was paired with blood drives—held at the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses—that reinforced the themes of service and making a positive impact. More than 75 people took part.

Tania Tetlow, president of Fordham, thanked supporters in an online video message. “When you come together to each give even a little bit, you are part of building on Fordham’s academic excellence, incredible community, and the ways that you help us make a difference to the world when it needs us most.”

Committed Alumni

The Giving Day fund that received the most support—in both number of donors and dollars raised—was the fund for Fordham’s Greatest Needs. It received nearly $295,000 from 660 donors.

Beyond that, the funds that got the most support included the water polo program; the Fordham Law School Fund; the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) at the Lincoln Center campus; and the Parents and Families Fund.

This was the first year that HEOP at Lincoln Center held a Giving Day campaign. HEOP alumni often give back to the program by mentoring and meeting with students, and this year they were asking how they could make monetary gifts too, said Jennifer Sanchez-Trujillo, associate director of the Lincoln Center HEOP program.

She expected perhaps 50 donors to respond. Instead, she got 118.

“I was very touched,” Sanchez-Trujillo said. “It just shows how invested our alumni are in Fordham and in the program.”

It was also a good Giving Day for the Marymount Legacy Scholarship, awarded to a Fordham student—of any gender—who has an affiliation with Marymount College, which merged with Fordham before closing in 2007.

Giving Day support for the scholarship has been trending upward over time, with 114 donors giving more than $36,000 this year, said Karen Easton, MC ’86, vice president of the Marymount Alumnae Association, which “has been very active in keeping graduates informed and connected,” she said.

This year, donors spanned 25 states and class years from 1959 to 2007, she said. “We really have a high-spirited group of graduates” who want to sustain the college’s legacy, she said.

Cura Personalis Campaign

The strong Giving Day total brings Fordham to 94% of the Cura Personalis campaign’s fundraising goal. The campaign is designed to enhance the entire University experience through investments in access and affordability; academic excellence; student wellness and success; athletics; and greater diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus.

Alumni spanning seven decades made it back to campus—some who are frequent visitors, some reunion first-timers, but all eager to reconnect with friends, see how the University has grown over the years, and do their part to give back.

This year’s reunion classes contributed more than $75 million to the University since their last Jubilee, in 2018. All of the money raised supports Cura Personalis | For Every Fordham Student, the University’s $350 million campaign to reinvest in all aspects of the student experience.

A Family Affair

For Anne Mickut Valentino and Christopher Valentino, who met as members of the Fordham College at Rose Hill Class of 1988, this year’s Jubilee was a special one—their first time attending alongside their son Peter Valentino, FCRH ’18. Christopher, an Army lawyer who retired from active duty in 2006, said, “Out of all the people I’ve met around the world, none have the quality and integrity of fellow Fordham graduates.”

Another Fordham couple, who were catching up with friends at the Go Rams! Pub Party under the Jack Coffey Field bleachers Saturday afternoon, said they never met as undergraduates. Instead, Billy and Melissa Barbour, both FCRH ’93, were introduced at their first Jubilee, in 1998, and were engaged the following year.

Now, when Billy finds out a student of his at Easthampton High School on Long Island is attending Fordham, he makes sure to tell them: “Don’t miss your Jubilee. You might meet someone.”

A Culture of Service

Elsewhere on campus, the Class of 1973 gathered in the library to reflect on the ways they’ve dedicated themselves to the greater good—from activism to community service to their careers—and to hear from Fordham’s Center for Community Engaged Learning on the ways in which the University continues to partner with the community and local organizations.

In Butler Commons, members of the Marymount College community recognized the lives and accomplishments of their fellow graduates, honoring four alumnae for their community service and professional success.

Debra DeVenezia, MC ’83, won the Gloria Gaines Memorial Award; Rena Micklewright, MC ’90, won the Golden Dome Award; Sharbari Zohra Ahmed, MC ’95, won the Alumna of Achievement Award; and Linda McMahon, Ph.D., MC ’63, was honored posthumously. 

Camaraderie and Corn Hole

At the all-class picnic held on Martyrs’ Lawn Saturday afternoon—complete with a barbecue, face painting, and games of corn hole—a group of 2013 graduates who were involved with both the Philippine American Club and the Asian Cultural Exchange on campus expressed how important those student clubs were to their college experience.

“It helped me connect with my roots,” said Danielle Flores, FCRH ’13, whose parents immigrated from the Philippines and who double-majored in economics and Spanish language and literature as a member of the Fordham College at Rose Hill Honors Program.

Thinking back to her arrival as a first-year student, Gillian Pantaleon, GABELLI ’13, ’14, echoed Flores’ sentiments on the strong balance of classwork and connection she found at Rose Hill.

“I never knew that … I would have really intellectual conversations in the classroom, learning a lot of lifelong lessons and building a fantastic network here,” she said. “If I could do it all over again, I would.”

Video by Rebecca Rosen

A Tribute to the Trailblazers

At their annual luncheon, a few dozen alumnae of Thomas More College, Fordham’s undergraduate school for women from 1964 to 1974, presented an award to Tania Tetlow, president of the University, and designated her an honorary alumna of the Class of 1968, the college’s first graduating class.

Introducing Fordham’s trailblazing president, who is the first woman and first layperson to lead the Jesuit University of New York, Meredith Waltman, TMC ‘68, noted that the women of TMC are “part of a list of firsts,” too, opening “the door for generations of women afterward to benefit from the rich tradition of a Jesuit” education at Fordham.

“Hereafter, when pictures are taken of the alumni of Thomas More College, she has to be in it,” Waltman said, referring to Tetlow.

Accepting the award, Tetlow admitted to sometimes grappling with a catch-22 of sorts when thinking about the trails blazed by the women of TMC and others like them.

Younger women enjoy a greater degree of freedom but may not fully “understand how hard the fight was to get it to them,” she said. “We are torn between wanting them to be grateful and also wanting to liberate them from any knowledge that it was ever true that people would underestimate them.”

“I don’t know if they will always think of you and remember you, but I will,” she said.

—Adam Kaufman contributed to this story.

From the Golden Rams Soiree to the family-friendly picnic on Martyrs’ Lawn to the Saturday night gala under the big tent on Edwards Parade, alumni relished the opportunity to be together and see how Rose Hill has both stayed the same and changed for the better.

The attendees spanned eight decades—from a 1944 graduate and World War II veteran who had just celebrated his 100th birthday to those marking their five-year Fordham reunion. Some brought their spouses and young children to campus for the first time. More than a few came to pay tribute to Joseph M. McShane, S.J., who is stepping down this month after 19 years as president of the University. And all were rewarded with idyllic early June weather in the Bronx.

‘A Place of Great Value’

On Saturday morning, alumni filled the Great Hall of the Joseph M. McShane, S.J. Campus Center to hear from the new building’s namesake.

Sheryl Dellapina, FCRH ’87, who traveled from the U.K. to attend her 35-year reunion, introduced Father McShane, calling him “Fordham’s most effective ambassador.” She said she first met him at an alumni gathering in London about four years ago, and “it just felt like family.”

“I came away from that thinking, ‘Wow, [Fordham] has so evolved since I had been here that I wanted to be part of this again.’” Her son is now a member of the Class of 2024, and Dellapina is one of the leaders of Cura Personalis | For Every Fordham Student, the University’s $350 million fundraising campaign to reinvest in all aspects of the student experience.

“I had a choice between [attending] this Jubilee” and staying in London for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations honoring Queen Elizabeth II. “I came to this one,” she said to laughter and applause from the audience.

In his address, Father McShane described the new four-story campus center as a place where “the rich diversity of our student body is very evident—commuters, resident students, students from all over the country, all over the world, all ethnicities are [here], and everyone is interacting. It is spectacular.”

He detailed some of the strategic decisions that primed Fordham’s decades-long evolution from highly regarded regional institution to national and international university. And he emphasized how Fordham has met the fiscal, enrollment, and public safety challenges of the pandemic and emerged, in the opinion of a former editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education, as one of the elite universities “that are really secure, really prestigious, and therefore desirable.”

“We are now, in a certain sense, a place of great value,” Father McShane said. “I’ve known this all my life. You’ve known it all your life. Now the world more broadly knows it.”

In closing, he urged alumni to “be proud of Fordham,” to “continue to be contributors to the life of the University,” and to “take the place by storm” this weekend.

Fun, Food, and Face Painting on the Lawn

Jubilarians did just that at the all-classes picnic on Martyrs’ Lawn. The family-friendly event featured food, drinks, a DJ, games, face painting, and a caricature artist—along with plenty of grads reminiscing and making new connections.

One of the liveliest sections belonged to the Golden Rams, those celebrating 50 or more years since their Fordham graduation. At one table, Richard Calabrese and Tom McDonald, who got paired as Fordham roommates in fall 1968 and have been friends ever since, reflected on what made them so compatible. “We were both not high-maintenance people,” McDonald said with a smile.

At a neighboring table, Maurice Harris—who was careful to clarify that he graduated in January 1973—talked about the way Fordham helped him turn his life around. After growing up in public housing in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood, he enrolled at Fordham College at Rose Hill in 1968 and, shortly afterward, started working as a nurse’s aide at the nearby Fordham Hospital.

Although he had trouble balancing classwork and the job at first, a doctor at the hospital convinced him that he should apply to medical school. Despite thinking that he didn’t stand a chance of getting in, he was accepted to SUNY Downstate Medical School in Brooklyn and, three years later, to the Emory School of Medicine in Atlanta, where he eventually became an assistant professor of medicine and practiced cardiology for more than four decades.

“I come up [to Jubilee] every five years. Fordham changed me,” Harris said, adding that for those like him who grew up in tough circumstances, “when you came and ran into the Jesuits, they set you straight.”

One 25th-reunion table featured a group of friends from the Class of 1997—several of whom drove down together from Boston.

“Being on this campus this time of year is second to none,” said Lisa Bell, FCRH ’97, who majored in communication and media studies and works as a public relations professional in the Boston area. “It’s gorgeous, and it’s so great to see all the new developments.”

Looking around at the group of friends sitting around her, she added, “Fordham has been so beneficial—not only the education but our network, the friendships.”

For Michelle and Regis Zamudio, Harlem residents who met during their senior year in 2010, got married in the University Church, and recently welcomed their third child together, getting the chance to bring their kids to campus and to see friends felt particularly special after missing out on the chance to celebrate their 10th reunion in 2020.

“We went to our five-year Jubilee in 2015, and we keep in touch with a lot of our classmates from freshman year,” said Regis, a Gabelli School of Business graduate who majored in finance and works as a vice president of operations for Elara Caring. “When our reunion was canceled two years ago, we were really bummed out that we wouldn’t have the experience to bring the kids to.”

Michelle, who majored in communication and media studies and is a writer and producer for A&E Networks, echoed her husband’s sentiments.

“We were really looking forward to seeing all our friends from Fordham,” she said. “So now, being able to come back, it just feels good to bring our kids and show them where we met, where we fell in love, where we got married. It’s really special to be here.”

Cherishing Lifelong Connections at the Golden Rams Soiree

Like the Zamudio family, Jack Walton, FCRH ’72, was eager to catch up with old friends. He did just that at Friday evening’s Golden Rams Dinner and Soiree. This year’s event officially welcomed the Classes of 1970, 1971, and 1972.

Although Walton has stayed in touch with many of his classmates by coming to past Jubilees and participating in a Facebook group dedicated to the Class of 1972, seeing folks in person as Golden Rams was different, he said.

“It’s fulfilling to have gotten this far and to see so many of the guys and gals that I grew up with in the late ‘60s and very early ‘70s,” he said.

For Gabe Vitalone, FCRH ’44, this year marked 28 years since he became a Golden Ram. On May 31, just three days before the dinner, he celebrated his 100th birthday. A World War II veteran and a longtime fixture at Jubilee, Vitalone has continued to accomplish extraordinary things well into his 90s, even singing the national anthem for the New York Yankees in 2020.

It was slightly bittersweet for him and his wife, Evelyn, to return to Jubilee after a two-year absence, he said, because for the past three decades, they were joined by his best friend, Matteo “Matty” Roselli, FCRH ’44, who died in 2020. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to be here. But I almost said, ‘Look, that’s enough, now’s the time [to stop coming], now that Matty passed away. And then I thought of Father McShane,” he said. “I wanted to say goodbye.”

Toni DiMarie Potenza, TMC ’72, GSE ’73, and Alice Dostal-Higgins, TMC ’72, GSAS ’84, became fast friends early on in their time at Thomas More College, Fordham’s undergraduate school for women from 1964 to 1974. They met by virtue of alphabetical seating that placed them next to each other and went on to become roommates and fellow psychology majors. They also each earned a master’s degree from Fordham and, upon graduation, entered the teaching field.

Potenza, who had flown in from Chicago, said she found herself surprised to be in the ranks of the Golden Rams.

“I think as you get older, the person that you are, even when you were in your 20s, is still there and you don’t really see that you have changed,” she said. “So, it’s very surprising to realize that 50 years have gone by.”

Higgins said it was tough to pin down a few memorable moments of their time as undergrads.

“You know, it was every moment together,” she said. “It was having coffee in the morning before going to classes and then having to run out the door to get to classes on time. It was talking about the classes that we took together and experiences that we laugh about that we won’t talk about now,” she added laughing.

The Brave Women of TMC 

More of Thomas More College’s trailblazing women reunited for a luncheon in the McShane Center on Saturday afternoon. Linda LoSchiavo, TMC ’72, director of the Fordham University Libraries, called TMC the University’s “great experiment” and described its earliest students as “the bravest of us all.”

“TMC was born on the cusp of societal changes and upheavals—the fight for women’s equality, civil rights, gay rights: They were all raging while we were studying for finals,” she said.

Introducing Maura Mast, Ph.D., dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill, LoSchiavo noted just how far Fordham women have come. Today, “four of the nine deans of schools are women and, in less than one month, Fordham will have its first layperson and first woman as president,” she said, referring to Tania Tetlow, J.D., whose tenure begins on July 1.

Mast, the first woman to serve as dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill, thanked the TMC alumnae for paving the way, whether they meant to or not. “You may have come to Fordham saying, ‘I’m going to be a trailblazer.’ You may not have. But either way, you were.”

For Marie-Suzanne Niedzielska, Ph.D., TMC ’69, GSAS ’79, the prospect of reconnecting with women from other class years is what drew her to Jubilee this year.

A retired IT professional who splits her time between Central Florida and Glastonbury, Connecticut, Niedzielska remembers having a wonderful academic experience amid the tumult of the Vietnam War and social unrest. “It really colored the whole thing,” she said, before noting that each generation has its challenges, and perhaps attending college during tumultuous times is “not as unusual as it seems.”

Unusual or not, she said she is impressed by what Fordham students are accomplishing these days.

“I just went to the Student Managed Investment Fund presentation,” she said, referring to the Gabelli School of Business program that gives junior and senior finance students an opportunity to invest $2 million of the University’s endowment. “I’m just really impressed with the way that’s set up, with the lab, with what the students did, and what a leg up they get.

“In our time, an internship was just sort of a part-time job. It wasn’t a launchpad, and that’s a big difference.”

—Video shot by Taylor Ha and Tom Stoelker and edited by Lisa-Anna Maust.

Growing Up Fordham

Elsewhere in the McShane Center, about 50 graduates from the Class of 1972 met for an interactive chat titled “Growing Up Fordham: Risks and Challenges That Paid Off.” Psychologists John Clabby Jr., FCRH ’72, and Mary Byrne, TMC ’72, helped facilitate the discussion, and Bob Daleo, GABELLI ’72, chair of Fordham’s Board of Trustees, was also in attendance.

Daleo talked about the many changes that have taken place at Fordham over the years, from the additional buildings on campus and the much more diverse student body to the fact that all students are now “natives of a digital world.” He added that, while the University has seen much change in the past 50 years, “Fordham is still a place in which cura personalis is practiced every day by every member of the faculty and staff.”

Urging his classmates to remain engaged in both small and large ways, Daleo drew their attention to campus greenery of all things.

“The beautiful elms on this campus are hundreds of years old,” he said. “They were planted by people who knew they would never see the trees in their full grandeur. Fellow classmates, I believe that is our calling: to nurture an institution [that] will continue to flower long after we’re gone.”

Celebrating Alumni Achievement

One of the ways in which the University flourishes is through the lives and accomplishments of alumni. And on Saturday afternoon, three Marymount College graduates were recognized by their peers.

Maryann Barry, MC ’82, the CEO at Girls Scouts of Citrus in Florida, received the Alumna of Achievement Award, which recognizes a woman who has excelled in her profession and is a recognized leader in her field.

The Golden Dome Award went to Maryjo Lanzillotta, MC ’85, a biosafety officer at Yale University, in recognition of her commitment to advancing Marymount College, which was part of Fordham from 2002 to 2007, when it closed.

Lanzillotta spoke to her former classmates about the satisfaction of giving to the Marymount Legacy Fund (an endowed scholarship fund that supports Fordham students who carry on the Marymount tradition), and of witnessing the joy on a recipient’s face when they receive the award.

Lastly, Mary Anne Clark, MC ’77, accepted the Gloria Gaines Memorial Award, Marymount’s highest alumnae honor, which is given to a graduate for service to one’s church, community, and the college. Knowles said she was genuinely surprised to receive the award.

“It just shows that sometimes it’s enough to be kind to others and always give back whatever way you can,” she said. “You don’t have to build big libraries; you can go feed someone at the homeless shelter.”

At Hall of Honor Induction Ceremony, a Tribute to Seven Fordham Luminaries

Celebrating alumni achievement is par for the Jubilee course, but this year, for the first time since 2011, the festivities included a Hall of Honor induction ceremony.

Three Fordham graduates were inducted posthumously: Reginald T. Brewster, LAW ’50, a Tuskegee Airman who fought against racism and inequality; Jim Dwyer, FCRH ’79, a journalist and author who earned two Pulitzer Prizes; and Herb Granath, FCRH ’54, GSAS ’55, an Emmy Award-winning TV executive who was chairman emeritus of ESPN.

Also among the honorees were two beloved Fordham educators—Elizabeth A. Johnson, C.S.J., distinguished professor emerita of theology; and Peter B. Vaughan, former dean of the Graduate School of Social Service.

They were honored at the ceremony alongside Jack Keane, GABELLI ’66, a retired four-star general and former vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army; and Joe Moglia, FCRH ’71, former CEO and chairman of TD Ameritrade, and former head football coach and current executive director for football at Coastal Carolina University.

“Here you have on display the greatness of Fordham,” Father McShane said at the Saturday evening ceremony, held outside Cunniffe House, the Rose Hill home of the Hall of Honor. “The thread, I think, that joins all of our recipients today is character—men and women of character—and this is something that Fordham rejoices in.” Turning to the inductees, he added: “We will point to you when we want to tell students who we want them to imitate, what we want them to become.”

Ringing in the Gala

After a full day of mini-reunions, luncheons, and fun on the lawn, Jubilarians of all ages united Saturday evening under a big tent on Eddies Parade for the Jubilee Gala.

Phil Cicione, FCRH ’87, PAR ’18, president of the Fordham Alumni Chapter of Long Island, had the honor of kicking off the evening’s celebration with something new: the ringing the Victory Bell. Typically rung by students to celebrate athletic victories and signal the start of the annual commencement ceremony, on Saturday night, it doubled as a dinner bell.

The gala also served as an opportunity to celebrate the generosity of the Fordham alumni community: This year’s reunion classes raised more than $11.2 million in the past year; an additional $1.8 million and $1.1 million were raised in 2021 and 2020, respectively, by the reunion classes who missed their in-person gatherings due to the pandemic. All of the money raised supports the University’s Cura Personalis campaign.

A Fitting Jubilee Mass

Shortly before the gala, Father McShane, who was presiding over his final Jubilee Mass as Fordham’s president, told the alumni gathered in the University Church that it was “fitting” for Jubilee to coincide with Pentecost.

“All weekend, we’ve been celebrating in quiet and also boisterous ways the many gifts that God has given to us, as a result of him sending his spirit to be among us and filling our hearts with deep love and great gratitude,” he said.

Alumni participated in the Mass in a variety of ways, including carrying banners representing their class year and serving as lectors, Eucharistic ministers, and gift bearers. For one alumnus, Dennis Baker, S.J., FCRH ’02, GSAS ’09, participating in Mass meant giving the homily.

Father Baker, who was celebrating his 20-year reunion, said that after Father McShane asked him to deliver the homily, he told his group of Fordham friends, and they provided a “flood of advice” on what he should say. “At least they considered it advice, I think,” he said with a laugh.

After gathering suggestions that included taking part of a homily from a friend’s wedding, sharing stories of trips up Fordham Road, or using an old sign from a local hangout as a prop, Father Baker said he began thinking about the celebration of Pentecost and how it relates to his time at Fordham with his friends.

“This weekend, the worldwide church celebrates Pentecost, the celebration of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles,” he said. “And I think it’s not too much of a stretch to suggest that the same dynamic happened to my friends and to me during our time at Fordham. I think the same is true of you and your classmates as well.”

Father Baker said that Fordham “helped him better understand the gifts of the Holy Spirit in my life. Maybe that’s true for you too.” Those gifts include wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and awe, he said.

“The love of God is so powerful, and so real. I think we got to see a glimpse of it when we were young men and women here.”

Castaldo, who resides in New York’s Hudson Valley, has been interested in nature—and writing about it—since she was a child, but it wasn’t until she was a student at Marymount College that she homed in on ecology. During her senior year, her interests converged: All at once, she served as president of the science club, editor of the literary magazine, and an intern at Audubon Magazine. Since then, she’s published more than two dozen books, written countless articles, worked as an environmental educator, and won some awards, to boot. She’s also a certified National Geographic Educator.

In When the World Runs Dry, amid the heartbreaking anecdotes from Flint, Michigan, and the alarm bells about Earth’s rising sea levels, Castaldo offers readers ages 10 to 18 years old not only potential solutions but hope.

Your interest in nature and the planet began very early on, but when did you know that you wanted to pursue that interest professionally?
Before I entered Marymount, I really thought of becoming a veterinarian; I came in initially as a biology major with that in mind. I ended up finding out early on that that was not the path I wanted to pursue, but instead I wanted to pursue more of ecology and animal behavior—and my ecology class at Marymount was instrumental in solidifying that.

What’s your favorite part of the writing process?
I am definitely a research junkie. I love every aspect of it. It’s like a scavenger hunt. I’m able to just explore things that I’m fascinated in during the research phase. So, when I get the OK to do any of my books and I begin that phase of research, whether it’s spending time in a library, digging out old books in a science library, or traveling, that is the part that I really enjoy the most. And of course, research brings you down a path. It gives you offshoots of things to write about, and discoveries that you didn’t know when you set out to research a topic.

To date, which research destination has had the greatest impact on you?
There’ve been so many for many different reasons. When the World Runs Dry involved a lot of research to areas where folks were having serious water issues—a lot of crises. One of those was a visit to Flint, Michigan, and it was very, very difficult to see the environmental injustice that occurs and to experience in a very, very, very minor way what these people are going through. It’s eye-opening. It changed the way I look at communities and environmental justice, and I think that will stay with me forever.

I think that anytime we travel outside of our own experience, it opens us up to a deeper understanding for the world around us. When I was working on a book called The Story of Seeds, which is another young adult book that came out in 2016, I was able to travel to Russia and spend time in St. Petersburg. And of course, right now, facing the war news every day in Ukraine, I can’t get that out of my head. What I learned in that trip, which was very instrumental in my thinking going forward, was that scientists have a different sense of boundaries, of country borders, than I think the rest of us. Scientists don’t put up [the same] walls, and maybe we can learn from that.

So, there’ve been things like those experiences, those research stories, that have really opened my eyes to the world climate, so to speak.

Your books largely fall into the young adult and middle-grade ranges. Why kids? What drew you to this audience?
Writing for kids is a gift. Kids remember the books that they read. They’re impressionable at that age. They are a challenge to write to, as well. You have to be really, really careful about what you write for kids in that it must be accurate. You can’t put anything over them. They’re smart, and they deserve books that tell them what’s going on out there. And then, what I try to do in my books for kids is, I want to not only inform my readers, but I want to inspire them to action. I want to empower them. I want to write for kids to let them know that they have a voice, and I want them to be able to know that their voice matters. I think that’s a different goal than writing for adults.

We’re leaving the world to kids, and we need to give them the tools that they need to move forward—to be competent, well-versed citizens. I love the kids that are fighting for the planet right now. I feel like they’re our future, and they need books that are going to help them. I’m hoping that my books do that.

How do you go about conveying such complex, layered issues in a way that’s digestible for the kids? One of the things that struck me when I was reading When the World Runs Dry was that you didn’t “dumb down” the topic. How do you balance presenting the info in a way that this audience can understand, but also in a way that’s challenging?
Yeah, it is challenging to do that. And sometimes it takes me a few passes to get it right, and good editors to help me along with that, as well. I think that kids today are a little bit more versed than they were when I started writing. I remember writing a book in 2008 that was called Keeping Our Earth Green, and that book was about all the different issues that we face around the planet. At that time, I had to describe to kids what climate change was and put it in very understandable terms. But since then, there’s so much out there now that kids really understand.

What I tried to do with When the World Runs Dry was to give them real-life examples of different water issues that they could really dig into and understand; flesh out a little bit of what they were hearing on the news already. And knowing, of course, that my readers are going to represent a wide age group, so trying to balance that a little bit, and providing resource matter that helps them get more information if they need it.

The book does a really good job of humanizing the topic, as well. Unfortunately, there’s no shortage of people who have been negatively impacted by the water crisis, so how did you choose the subjects that you highlighted in the book?
I wanted to show the diversity of people involved, to show kids that it pretty much didn’t matter who or where you were, that there are water issues that could impact you wherever you lived. And to also get a variety of places. Unfortunately, there’s so much in the news that it was a matter of picking and choosing what were the best examples of those different aspects. I wanted them also to see that it wasn’t just happening in the United States. We may not be experiencing the same level of crisis here in the United States, but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening in Australia or South Africa.

While I wasn’t able to travel to all of those areas, I did travel quite a bit for this book, and I wanted my reader to come along with me for that exploration and see the variety of climate, the variety of people, the variety of country, and how each area and each group of people were being impacted. I really do wish there were less places to choose from. It was a matter of which ones to leave out more than which ones to put in.

How did you remain hopeful as you worked on this book?
I believe that we all have to have hope about our planet. How else could we go on? You can’t strive to make a difference if you don’t have hope. If you don’t think that there can be change, there won’t be change. But, that doesn’t mean that there weren’t times in this book when I was writing it that it was just overwhelmingly sad to hear about people who were displaced, people having health issues; the young woman that I dedicated the book to passed away after I interviewed her. [Jassmine McBride died in February 2019. Then just 30 years old, McBride was the 13th official victim of Flint’s outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease, a respiratory condition caused by soil- and water-dwelling bacterium.]  She still stays with me, and I can’t help but be upset and saddened by so much of that.

It was a difficult book to write, but I think that it’s always better to have the knowledge. One of the things that I tried to do was include as many young people as possible in the book—there’s obviously always room for more—to let my young readers know that there are other teens out there that are doing amazing things by raising their voices or inventing things, [like Mari Copeny’s #WednesdaysForWater Twitter initiative or Gitanjali Rao’s handheld water-testing device].  Those are the aspects that bring me hope. Those are the points to the story that take it to that next level, that provide us with the action, the energy, we need to light that spark underneath us to do something.

Your next book hits shelves in August. What’s it about?
The Wolves and Moose of Isle Royale is a story of ecosystem restoration. When I was in college at Marymount, I had a fabulous ecology teacher who taught us about this wolf and moose predator-prey relationship on Isle Royale, a fascinating little island that’s in Lake Superior and [part of the National Parks System].  It’s the oldest predator-prey study that’s happened in the world. The wolf population has dwindled so much that the moose population has soared, creating this huge imbalance in the island ecosystem, so the scientists decided that they were going to reintroduce wolves. This book delves into the predator-prey study, why the wolves are being reintroduced, and how that reintroduction is going.

It was just wonderful to go there, to meet the people I had studied in college that have been working on this project for so many years. It was fascinating: It was like my college classes coming back, full speed.

Buildings That Breathe comes out at the beginning of November. And it’s a young adult book about green infrastructure, urban greening, greening parks, and it focuses primarily on the vertical forest called Bosco Verticale in Milan, Italy. My research for that involved spending a week at a United Nations conference in Italy on urban forestry. It’s fascinating to be able to build buildings that actually help the environment—that can alter what our cities will look like in the future. So, that comes out in the beginning of November.

Is there anything else you want readers to know?
One of the things that I hope for the book is that my readers will also discover ways to deal with adversity. I think that’s very important at any time, but particularly now. We can’t get through our lives without such experiences. It may not be a water issue, but it may be a different issue. I’m hoping that my books provide tools to strengthen my readers and help them become active citizens in our world.

I hope the book empowers them, instructs them, entertains them, but also provides them with a way to develop their empathy, as well.

Today, she’s following a much different path: providing resources to people struggling with poverty and homelessness as chief operating officer for CityRelief. The faith-based organization uses retrofitted school buses to provide hot meals, hygiene kits, and more to people in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

“It’s the hardest job I’ve ever done,” said Conklin, who started as a volunteer in 2016. “But this is what I’m meant to do, and I love the work.” She became CityRelief’s chief operating officer a year later, and since 2020, she’s also served as the interim CEO.

Expanding Worldview

The Cooperstown, New York, native “immediately fell in love” with Marymount after taking a tour of the Tarrytown campus on the recommendation of a family friend. “I came to Marymount to study fashion and English,” Conklin said. “But after seeing a few theater productions at the college and taking an amazing drama class with professor Ron Weyand, I realized that I loved everything about that. It had really tapped into my passion.”

Conklin credits Marymount not only with helping her discover her love of drama, but also for providing opportunities that allowed her to explore and grow that love. “I came from a small town and went to a small college, but my worldview was expanding through all of these experiences I had via Marymount,” she said. “One was study abroad; … the other was the internship program.”

During a semester abroad, she studied film and media at Sterling University in Scotland. And during her senior year at Marymount, Conklin interned at Guiding Light in New York City. Those experiences reinforced her passion, and Conklin decided to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London after graduation.

“To this day, I encourage internships within our company, and we take their roles seriously,” Conklin said.

At a Crossroads

While in London, Conklin met her husband, actor Ritchie Coster. When the couple returned to the U.S., they embarked on a cross-country camping tour before settling in New York, where Conklin reconnected with the team at Guiding Light and signed on as a temp. She worked her way up from assistant to executive assistant, then associate producer, production assistant, associate director, and finally producer.

“In 2007, my team and I won the Daytime Emmy Award for Best Show for an episode that I’d produced,” Conklin said.

However, daytime TV was changing: In the ‘90s, there were 11 soap operas on network TV; today, there are only three. In 2009, CBS canceled Guiding Light, and in 2010 Conklin’s career path took a turn when she began working at lifestyle brand Lululemon.

“I managed the Lincoln Center store and co-created their corporate training programming,” she said. “It was an amazing experience, but … I was at a crossroads moment in my life.” After five years with the company, Conklin said she began to ask, “What else is there?” She got her answer after praying for guidance with Bobby Lewis, senior pastor at New Light Baptist Church in East Harlem, where she is a member.

“I prayed for my life to be used,” she said. “Up until then, my choices had been planned out and strategic. I now asked God: If I’m meant to be or do something else, you need to place me there.”

Conklin resigned from Lululemon on a Friday afternoon, and 12 hours later an acquaintance from church suggested that she contact CityRelief. Soon, Conklin was volunteering.

The organization has eight locations in New York City and New Jersey, using its fleet of buses and shuttles “to not only provide a meal, but to build relationships and trust and to meet people at their point of need.” Conklin said that fundraising and partnership development are big parts of her job. Recently, she completed a certificate in executive leadership from the Wharton College of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

She said that CityRelief also offers weekly “service vacations” during which volunteers from all over the country help with the mobile outreach.

“It is fun, meaningful, and aligns with our shared Christian faith,” she said of the work. “As written in the book of Isaiah 58: ‘Is it not to share your food with the hungry, and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter?’”

Interview conducted by Rena Micklewright, MC ’90.

The annual event recognizes alumni volunteers and helps further the FUAA’s mission to foster lifelong connections among alumni and promote a sense of general goodwill and support for Fordham worldwide.

Sally Benner, FCRH ’84, chair of the FUAA Advisory Board, introduced new and returning board members, 24 volunteers who represent the University’s 200,000-plus global alumni worldwide. They include graduates from 10 Fordham schools, including Marymount and Thomas More College, and their class years span six decades. Quoting another graduate, Benner said the group aims “to serve as connective tissue—to connect us to each other, to connect you to the University, and to connect the University to you.”

As she spoke about the Fordham community and its commitment to cura personalis, or care for the whole person, Benner noted that the alumni were gathering during a week in which “the world commemorates the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.”—and less than two weeks after a fire killed 17 people and injured dozens of others in the Tremont neighborhood of the Bronx, a mere 15-minute walk from the Rose Hill campus.

She shared how she is motivated by a quote from King’s 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail”: “’We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects us all indirectly,’” she said, quoting King. “Tonight, I ask our alumni community to consider care for the whole person to include care for our communities.”

Benner encouraged alumni to seek out Julie Gafney, Ph.D., executive director of the University’s Center for Community Engaged Learning, who was in attendance with a list, now posted on the center’s Instagram account, of how victims of the fire felt the Fordham community could offer support.

“If you have the means to share your abundance, by contributing your skills or good fortune to help, you will learn how the largely Gambian community would value it most,” Benner said.

A Legacy of Transformation

This year’s FUAA reception also marked the last one for Joseph M. McShane, S.J., before he steps down as president of Fordham in June. Throughout the evening, on a big screen behind the ballroom stage, the FUAA featured a slideshow highlighting the University’s transformation under his leadership since 2003. Prior to the event, attendees had an opportunity to submit their own personal tributes and memorable McShane moments, which were included in the slideshow.

During his own speech, Father McShane thanked Benner, who stepped into her role as chair just this year, for “organizing us this evening and doing it with her characteristic class.”

He also remarked on the University’s strength as it continues to navigate the pandemic, noting that the Class of 2025 is “the largest, most diverse, and brightest class in Fordham’s 180-year history,” and that 2021 was the “best fundraising year” in the University’s history, thanks to the “extraordinary generosity” of alumni and others who invested more than $84 million in the University and its mission.

“We didn’t just get through,” he said. “Fordham came through with great strength because it was true to its sense of mission, and its mission and its heart is a mission that is based on love and directed toward the cultivation of all the gifts that students have—cura personalis, in other words.”

The FUAA is always looking to connect with new voices from the University’s alumni community. For info on its upcoming events or to learn more, visit Forever Fordham.

She shared a quote from an article her mother, Luisa, wrote in 1933, exhorting fellow members of a local political club to express their opinions with confidence.

“It is not my intention to be critical,” wrote DeLauro’s mother, who would go on to serve for 35 years on the Board of Aldermen in New Haven, Connecticut. “Rather, my motive in writing this article is to encourage the female members of this organization to take a more active part in its affairs. … I have noticed that the girls, unlike the men, are timid in asserting themselves, and many a good idea is lost, having been suppressed by its creator.

“Come on, girls. Let’s make ourselves heard.”

DeLauro, who entered public service after earning degrees from Marymount College and Columbia University, has been serving Connecticut’s 3rd Congressional District since 1991. In January, she became chair of the House Appropriations Committee—only the second woman to lead the group responsible for shaping the federal government’s discretionary spending priorities. She’s also the ranking member on the subcommittee that oversees the nation’s investments in education, health, and employment.

Awarding Fervent Service

DeLauro was one of three women honored by the Marymount College Alumnae Association Board during the virtual reception, held as part of Fordham’s virtual Jubilee weekend.

Kathy Higgins, MC ’71, received the Gloria Gaines Award, the board’s highest honor, given to an alumna for service to one’s church, community, and Marymount. Higgins’ service began as a student at Marymount, when she worked in the infirmary on the Tarrytown campus. For the past 30 years, she has worked for ARC Westchester, a nonprofit offering support to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Westchester, New York.

Higgins joked that some people would look at her paycheck and think she was a volunteer, but service and volunteering are what offer her “a true sense of community.”

“I love the work and consider it a privilege to be able to help so many wonderful families,” she said. “Marymount College made a huge impact on my life, not only for the wonderful education I received but also the incredible people I have met. It’s sad that the college we knew and loved is no longer in Tarrytown,” she said of the women’s college, which was part of Fordham University from 2002 until the college closed in 2007. “But I am thankful to those who are keeping the spirit of Marymount alive.”

Teresita Abay-Krueger, MC ’80, was honored with the Golden Dome Award, presented to the alumna whose efforts of continuous service have advanced Marymount as an institution.

While studying biology and chemistry at Marymount in the late 1970s, she landed an internship with Union Carbide Corporation—located close to campus—and that experience, along with some inspiration from three of her professors, spurred her into a 20-year career in research and development at IBM. After leaving IBM, she founded a New York-based consulting practice.

Accepting the award, Abay-Krueger said that, as a commuter student, she often wondered if living off-campus put her at a disadvantage. Today, she realizes that the personal attention and care she received from professors and administrators, and the bonds she formed with her classmates, inspired her to pursue excellence nonetheless.

“It’s always been about being surrounded by that intellectual environment in Marymount; whether I was with other students or with many of the professors, or even among the administrative people, there was always this drive for excellence and intellectual attainment, and I really appreciated that above anything else,” Abay-Krueger said.

“When you’re surrounded with determined, smart women all striving to be their very best, you can’t help but be inspired by that as well—and everyone on this call demonstrates that,” she said.

A Milestone Year

The board also recognized alumnae celebrating their 25th, 50th, and other milestone reunions—including two alumnae celebrating their 75th: Denise Kobel and Josephine Stigliano, both members of the Class of 1946. Though Stigliano was unable to join the event, Kobel tuned in with her granddaughter, Carolyn Budelman, MC ’04.

During the event, attendees got to take a “slide” down memory lane as they viewed photos and spoke about Marymount memories that had been submitted ahead of time. Event organizers also asked Tarrytown-themed trivia questions throughout the event, in honor of Marymount’s original campus location.

Paula Mahayosnand, MC ’93, president of the Marymount College Alumnae Board, said that while she wished they were able to gather at Fordham, she was nonetheless happy to be together in spirit.

“For more than a dozen years, we’ve remained committed to coming together on the Rose Hill campus, meeting each other in person and celebrating our fellow alumni from across classes,” she said. “I don’t think we could have predicted we would be in this for another 16 months of the pandemic … but we have adapted, and here we are today.”

In a pre-recorded message, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham University, welcomed the Marymount graduates home and congratulated them on their recent fundraising success on Giving Day, saying a record number of people contributed to the Marymount Legacy Fund—which the board created to provide scholarship support to young women at Fordham who “embody the Marymount spirit through learning and leadership.”

“The alumni community showed the power of their love for Marymount, their care for young scholarship recipients, and their commitment to the efforts of the members of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary,” he said. “More alumni donated this year than ever before. I applaud your efforts.”

Father McShane also congratulated this year’s award winners, and he echoed Mahayosnand’s wishes to see everyone in person sooner rather than later. “I hope that you’ll continue to stay connected, and that I’ll get to see in person again very soon,” he said.

Still, for Heather McWilliam, MC ’88, secretary of the Marymount College Alumnae Board, the virtual event was an emotional one.

“I didn’t expect the overwhelming feeling that I hope all of us are receiving by just sharing this moment,” she said. “I think all of us are here today sharing this event because of our love, and [because we’re]  cherishing moments of what Marymount represents and what it did for us.”

“I didn’t think I was even going to go to college, because I thought I couldn’t afford it,” said Gurreri. “And I never thought I could graduate from a place like Fordham University.”

Gurreri noted that she didn’t come from an affluent background. Like so many of her high school friends, she said, limited exposure to higher education limited her aspirations. Her mother came from a rural part of Puerto Rico and her father was from a rural part of the Dominican Republic. Neither had the opportunity to go to college. When her older brother and sister graduated from high school, they went straight to work.

Gurreri credits a series of mentors with exposing her to options. The first was Martha Graham, an executive at Chase Manhattan Bank who mentored teens at Roosevelt High School.

“I told her, ‘I don’t think I can go’ and she said, ‘Absolutely not, of course, you can,” recalled Gurreri.

‘Zero In and Focus’

With Graham’s encouragement, Gurreri got accepted to Marymount, where she experienced a bit of culture shock. Compared to the Bronx, she said, the Tarrytown campus might as well have been California. There, a nun named Sister Fahey issued a stern charge to “zero in and focus,” a habit Gurreri kept to this day. She worked a part-time job in retail that became full-time after graduating. But in quick order, she got her real estate license; married the love of her life, Jimmy Gurreri; moved to Yonkers; and had the first of her three daughters.

Learning the Complexities of New York Real Estate

Her ongoing education continued with a paralegal certificate, which helped her land a job with real estate lawyer Ira S. Goldenberg. After her father passed away, Gurreri asked her mother to move in with her to help raise the girls and to help the family deal with his passing. Goldenberg soon took on the role of mentor and as a father figure in her life.

“She was without a doubt the best paralegal I’ve ever had,” said Goldenberg, who chairs the Real Property Law Section of the New York Bar Association and teaches real estate law as an adjunct at Brooklyn Law School. “She made me a better lawyer.”

At Goldenberg & Selker, LLP, Gurreri zeroed in on the transactional aspects of real estate, recalled Goldenberg.

“At the beginning, she was a jack of all trades, but at some point, she didn’t want to do the litigation, she wanted to do the transactions and she really perfected it,” he said.

For 10 years the office was a perfect fit for Gurreri, but Goldenberg noted that she was beginning to grow beyond her role.

“New York real estate is complex,” he said. “I think she began to see that she understood that complexity—and some can be dismissive of that. But she was not that way. I knew she needed to move on to a bigger firm, but I was devastated when she left.”

Gurreri said she shed more than a few tears on leaving.

“It was a difficult decision for me to have that conversation with Ira because I could have stayed there for the rest of my life,” she said. “But he told me, ‘I’m very proud of you; you’re always pushing yourself further.’”

Using New Knowledge on the Job

Today, Gurreri is with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP, an international full-service law firm with a dedicated focus on real estate and construction. To grow in her career, she knew she’d once again needed to return to Fordham, this time at the Real Estate Institute, where she decided to concentrate on finance and development. Goldenberg happily wrote her a letter of recommendation.

Much of what she learned in the classroom deepened her understanding of her day job, she said. It also exposed her to ethical dimensions of the industry, such as eco-friendly development.

“If you build you want to make sure that you’re building something that has a good impact, not only on where it’s situated in the neighborhood, but in the natural environment,” she said.

With her master’s complete, Gurreri said she’s already being pulled onto projects at work that she’s familiar with because of her coursework.

“Fortuitously, it just so happens I just got put on a project that involves a giant wind energy and solar power acquisition,” she said.

She said the material is familiar now, but it wasn’t always.

“Since 2002, I worked toward things I wasn’t sure about. I’d say, ‘I don’t know if this is going to work.’ But you know what, you never know in life until you try,” she said.

In September, Mahayosnand and the other new board leaders held a virtual town hall to introduce themselves to the Marymount community, share information on how to get involved, and get a better sense of what members want—from the board and each other.

“What we’re hearing is they really want more engagement,” she said, “through more alumni events,” particularly ones with an emphasis on diversity and social justice.

The Enduring Spirit of Community

That desire for engagement and connection—that strong sense of community—is familiar to Mahayosnand: It’s what drew her to Marymount as a prospective student, she said, recalling her first visit to the Tarrytown campus. “I just felt comfortable … at home. I remember attending the orientation for students, and … we had Mass in the chapel, and I just really felt like this was a place where I want to be.”

Once enrolled, Mahayosnand pursued a double major in journalism and English literature. She praised the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary at Marymount for gently helping her find her way, asking her tough, challenging questions that forced her to think critically about her choices but never telling her “no.”

She said that kind of support has allowed her to step outside the box of her double major and into a career across multiple industries—from publishing to finance to IT—and her current position as vice president of business application at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.  “I think the relationship with Marymount was … always finding that opportunity, looking for that mentor. Find someone that you can connect with and see what they’re doing well.”

Putting Life Lessons to Work

Mahayosnand is committed to serving as a mentor. She’s a member of the Women’s Inclusion Network and the Financial Women’s Association—all because of the Marymount sisters’ lasting impact on her. “Being mentored by the sisters, understanding sisterhood and empowering young women to do their best, to guide them … I continue to do that here in my professional and personal life,” she said.

She also serves as a eucharist minister and a Sunday school teacher for second graders, preparing them for their sacraments of reconciliation and first communion at St. Aloysius Parish in Jersey City.

In addition to mentorship, other values instilled in her at Marymount—social justice, environmental sustainability, community—have stuck with Mahayosnand. In New Jersey, where she lives, Mahayosnand is president of the Jersey City Parks Coalition, which recently held one of its largest art exhibits, with more than 300 submissions across 10 parks. She’s dedicated to preserving green space in cities, creating new urban spaces and parks, and recycling and sustainability efforts. Recently, she worked with fellow alumna Debra A. DeVenezia, MC ’83, and the Jersey City Parks Coalition on an “OcTREEber” initiative, giving away more than 10,000 tulip and daffodil bulbs to residents.

After being absent from the Marymount scene for a few years—busy raising her daughters, advancing her career, engaging with her local community—Mahayosnand reunited with Sister Brigid Driscoll, R.S.H.M., GRE ’02, former president of Marymount College, and other graduates at the 2018 Marymount Reunion, held during Jubilee weekend on Fordham’s Rose Hill campus. Feeling guilty about her recent absence from the Marymount community, Mahayosnand received some much-needed reassurance from Sister Brigid, who told her that her absence was nothing to be sorry about. “And that’s why I’m so invested in Marymount, really. I think all of us have a passion for the environment, the relationships with your professors, the friendships that last lifetimes. It’s really heartfelt. It’s wonderful.”

New Kids on the Block

Since that reunion, Mahayosnand has reengaged with the Marymount Alumnae Association and its board, serving on the events committee prior to being elected president. During the town hall in September, board members “talked about the opportunities and the relationship with Fordham.” (Marymount was part of Fordham from 2002 to 2007, when the college closed, and since then, graduates have gathered for reunions and other events at Fordham’s Rose Hill campus.)  “We couldn’t do a lot of this programming without [Fordham’s] support, or giving us a home.”

Some of the newer initiatives include “Member Mondays” posts on Facebook. For those posts, Mahayosnand said she and her fellow board members are “highlighting [Marymount graduates] and their achievements. And we’re hoping to integrate that into our newsletters [and]class notes with Fordham, giving them more visibility.” There’s also a new virtual choir, whose first meeting was held virtually on Oct. 21. The choir will continue to meet for 30 minutes on Wednesday nights—no prior musical experience required. And on Dec. 6, the alumnae association will hold a virtual Founder’s Day celebration.

With no end to distancing measures in sight, and no shortage of graduates looking to connect with one another, Mahayosnand, the board, and the association have a tall order to fill, but the coterie at the center spurs them all into action.

“It’s just this sisterhood,” Mahayosnand said. “I hope I can create how I’m feeling with the other alumnae so they can reconnect.”

More than 80 alumnae gathered on June 6 to raise a glass to outgoing Marymount College Alumnae Board leaders Samantha MacInnis, MC ’00, and Julene Caulfield, MC ’02, and welcome three new members of the executive committee—Paula Mahayosnand, MC ’93, Michelle McAllister, MC ’96, and Heather McWilliam, MC ’88.

Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, addressed the group to open the reception, and in her own remarks, MacInnis referred to Marie Joseph Butler, R.S.H.M., who founded the women’s college in Tarrytown, New York, in 1907.

“As Mother Butler said, ‘The world has never needed women’s intelligence and sympathy more than it does today,’” MacInnis, the outgoing board president, told the group. “I’m proud to have been part of continuing this tradition.”

Mahayosnand, who succeeds MacInnis as board president, also cited the legacy of Mother Butler.

“Today, together, we are bonded by Marymount yet come from diverse backgrounds,” Mahayosnand said. “Father McShane often refers to Marymount women as storytellers. As a community, we are vocal, and from these stories, we are able to share in the rich history of what it means to be a Marymount woman and the importance of continuing the legacy of Mother Butler.”

The reception also honored the three recipients of the alumnae board’s annual awards.

Ottilie Droggitis, MC ’78, won the Gloria Gaines Memorial Award, the alumnae board’s highest honor, in recognition of her service to her church, her community, and Marymount. She has served on the Marymount Alumnae Board since 2016 and been an alumnae class agent for many years. She has worked for the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and as a teacher for the Montgomery County Public School System in Maryland. She is also an avid volunteer in her community, having served on the Capitol Hill Hospital Women’s Auxiliary Board and on the board of the Walter Johnson High School Education Foundation.

Carmen Garver, MC ’85, won the Alumna of Achievement Award. After a 15-year career in therapeutic intervention, clinical administration, and health education, in 2004 she and her husband, Bob, founded Wicked Joe Organic Coffees, Bard Coffee, and Wicked Leaf Organic Teas. Carmen and Bob were recognized in 2017 as Maine’s Small Business Leaders of the Year.

Jean Wynn, MC ’80, won the Golden Dome Award in recognition of her efforts to advance the Marymount community. Her background in strategic account management and international banking spans the U.S., Asia Pacific, and Europe. She retired in March as a managing director at BNY Mellon, where she had spent her entire career after graduating from Marymount in 1980. She was a founding member of BNY Mellon’s Women’s Initiative Network (WIN) and the Wall Street Women’s Alliance. She served for two terms as the vice president of the Marymount Alumnae Board; is a consistent donor to the Marymount Legacy Fund, an endowed scholarship fund that supports women students who carry on the Marymount tradition at Fordham;  and is a member of the Fordham President’s Council and Parents’ Leadership Council. She has also been an active participant and supporter of the Fordham’s annual Women’s Summit.

“It was a chance to get away, a different environment,” he said. “I was working five days a week, 12 to 13 hours a day. When it was time for me to go to school, I was ready to go. It was awesome.”

Besides taking technology courses to buttress his career as a computer programmer, there were other benefits of attending Marymount. It was there that he met Michele Holmes Chavers, MC ’99.

“I decided to stay in the dorms that fall, and who stepped off the elevator in the science building but my future husband,” recalled Holmes Chavers. “And that’s how we met. We had classes together at different times, grabbed a slice of pizza, a cup of coffee, and it went on from there.”

By 1985, Chavers’ career hit high gear and he was off to other cities. When he returned to Marymount, its transition to becoming a part of Fordham had already begun, so he transferred his Marymount credits to Fordham and took classes at the Westchester campus on the weekends through the School of Professional and Continuing Studies (PCS). He would go on to take classes with PCS at Rose Hill and finally at Lincoln Center—making him one of the very few to take classes at all four campuses.

“I really got a charge out of it. I was the first male student that helped create the ambassador program for career services [at Marymount]. I volunteered because I felt so good in my heart about Fordham,” he said, adding that he hopes to become more involved with the alumni community in the future.

“I contribute because they gave me a lot, especially having a program where I could go back to school as an adult. I was a man in my 50s and I got my [college]  degree.”