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.”

The day began with 75 hardy souls taking part in the annual Ram Run, which sent runners on a 5K loop around the campus.

While they passed beneath the boughs of stately elm trees lining the campus, other revelers passed beneath the arches of Rose Hill’s Southern Boulevard entrance, heading to the parking lot where they set up for tailgate parties. The lot drew fans of both Fordham and the College of the Holy Cross, whose Crusaders ultimately won the Homecoming matchup 49 to 27.

Joe Jordan, GABELLI ’74, a Fordham Football Hall of Fame inductee who received the 2019 Mara Family Award, joined former teammate John Lumelleau, FCRH ’74 at the lot. Jordan was a freshman when football was reinstated as a Division I varsity program in 1970, after it was stopped in 1954 and revived as a club in the 1960s and then a Division III team in the NCAA.

“They brought back varsity on a shoestring, really,” said Lumelleau, who is also a member of the Fordham University Board of Trustees. Still, there was excitement on campus for the program, particularly a game their freshman year against Georgetown, soon after legendary coach Vince Lombardi, FCRH ’37, passed away.

“At halftime, they had the six surviving Seven Blocks of Granite,” Jordan recalled, citing the nickname given to Fordham’s fearsome linemen, including Lombardi. Wellington Mara “[current co-owner of the New York Giants]. was there, Marie Lombardi was there. There was no Lombardi Center—that’s when they dedicated it.”

The pair and many of their teammates still get together every year as a part of the “Rams of the ’70s” group that Lumelleau, a 2015 Walsh Family Award winner, helped start.

Reuniting Under the Big Tent

In the center of campus, beside the field where the Holy Cross Crusaders would face off with the Fordham Rams for the 57th time, several thousand alumni, students, families, and friends flocked to massive tents on Edwards Parade for burgers, pulled chicken, and libations. Several tables offered information about various alumni affinity groups, while the Fordham University Alumni Association (FUAA) collected four boxes of goods that attendees donated for POTS, a nonprofit that helps individuals facing poverty in the Bronx.

Outside the tent, Giant Jenga games lured guests on the west side of the parade, while face painting, a bouncy castle, wall climbing, and corn hole enticed families by the steps of Keating Hall.

Elsewhere on campus, members of the Mimes and Mummers Alumni Association celebrated their annual “Collins-coming” at Collins Auditorium, and former Fordham Law School Assistant Dean Robert J. Reilly, FCRH ’72, LAW ’75, guided a group of 30 on a walking tour of the campus titled Hidden in Plain Sight: Discover the Jesuit Presence at Rose Hill. Among the tidbits he shared was the fact that the statue of St. Ignatius of Loyola next to Hughes Hall was commissioned by Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, who requested that the founder of the Jesuits be depicted facing directly up at the heavens.

“If you Google St. Ignatius of Loyola, you will not find that except for one place. This is a very, very unusual statue,” he said.

A Welcoming Community

Seated at one of the blue tables in the tent reserved for Marymount College alumnae was Teresita Abay-Krueger, MC ’80, who studied biology and chemistry and went on to work at IBM. For several years, she served on the Marymount alumnae board.

“Fordham has been a very welcoming community to the Marymount alumnae … You’ve really been cheerleaders for [our]  legacy in many respects. And we not only appreciate it, but we respect that,” she said.

“It’s just been a natural melding of the two communities. And what better place to have it than Homecoming, where we get to celebrate a nice football game on a beautiful campus with plenty to eat and drink?”

A Bond Among Jesuit Schools

The event also drew families for whom loyalties between the Rams and the Crusaders were split. Bob and Rose Shea, natives of West Hartford, Connecticut, who graduated from the College of Holy Cross in 1985 and 1986, respectively, were sporting dark purple garb, while their daughter Fiona Shea, FCRH ’19, wore a hat that said simply, “Bronx.” Rose said they love the camaraderie between alumni of Jesuit schools. She’s also confessed to being obsessed with New York Botanical Garden, and noted that they became members during Fiona’s freshman year. Arthur Avenue is a must-stop for them every time they visit.

“Being from Connecticut, we’re more familiar with Boston, and of course we’re familiar with New York, but having Fiona here, it opened a whole new world to us,” she said.

A Time for Families

Multiple generations of Rams took part in the day’s festivities. Lynn and Ryan Flaherty, both FCRH ’00, watched their children Nolan, 9, Reagan, 7, and Ainsley, 5, take their turns on the bouncy castles; they said there was never a question that they’d make the drive from Amityville, New York, for the day.

“We love bringing the kids here, and showing them where mom and dad went to school,” said Lynn. “They really do try to do something for the kids. Ryan’s parents join us, so we make it a big family thing.”

Jerry Breslin, FCRH ’59, likewise said he treasured the memories of his time on campus. He started returning after his son, John, graduated from Fordham College at Rose Hill in 1991. When he was an undergraduate, he said, he befriended the priest who was then the dean of men, and the priest officiated at Breslin’s wedding. Most of his former classmates had good friends who were Jesuits, he said.

“In the springtime, after dinner we’d come out and play softball. There’d be a hundred Jesuits standing around, watching the game. You’d make an error or something, and they’d yell, ‘Breslin, you’re just as bad at softball as you are in the classroom,’” he said, laughing.

Chris Healy, on the other hand, never graduated from Fordham, but nonetheless feels at home at Rose Hill. He’s been coming here since he was seven, when his father, Richard Healy, FCRH ’50 and uncle, Stan Bloomer, FCRH, ’50, brought him to his first homecoming.

“My family has such a history here,” said Healy, wearing a Fordham jacket more than three decades old. “To me, it’s tradition and history that embellishes this University.”

His daughter, Brittany Healy, GABELLI ’17, was celebrating in the main tent, too. Growing up, she and her two older brothers frequently watched football games at the Rose Hill campus. Years later, she majored in business administration and marketing at Fordham—just like her grandfather.

“My friends and I always talk about how Fordham is really like no other place on the planet,” said Healy, who is now an account executive at a public relations agency. “The community feel and the love that we have at this college is just different than anywhere else.”

For self-proclaimed “Fordham fanatic” Maggie Wimmer, FCRH ’16, this year’s homecoming had extra resonance.

“I love coming to homecoming. Whenever I get the chance to come back, I really enjoy it. And now that he’s in the program, it’s even more of a reason,” she said, motioning to her boyfriend, Matthew Glaser, a Ph.D. student in philosophy at Fordham.

“I haven’t even been to my undergraduate homecoming before, so this is a new experience for me,” said Glaser, who lives near Arthur Avenue.

Wimmer said she loves running into people she knew at Fordham, even if they were just acquaintances at the time.

“When you see them, it’s so exciting to relive those memories. It’s like you all have something to come back to,” said Wimmer, who majored in psychology at Fordham and now works in public health outreach at Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.

“When we were graduating and Father McShane said, ‘This is your home, stay long and visit often’—you just connect with that, because when you walk on campus, it feels like home, like a breath of fresh air.”

View more photos from Homecoming.

Taylor Ha, Kelly Kultys, and Nicole LaRosa contributed reporting.