Send us alumnae news and reflections
The department is poised to mark its 50th Anniversary, a celebration of the past, present, and future of the Christian Culture/Humanistic Studies Program. The event is scheduled for the evening of Sunday September 17, 2006 and much of the day Monday the 18th. One of the highlights of our time together will be the inauguration of the Christian Culture Lecture series, a newly endowed lectureship that will revive a distinctive component of the early years of the department. We were fortunate to engage a noted medieval historian, Miri Rubin of the University of London, who will lecture on an aspect of her forthcoming book, a cultural history of the Virgin Mary. Her talk at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday will be the first event of the Anniversary celebration. Other events the following day will include colloquia, a lunch, and a panel discussion of alumnae talking about the impact the major has had on their lives. We very much hope that Professor Schlesinger will be able to participate in these events. Registration materials for the Anniversary will be mailed to all alumnae on July 5, 2006. The deadline for registering is August 11th. Please direct any questions to Professor Philip Hicks (phicks@saintmarys.edu).
If anyone has a snapshot from their days in the Program, we would love to incorporate it into an Anniversary slide show covering the past fifty years. If you are interested, please send a digital photo in an email to Professor Gail Mandell (gmandell@saintmarys.edu). Alternatively, print off a copy of your original and mail it to Gail c/o Humanistic Studies, Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame IN 46556.
Mary Kate Driscoll ’02 is Director of Recruitment for Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, an intellectual property law firm in Chicago. She writes of her classmates in Chicago: Jessica McKasy is Marketing Coordinator for the law firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson; Megan Keleher is in her second year of law school at DePaul.
Friends and classmates of Cathleen Roe ’92 attended a ceremony on April 2, 2006 dedicating a bench in front of Holy Cross Hall to her memory. The inscription reads: “In Loving Memory of Cathleen Roe Eagan, ’92 (1969-2005). Mother. Daughter. Wife. Sister. Friend. The world is a much better place having known her love, courage, strength and smile. She is an angel in heaven watching over us.”
Emily Noem ’05 is living in Juneau, Alaska, working at a domestic violence shelter for women.
Cathy Schroeder ’01 has earned her Masters in Art Education at Ohio State and is now working at the Art Institute in Chicago.
Mary L. Burke ’85, Principal with The Food Partners, an investment banking firm to the food industry, was elected to the Saint Mary's College Board of Trustees at its April, 2005 meeting.
Regan Doherty ’97 spent nine weeks in the summer of 2004 studying Arabic in the language immersion program at Middlebury College. She won a full scholarship to Washington University in St. Louis, where she begins work on her Master’s in Middle Eastern Studies.
Melissa Thatcher ’97 is an Account Manager at Press Ganey Associates in South Bend. She belongs to a fabulous book club, whose members include Janet Kelley ’97, who is now teaching English at Penn High School, after earning her M. Div. from Notre Dame and spending a year at the Balassi Balink Institute in Budapest, Hungary.
Sally Thompson ’00 is finishing up her Master’s Program in Nursing at Yale University.
Jill Burdo ’93 has shifted gears after a decade in health care sales. She teaches social studies and English at the Pompano Beach Institute for International Relations in Florida, “the top magnet program in the Broward County School District.”
Beth Castricone ’01 works with a private wealth management company in Charlestown, Massachusetts and, to her own surprise, is pursuing an MBA at the Simmons College School of Management.
The 2004 Commencement speaker was Diane Daly McGarry ’70. Peggy Hill ’61 was also honored at graduation ceremonies with an honorary degree.
Megan Keleher ’02 spent five months in Seville, Spain teaching English as a foreign language. She’s working as a recruiting coordinator in Chicago. She, Tracey Quinn ’02, and Muffy Grant ’02 made it back for the 2004 Commencement. Muffy and Amanda Terry ’02 are rooming together in Washington, D.C., where they are both in the Masters of Liberal Studies program at Georgetown.
Cathy Schroeder ’01 is working on her Masters in arts education at Ohio State and spent the summer in London at Row Hampton College. She is planning an August 2004 wedding in her hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She is engaged to Patrick Ward (ND’01), a guest at the 2001 hooding ceremony.
Kelly McGannon ’99 won a full scholarship to pursue a PhD in art history at Princeton University. She began her studies in the fall of 2004.
Tish Baltes ’01 won a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English in Weiz, Austria for the 2003-2004 academic year.
Jayne Ader ’92 is Co-Executive Director and Co-Founder of CORE/El Centro, a non-profit natural healing center.
Rachel Degenhardt ’03 is a Research Assistant with Latham & Watkins, LLP.
Nancy Strzelecki Tai ’95 spent three years teaching English in Japan, then worked in human resources, learned Japanese, got married, and now is with the Office of Political Affairs at the Consulate General of Japan in Chicago. “See?” she writes. “You really CAN do anything with a HUST major.”
Mendy Nitsch ’93 was awarded the Humanitas Award by the SMC Alumnae Association for her service work with children. She now teaches English as a Second Language in Baltimore. Read about her award in the Courier (Fall 2003).
Mary Warnement ’91 is a Reference Librarian at the Boston Athenaeum in Boston, Massachusetts.
After two years as a writer and editor for Physician’s Weekly, Lisa Maxbauer ‘99 has become a freelance writer. She remains based in Manhattan. Recently she formed a book club to try to capture a bit of that HUST magic after graduation.
The department was shocked and saddened to learn that Suzanne Kondratenko ‘96 died in the terrorist attacks of September 11th. Stories about Suzanne appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the Detroit News, the Saint Mary’s Courier, and a number of other media outlets. John Shinners spoke for many of us when he said: “She embodied what it means to be a Saint Mary’s woman: liberally educated, open to the world and to making it better, big-hearted, graceful--in the best sense of that word--in love with learning and with life, an inspiration and a delight to anyone lucky enough to know her.” To donate to the Suzanne Kondratenko Memorial Fund, please send a check (payable to Saint Mary’s College) to the Development Office, 110 LeMans Hall, Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame IN 46556. Please make clear that your donation is for the Suzanne Kondratenko Memorial Fund.
