Literary issue - Lauralton Hall

Transcription

summer 2010
the Magazine for the academy of Our Lady of Mercy | Lauralton Hall
Literary issue
Alumnae from ALL classes
are invited to Lauralton Hall’s
Homecoming Weekend
September 18 & 19, 2010
be honored
Reunion years ending in 0 and 5 will
g:
for reaching special milestones includin
the Class of 1960 celebrating
their 50th Golden Anniversary
and the Class of 1985 in honor of
their 25th Silver Anniversary!
Homecoming S
oiree
for all al
umnae
& guests
Saturday , Sep
tember 18, 201
0
5:00 p.m. - Regi
stration
5:30 p.m. - Proc
ession of Classe
s, Liturgy in the
6:30 p.m.- Soire
Chapel
e, Libations and
Buffet,
Class Photos, Ba
sket Raffle
(Your generosity
is greatly apprecia
All proceeds bene
ted.
fit Alumnae Scho
larship.)
Golden Girls So
ciety Annual Lun
cheon
Sun
day, Septembe
r 19
, 2010
For all alumnae
who have celebr
ated 50 or more
years.
Guests welcom
e!
Noon - Registra
tion and Conver
sation
12:30 p.m. - Lu
ncheon
- Schedule of Eve
nts Soiree $
45
per p
Questionlastio?ns
e Re
Call the Alumna
Office at
ext. 114
203.877.2786,
nae Online
or visit the Alum
ity
commun at
hall.org
www.lauralton
erson
Golden
Girls Lu
ncheon
per pers
$25
on
Golden
Girls a
can atte nd their guests
nd
at a disc both events
ounted r
ate of
$60 p
er perso
n
- Advanc
e Reserv
ations Re
quired -
A Few Words of Greeting
frOM tHe Office Of tHe President
“ The pe n is mightie r than the sword .”
“A rose by any othe r name w ould smell a s sweet.”
“ Talk is cheap.”
ese quotes are, of course, words about words, and all are true in certain contexts.
As a society, we are bombarded by language. We have become full-time senders
and recipients of messages. e word “message,” once an indisputable noun, has
become a verb. We text, we tweet, we instant-message, we e-mail, we tell social
networks what’s on our minds, we post to our blogs. Everywhere we go, relentless
streams of information tell us about things to buy, places to see, events to attend,
and on it goes.
In the midst of it all, we still find artists who can weave a tapestry of words.
rough their skill, we visit unfamiliar places, learn new ideas, or interact with
people who may not even exist except in the author’s imagination. Words allow us
to share a gi that is uniquely human and ubiquitous in all cultures: the urge to
hear and the ability to tell a good story.
e distinction between disposable words and well-craed language has never
been more apparent than it is today. at is why here at Lauralton Hall, we
nurture writers who can not only express themselves clearly and well, but who
have studied great literature. From Dante to Dickinson, from Milton to
Morrison, exceptional writers have the ability to stop us in our tracks, stir our
souls, and make us ponder the human condition.
In this issue of Hallmarks, you will meet women whose literary gis allow them
to demystify scientific inquiry, provide insight into world news, invite truthseekers on spiritual journeys, or just plain entertain readers. I hope you enjoy their
words as much as I have.
Cordially,
Antoinette Iadarola, Ph.D.
President | Academy of Our Lady of Mercy, Lauralton Hall
The Magazine for the Academy of Our Lady of Mercy | Lauralton Hall
Hallmarks
1
Hallmarks
summer 2010 | Volume 37, no. 2
PrEsIDEnt
Antoinette Iadarola, Ph.D.
P r I n C I PA L
Ann Pratson
A s s I s tA n t P r I n C I PA L
Cynthia Gallant
ADMIssIOns AnD FInAnCIAL AID
DIrECtOr
Kathleen O. shine
E xECutIvE DIrECtOr OF
DEvELOPMEnt
Lisa M. Hottin
F E A T U R E S
BusInEss MAnAGEr
vincent L. vigliotti
Alyce Merwin, ’43
A L u M n A E r E L At I O n s D I r E C t O r /
HALLMArKs CO-EDItOr
Legacy Society Member on the Lauralton Advantage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Kathleen Kearns Donahue, ’80
E x t E r n A L r E L At I O n s
C O O r D I n At O r /
HALLMArKs EDItOr
Noreen Hermanns Fenton, ’72
Supporting Catholic Education and Making a Lasting Tribute
to a Departed Lauralton Sister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Julie Kinsella, ’88
COntrIButInG WrItEr s
Dolores “Dolly” Liptak, RSM, Ph.D., ’49
Kathleen Kearns Donahue, ’80
Meg Greene, feature articles
Revising after Morning Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
PHOtO Gr APHy
Making a Case for Scientific Field Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
steve Adams Photography, East Berlin
Prestige Barkley Photographic Design, stratford
Christine ring
robert taylor Photography, stratford
COvEr COnCEPt
Elizabeth Higgins Gladfelter, Ph.D., ’64
Donna M. Lucey, ’69
Discovering Narratives in Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Poet Nikki Giovanni Headlines Lauralton’s
Exciting New “In-Residence” Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
DEsIGn
Fosse-Previs Design, Milford
Class of 2010 Commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Staff Profile: Terry Lawler
Hallmarks is published twice a year for alumnae,
parents, faculty, staff and friends of the
Lauralton community. © 2010, Academy of
Our Lady of Mercy, Lauralton Hall.
Book Lover, Technology Buff, and Decaffeinated Barista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Please send address changes to Lauralton Hall,
200 High st., Milford, Ct 06460, Attention:
Hallmarks. Letters to the editor can be sent to Julie
Kinsella, ’88, at the above address or by e-mail to
[email protected]. Alumnae are
encouraged to submit articles, information, and
photographs to Kathie donahue, ’80, at the above
address or by e-mail to [email protected]
in the Alumnae relations Office.
R E G U L A R
2
Hallmarks
D E P A R T M E N T S
FROM THE PRESIDENT
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
S TA F F N O T E S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 6
STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS
CLASS NOTES
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
MYSTERY PHOTO
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
L au r a Lt O n L e g a c y s O c i e t y
Alyce Merwin, ’43
Legacy society Member on the Lauralton Advantage
alyce Merwin, ’43, is one of the earliest members of the Lauralton Legacy society. Ask about her
motivation for joining and her answer is simple: “I will never forget the education I got there, how it inspired
me, or how far it got me in life.”
Lauralton biology teacher sister Catherine Mary was influential in Alyce’s decision to pursue science at a time
when not many women did. Alyce doesn’t recall the name of her chemistry teacher, but vividly remembers
“having my nose to the grindstone during four years of that subject in college.” she attended rollins College
in Winter Park, Florida, which gave rise to some teasing from friends when e Saturday Evening Post dubbed
rollins “the country club of the south.” While Alyce did play on the golf team there, she was all business when
it came to her studies. In her senior year, she got special permission to take a class in clinical studies, and aer
graduating, went to Paine Hall school for technicians in new york City and became a laboratory technician.
For most of her career, Alyce used her clinical skills at Milford Hospital, where for many years she and just
one other lab tech did all phases of clinical laboratory work needed in hospital laboratory testing. Later, the
hospital’s head of surgery asked Alyce to add histology to her medical repertoire—histology being the analysis
of surgically removed tissue. soon, she was a registered Histologic technician doing work for Milford
Hospital off-site at the Hospital of saint raphael Pathology Laboratory in new Haven, as she awaited the
completion of the addition to Milford Hospital that would house its own facilities for histology. While at
saint raphael’s, she was also noting the best practices for when she would set up a histology unit in Milford.
“It was my great joy to be the one who ordered all the needed equipment when those capabilities were added
at Milford Hospital,” she says.
roughout Alyce Merwin’s long and satisfying career, she never forgot her alma mater. Alyce graciously
named Lauralton Hall in the Charitable remainder trust set up in her will. e school will be perpetually
grateful for Alyce’s help in assuring its bright future. “My Lauralton education stayed with me and helped
me succeed,” she says. “It’s my way of giving back.”
Hallmarks
3
L au r a Lt O n L e g a c y s O c i e t y
noreen Hermanns Fenton, ’72
supporting Catholic Education and Making a Lasting tribute
to a Departed Lauralton sister
noreen Hermanns fenton, ’72, joined the Legacy
society for two reasons.
e first reason is that she and her husband Ed (an alumni of
st. Joseph’s school in trumbull) valued their own Catholic
educations and felt blessed by being able to provide the same
type of education for their four children. noreen says of her
parents, “ey are still living and made enormous sacrifices for
us. My mother wanted to attend Lauralton herself, but wasn’t
able to, so she worked extra shis to help send all six of the
Hermanns girls there. My sisters gail Hermanns Beliveau,
’65; Mary Hermanns McKenzie, ’66; shawn Hermanns
Landry, ’75; robin Hermanns, ’78 and Heidi Hermanns
Warren, ’83 attended from the 1960s through the 80s.
e second reason noreen became a member of the Lauralton Legacy
society was Mary. noreen’s friend and sister-in-law, Mary fenton cady,
’74, struggled for decades with cancer and its debilitating treatments, but
never gave in to despair and never stopped setting goals for herself. “When
Mary was having a relapse, she would set a modest goal, like sitting in a
chair and not being in bed while she ate a small meal,” noreen says. “When
her health was better, she would set ambitious goals like finishing college,
seeing her children complete high school, and getting a master’s degree.
she set so many goals for herself and achieved them all before she died.”
Before Mary’s diagnosis during her senior year, the younger girl’s greatest
dream was to become a cheerleader at Lauralton so she could cheer for
Fairfield Preparatory school. noreen was to become Mary’s honorary “big
sister” at Lauralton as their friendship deepened. ose bonds of friendship
were transformed into familial bonds of sisterhood when noreen married
Mary’s older brother. e same bonds sustained Mary and inspired noreen
as Mary’s illness progressed.
Of her sister-in-law, noreen says, “she was a teacher of life lessons in how
to deal with adversity. she taught us how to have a good attitude, how to
walk our faith, how to set goals—no matter how small—and how to make
the most of each day. e most valuable lesson she taught was how to be
grateful to God for the gi of one’s life. Her untimely death gave Ed and
me the nudge we needed to stop talking about giving back and do
something about it.”
Lauralton Hall is humbled and grateful to noreen and Ed Fenton for
designating the school in their wills with a gi given in such a profoundly
beautiful spirit.
4
Hallmarks
Dolores “Dolly” Liptak, rsM, Ph.D., ’49
Revising aer Morning Prayers
ister dolores “dolly” Liptak, ’49, a 1988
Claven Award recipient, freely admits to
being a reluctant writer. “I began writing 15 or
20 years aer entering the convent,” she says.
“I did it because I was a historian, and
publishing is the only way to prove yourself in
that discipline.” she remembers that writing
came quite naturally to her when she was very
young, and she notes that literary talent seems
to run in her family; her mother was an
untrained but wonderful writer, and her
brother is a journalist and executive editor.
For sister Dolores, however, writing for
publication is only achieved through the
“blood, sweat, and tears” of exhaustive
research, referencing and, above all, revision.
s
sister Dolores’ first book grew out of her
Ph.D. program in American history at the
university of Connecticut in 1979. she was
well versed in ethnic studies, but for her
dissertation she wanted to include research
on the roman Catholic Church. is
combination of topics moved her into an
area she hadn’t studied then, but later became
an expert in—Catholic Church history in
America. Her dissertation, European
Immigrants and the Catholic Church in
Connecticut, 1870-1920, was published by
the Center for Migration studies in 1987.
Eventually, she would take on an even more
ambitious related project with Immigrants
and eir Church, Makers of the Catholic
Community, published by Macmillan in 1989.
Aer completing her doctoral work, sister
Dolores moved to Washington, D.C., to work
for CArA—the Center for Applied research
in the Apostolate at Georgetown university.
CArA’s tag line is “Putting social science
research at the service of the Church since
1964.” While there, she published an
overview of the Catholic Church in
Connecticut that was translated into five
languages. she also wrote about the
development and contributions of women’s
religious congregations in America.
she branched out into editorial projects while
at CArA. ursula stepsis, C.s.A., who worked
for a Catholic healthcare organization, asked
for sister Dolores’ help on a historical book.
e result was a work called Pioneer Healers,
e History of Women Religious in American
Health Care, published by Crossroad Press in
1989. e book was a scholarly overview of
nuns who embraced the mission of caring for
the sick from revolutionary wartimes through
the twentieth century. One review of the book
called the two editors pioneers in their own
right for delving into a neglected but vast and
fascinating topic.
Later, she would collaborate with an amateur
historian named George C. stewart to create a
compendium on women’s religious orders
called Marvels of Charity: History of American
Sisters and Nuns, published by Our sunday
visitor in 1994. e comprehensive nature of
the book made it a valuable resource for
understanding the history and mission of
virtually every order of nuns in America.
Archival work is another aspect of a historian’s
job, and sister Dolores did a great deal of
it as well—particularly for monasteries.
“I organized an archive for the Baltimore
Carmelite Monastery and another for the
Georgetown visitation Monastery. In the
course of compiling and categorizing so many
papers, I got to know a lot about many
contemplative orders,” she recounts. “I say this
in all humility, but given the amount of
archiving I’ve done, I may know more details
about religious communities in the united
states than anyone else at this point.”
Every writer has her or his own rhythm and
approach to writing. When asked about hers,
sister Dolores says that she typically sits down
to write around 9:00 or 9:30 in the morning.
“I have lots of things to do when I get up,” she
says, “the most important being prayer and
going to Mass.”
Once sister Dolores begins her writing day, she
will continue working until about 1:00. en
she gets lunch and sits down in front of the tv
to watch literally anything that’s on just to reset
her mind. Aer about an hour, she returns to
her work and continues until about 5:00. “I’m a
person who tends to have a single focus when
attacking a project,” she explains. “I complete all
my research before writing the first word. I truly
love that part.”
sister Dolores has embraced a more nuanced
view of her source materials over time.
she notes that C.K. Chesterton identified a
famous paradox: that anything worth doing is
worth doing badly. “I gradually came to know
what he meant as it relates to history, because
written records are flawed by their very nature,”
she says. “Here’s an example. I had two primary
Hallmarks
5
sources for the book I did on the Church in
Connecticut. I would become frustrated with
one of the sources because it contained so
many inaccuracies, but over the years, I’ve
become fonder of that imperfect source. ere
were misstatements and misspellings in it, but
the priest who wrote it really knew how to tell
a story. He was writing about something he
cared about and he had a definite point of view.
Whether history is written by an amateur or
professional, it is always written through the
perspective of the writer. With the imperfect
source, I was seeing through the eyes of the
writer in his own time.”
Aer the research is done, sister Dolly begins
to formulate the structure of the book. “en
it’s one chapter at a time,” she says. “I might
produce ten pages a day, but the first thing I’ll
do the next day is toss out all but four or five
pages of what I’ve written. It’s not that I’m
trying to be a perfectionist or that my prose has
to sparkle and shine; it’s just that I strive to be
completely clear. I oen write something that
might sound fine on the face of it, but it doesn’t
express what I meant to say. en I have to
revise and revise until I get it right. at’s the
‘blood, sweat and tears’ part of writing.”
Elizabeth Higgins Gladfelter, Ph.D., ’64
Making a Case for Scientific Field Work
oday’s academics understand the dictum:
“Publish or die.” ey must write
academic papers within their disciplines,
endlessly pursue grants, conduct research,
teach undergraduate classes, and mentor
graduate students. As these activities make
ever-increasing demands on a scholar’s time
and as research funding becomes scarcer,
opportunities for field-based work,
particularly in the natural sciences, have
become scarcer, too.
t
Betsy gladfelter saw that a certain type of
scientific researcher was becoming an
endangered species. she was troubled by the
growing rarity of broadly trained scientists
who use all their senses to collect scientific
data and who can put that data into a larger
environmental context. she was also
convinced that scientific progress and learning
is oen best served in group settings, where
forums exist for exchanging and improving
upon individual ideas. erefore, this marine
biologist, who had published many scientific
papers for academic readers, decided it was
time to become a storyteller with a wider
audience in mind.
In Agassiz’s Legacy: Scientists’ Reflections on the
Value of Field Experience, Betsy conducted
interviews with dozens of scientists and
painted a picture of how scientific inquiry has
evolved since World War II. “I’m a big fan of
studs terkel,” she says of the famous oral
historian and author of Working and e Good
6
Hallmarks
War. “I like his writing style, and I’m also just
naturally curious—the kind of person you can
invite to a party because I’ll go around asking
people about themselves.” she put terkel’s
model of collecting and editing social history
to use in her book.
Agassiz’s Legacy was published by Oxford
university Press in 2002 and is organized by
decade. It starts with the World War II
generation in the 1940s, then tracks
subsequent trends through the “silent”
generation of the 50s, “sputnik” generation of
the 60s (the beginning of Betsy’s own
academic career), “Last of the Golden years”
generation of the 70s, the “Lean years” that
marked the 1980s, and concludes with
thoughts on where the natural sciences were
headed at the dawn of the 21st century. Betsy
asked each interviewee four questions:
1.) How did you get into science? 2.) Who and
what were your most important influences?
3.) How has doing science changed during
your lifetime? 4.) How has educating scientists
changed during your lifetime?
Betsy distilled each of these responses down
while holding them up against a broader social
context. she examines why earlier generations
of scientists were able to do field work and
what it added to their research. she also
discusses why that practice has lost ground to
highly specialized, laboratory-based work, and
how much of this change in emphasis stems
from the way the u.s. government funded
scientific research during the Cold War versus
cutbacks that started during the reagan era.
Betsy wrote her book while working as a guest
investigator at the famed Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts,
but prior to that she spent many years
becoming an expert on coral reefs while
teaching and doing research with her husband
at Farleigh Dickinson university’s West Indies
Lab in st. Croix, virgin Islands.
Betsy found that, ironically enough, the
academic trajectory of the women scientists
she interviewed did not originally include
science. Many started college with the idea of
becoming an English or spanish major, but
aer taking field trips during their college
science classes, they rediscovered their love of
the natural world, and realized that it could be
a viable career path.
As for Betsy, “I went to Cornell for a year, got
married and went with my husband to
stanford where I completed my bachelor’s
degree in biology. Bill and I took lots of field
trips on our own to the deserts, mountains,
and seashores in California. Cornell and
stanford were unusual in that they both were
coed, so there was a good balance of men and
women in my classes. However, in my entire
college career, with all the coursework I took,
I only had two female professors. And if you
go back a few years earlier, there was a lot of
blatant gender discrimination even there. My
older sister anne [Higgins Porter, ’52] was at
stanford before me and was also interested in
field sciences, but when she applied to do field
work in Alaska, she was told that as a woman,
she couldn’t go because she would be too weak
to dig ditches! My other sister, Mary etta
[Higgins, rsM, ’58], also went into biology
and then became a nun. she never told me
whether she had to deal with that problem.”
Fortunately, the climate for women had
changed by the time Betsy got to stanford;
she went on to get her master’s in marine
science at Pacific university and her
doctorate in biology at the university of
California at Los Angeles.
today, Betsy contributes essays on
conservation to the local newspaper in
Falmouth, Mass., where she serves on the
town’s Conservation Commission. A scholarathlete from her Lauralton days, Betsy also
became an accidental journalist there.
“I played field hockey and basketball at
Lauralton and in college,” Betsy says.
“Lauralton’s newspaper needed a sports
reporter, and I could pretty much just write
down what had happened during the games.”
Her beloved late husband Bill oen
encouraged her to consider writing a novel.
she doesn’t think she has the imagination for
that, although Agassiz’s Legacy clearly indicates
that she can tell a good story and cra strong,
clear prose. Imagination or no, Betsy finds that
she’s spent the last few months looking for an
idea for the next book. Once bitten by the
writing bug, the urge to write one more is
hard to resist.
Donna M. Lucey, ’69
Discovering Narratives in Images
D
onna Lucey’s literary imagination is fired
by images; not just the mental images
most authors conjure up as they write stories,
but by pictures of real people. And such
people! From scheming Gilded Age socialites
to fiercely independent frontier women,
Donna Lucey brings elusive, oen eccentric
historical characters to life through recovered
images and the written word.
Calamity Jane—enough research to be offered
representation by a literary agent who wanted
a biography of that larger-than-life woman of
the Old West. At the age of 22, Donna didn’t
think she had a whole book in her yet, so she
took a job as a photo editor at time-Life
Books instead. Her Calamity Jane research
came in handy when she began working on a
time-Life series on the American West.
Donna was attending Georgetown university
when she had a fateful first encounter with
the national Archives. “I was taking a course
called ‘u.s. History in the 20th Century,’”
she says. “I did a project on the treatment of
the Chinese in America during World War II
and conducted most of my research there.
at’s when I fell in love with old photographs,
particularly old black and white photos.
e people in them came to life for me, almost
like an old home movie. I wanted to tell their
stories.”
seven years, two grants from the national
Endowment for the Humanities, and
many trips to the desolate badlands of
Montana later, Donna had collected,
organized and documented a huge treasure
trove of images and diaries that provided a
remarkable look at frontier life at the turn of
the 20th century. e woman who created the
photographs and diaries reclaimed her place in
American history in Donna Lucey’s first book:
Photographing Montana 1894-1928: e Life
and Work of Evelyn Cameron.
Donna nearly got a job at the national
Archives. (“I was there all the time anyway,”
she says.) However, she ended up in new york
City aer doing research-for-hire about
Evelyn Cameron and her husband Ewen were
an eccentric, aristocratic British couple who
moved to terry, Montana, to breed polo
ponies. at scheme bankrupted them, but
Evelyn fell in love with frontier life and
taught herself to photograph it. When Evelyn
Cameron died in 1928, she le stacks of
glass-plate negatives and detailed diaries to a
beloved friend who was nearly 100 years old
when Donna met her. Aer gaining the elderly
woman’s trust, Donna was given permission to
make new prints from the plates. “I had to
work with them right there in terry,” she says.
Hallmarks
7
“It was too expensive to move them, not to
mention the danger of breakage in transit, so I
rented a neglected old house and rigged up a
darkroom. Every time I turned off the lights,
grasshoppers would start jumping out of the
shag carpeting.”
Donna’s epic battle with these critters
paid off—Cameron emerged from the
mists of history as one of the preeminent
photographers of the American West and
a meticulous documenter of frontier life.
Most of her photographs were donated to the
Montana Historical society, but the city of
terry still loves Donna for bringing the work
of its most famous citizen to light. Aer the
book was published in 1990, the town
declared “Donna Lucey Day.” And when a
Public Broadcasting service documentary
based on the book premiered in terry a few
years ago, Donna returned to town. “e film
premier coincided with their county fair and
rodeo, so my husband, son and I got to ride on
a float in their parade. terry, Montana, is the
only place where I can honestly claim that I
am a bona fide celebrity.”
Donna's next book was also pictorially driven.
I Dwell in Possibility: Women Build a Nation
1600-1920 was published by national
Geographic and examines women’s
contributions in America before this nation
even granted them the right to vote. Lavishly
illustrated, meticulously researched, and well
reviewed, the book examined the lives of more
women who, like Evelyn Cameron, had been
consigned to the shadows of u.s. history.
A few celebrities—Pocahontas, Phyllis
Wheatley, Harriet Beecher stowe, and
Elizabeth Cady stanton—share chapters
with anonymous seneca tribeswomen,
unsung revolutionary War heroines, viciously
oppressed slave women, and 150 factory
workers who perished in a fire at an infamous
turn-of-the-century new york sweatshop,
along with the experiences of scores of other
American women.
A more conventional biography followed.
Archie and Amelie: Love and Madness in the
Gilded Age charts the scandalous marriage,
subsequent divorce and sensational further
misadventures of John Armstrong “Archie”
Chanler, an eccentric member of the Astor
family, and Amelie rives, a manipulative,
stereotypical “southern Belle.” Archie ends
up in a “madhouse for the rich” and Amelie
becomes both a best-selling author and a
morphine addict. A reviewer for e
Washington Post says that “roughout,
[Archie and Amelie] engages its readers in the
initially charming and ultimately harrowing
tale of the marriage between two self-willed
and self-absorbed thoroughbreds, a public
and scandalous romance that crashed and
burned, as such romances are wont to do, in
a decidedly spectacular fashion.”
Donna Lucey’s latest work-in-progress is based
on her discovery of thousands of original
letters written to the famous painter and
portraitist John singer sargent by several
women who posed for him, including a sister
of Archie Chanler. “He was an enigmatic
figure,” Donna says. “ese letters provide a
back-story and context for him and his work.”
Fans of the historical period Donna Lucey has
so aptly researched and documented can learn
more when she lectures on Evelyn Cameron
and the American West at the ventfort Hall
Mansion and Gilded Age Museum in Lenox,
Massachusetts, on Wednesday, september 1
at 4:00pm. A victorian tea will add to the
visitor’s experience of these bygone times.
For more information, call 413-637-3206
or visit www.gildedage.org .
The 2010 edition of Lauralton’s student literary magazine,
theLOOKINGGLASS, was recently published online and can be
accessed by visiting the school website, www.lauraltonhall.org.
On the lower left-hand side of the homepage
— click on Lauralton Hallways;
under Lauralton Publications
— click on The Looking Glass 2010.
English teacher Jennifer Jerolmon Amore, ’00
“hopes you enjoy these short stories, essays,
poems, sketches, and photos as much as
we’ve enjoyed putting this piece together!”
8
Hallmarks
PHOTO COURTESY OF VIRGINIA TECH
Poet nikki Giovanni Headlines Lauralton’s
Exciting new “In-residence” Program
resident antoinette iadarola, Ph.d.
is delighted to announce a new set of
“In-residence” programs that will benefit
Lauralton students and the community at
large. Distinguished scholars, artists and
sisters of Mercy will visit Lauralton to lecture,
teach advanced placement or other master
classes, perform, and provide unique insights
into their areas of accomplishment. While
these visiting luminaries’ primary focus will be
on Lauralton students, the school will also
share their expertise and talents with the
wider community through lectures, readings
and other events.
read American poets in the world, Ms.
Giovanni first came to prominence during
the civil rights movement with her forthright
examinations of race and injustice. since then,
she has received numerous honors and
awards and authored several children’s books
in addition to her many poetic works, essays
and spoken recordings.
she has been a university
Distinguished Professor
at virginia tech since
1987, where she teaches
writing and literature.
[see interview at right.]
“residency programs add depth to a school’s
usual curriculum,” notes President Iadarola.
“ough scholar-in-residence series are more
common at the university level, hosting
such a series here at Lauralton highlights
our commitment to providing exceptional
learning experiences for our students.
When we share our distinguished guests with
the community, Lauralton’s visibility and
prestige is further enhanced.”
Before hosting one of
America’s finest
contemporary poets,
Lauralton will get
scholarly insight about
another celebrated poet
of the 19th century.
scholar in residence
Jonnie guerra will share
her knowledge of and passion for the poetry of
Emily Dickinson in the fall semester of 2010.
A member of the board of directors of the
Emily Dickinson society, Dr. Guerra directed
its first international conference, held several
of the society’s elected offices, and edited its
Poet to Poet series. [see profile on page 10.]
A truly extraordinary set of distinguished
guests will grace the program’s inaugural year.
Poet in residence nikki giovanni is
slated to visit Lauralton in March of 2011.
Her engagement at Lauralton is made
possible thanks in part to the generosity
of a community grant from the Frederick A.
DeLuca Foundation. One of the most widely
PHOTO COURTESY OF VIRGINIA TECH
P
CHOIC
© Nik
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In proud celebration of the mission of the
sisters of Mercy who founded Lauralton Hall,
the program will be rounded out by rsM in
residence deirdre Mullan. sister Deirdre
is the director of Mercy Global Concern,
the Mercy International Association’s presence
at the united nations in new york City.
As director of MGC, she facilitates the order’s
advocacy for the impoverished people in the
developing world. sister Deidre is scheduled
to bring her perspective on
global poverty and the efforts
to address it to Lauralton Hall
during fall semester.
[see profile on page 11.]
Nikki Giovanni
Interview
s masters of language, great
poets are eminently quotable.
Add Nikki Giovanni’s no-nonsense,
unconventional spirit, and you’ve
got a poet who makes you want to
quote absolutely everything she
says. We profile her below using as many of her
own brilliant words as possible.
A
HM: Ms. Giovanni, many authors say they have
written for as long as they can remember.
When did you become a poet?
NG: (laughing) I don’t see the point of claiming
to have written a hundred poems before you
turned five. Five-year-olds should be outdoors
playing! I started writing when I was in college.
(continued)
Hallmarks
9
e
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P R O F I L E but it's the
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HM: Why poetry?
PROFILE
NG: I think there’s something people often miss
about poetry. Poetry is more than an individual’s
creative voice; it’s the voice of its time. I think of
Walt Whitman, who is probably the grandfather of
us all in that respect. Amiri Baraka, Allen Ginsberg,
myself—we spoke for our generation and didn’t
apologize for being who we were.
Jonnie Guerra
HM: The voice of the 60s and 70s is often
remembered as strident. There was plenty to be
angry about with the Vietnam War and the civil
rights and women’s rights movements. In your role
as a professor at Virginia Tech, you’ve interacted
with subsequent generations. Do you find young
people to be different these days? Perhaps more
complacent or preoccupied with material things?
NG: (laughing) Well, everybody doesn’t have to be
outraged! That said, this generation has plenty to
be angry about. Look at what’s happening with the
oil spill in the Gulf right now. So much life is being
destroyed with no end in sight. People like to call
this a Christian nation, but here we are murdering
other species. Humanity has to rethink its priorities.
I think any compassionate person would say it’s an
embarrassment to be a billionaire. No one needs
that much money. Kids should be taught that what
is really important in life is never money.
onnie Guerra’s leadership skills helped her to build an innovative
and highly effective career in academic administration—particularly
in higher education for women. First, she was Associate Academic Dean
and Dean for Undergraduate Studies at Walsh University; then Dean
of the College at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College (now Randolph
College); and finally Toni Iadarola’s Vice President for Academic
Affairs at Cabrini College.
However, Jonnie spent the first ten years of
her career in the classroom and is especially
noted for her examination of artistic
interpretations of Emily Dickinson's poetry
and life. People are most familiar with e
Belle of Amherst, but Dr. Guerra examined
many more works in her essay "Dickinson
Adaptations in the Arts and the eatre,”
including drama, dance, the visual arts and
music. e choreographer and dancer
Martha Graham celebrated Dickinson in
her work Letter to the World, and Aaron
Copeland set her poems to music in Twelve
Poems of Emily Dickinson. Other artistic
tributes have taken the form of fine arts
quilts by Michigan textile artist Ann
Kowaleski, and the performance pieces
and sculptures of Leslie Dill.
10
Hallmarks
When asked about the approach she will
take to teaching Lauralton students, Dr.
Guerra says that her goal is to encourage
students to want to read more. “ere is a
surface simplicity to Dickinson’s work that
people misconstrue,” she says. “you have to
mine the language of the poems. I can easily
spend a half-hour talking about eight
lines—perhaps fewer than fiy words of her
poetry—and not be finished. What makes
Dickinson complicated is her creative
grammar and syntax. Her poems look
odd because of their unique punctuation
and capitalization, but they contain
infinite riches.”
HM: Your Lauralton residency is a ways off,
but have you given any thought to your lecture
topics yet?
NG: I like to stay current. When I visit, I’ll talk about
what’s happening in the world at that moment and
how everything that happens relates to history on
some level. I like to get students to connect the
dots and see that what happens today is not
unique. Everything that happens is like a link in a
chain, but you have to pay attention to history to
see how it all fits together.
HM: In 2008, you had the very unusual experience
of having a best-selling poetry book on your hands!
Tell us about Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A
Celebration of Poetry with a Beat.
NG: I have always loved Hip Hop. People don’t
realize that Hip Hop has a very long heritage; that
it’s similar to opera because both are vernacular art
forms. Opera began in the Italian High Renaissance
when the powerful people spoke Latin and the
common people spoke Italian. Hip Hop came out
of the vernacular—a particular kind of American
English. And when kids connect with art, we should
celebrate it. I think break dancing should be an
Olympic sport for that reason. I have this vision
of a summer jobs program where kids from
every background compete to find who’s the
best breakdancer or waltzer or clog-dancer and
so on. They practice and get healthy exercising.
n
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h
t
e
e s am
n
a
c
i
t
s
e be
PROFILE
Then because you can’t judge if one type of dance
is better than another, all the winners come to the
Kennedy Center and perform. Why not?
HM: As a professor at Virginia Tech, you must often
be asked about the tragic mass murder in 2007.
PROFILE
Deidre Mullan, RSM
NG: The shootings in April 2007 are linked to
Virginia Tech in people’s minds, but what happened
there had nothing to do with the University, just
like 9/11 wasn’t New York City’s fault. If you believe
in good, you have to believe evil exists, too.
One doesn’t make sense without its opposite.
If free will exists, people make choices all the time.
Sometimes they make very bad ones.
have
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CHOICES
by Nikki Giovanni
if i can’t do
what i want to do
then my job is to not
do what i don’t want
to do
it’s not the same thing
but it’s the best i can
do
if i can’t have
what i want . . . then
my job is to want
what i’ve got
and be satisfied
that at least there
is something more to want
since i can’t go
where i need
to go . . . then i must . . . go
where the signs point
through always understanding
parallel movement
isn’t lateral
when i can’t express
what i really feel
i practice feeling
what i can express
and none of it is equal
eidre Mullan grew up in Derry, Northern Ireland, during the deadly
years of guerrilla conflict between the Irish Republican Army and the
occupying British Army. Today, she is the representative of the Sisters of
Mercy at the United Nations in New York City. She took up her duties there
shortly aer the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. Of that time, she
says ironically, “I was surrounded by guns, soldiers, tanks and snipers on
rooops. I felt right at home.”
Despite a childhood spent in a virtual war
zone between northern Ireland’s Catholics
and Protestants, sister Deirdre learned a
different reality from her mother. she recalls
a family dinner interrupted by gunfire
outside. Her mother looked out the window
to see that a British soldier had collapsed at
their front gate. Without a thought for her
own safety and refusing to demonize the
young man as an enemy, her mother ran out
and cradled him in her arms as he died. she
said simply, “He’s somebody’s son.”
brings vulnerability to disease, chronic
hunger, lack of access to clean water,
degradation of one’s environment, and other
crushing burdens. she cites World Bank
statistics stating that the current economic
crisis has pushed billions into the most
abject forms of poverty and contends that
the 21st century must develop a global
economy that is dynamic, inclusive, and
safe for all.
When sister Deidre visits the young women
of Lauralton Hall, she will issue a call to
global citizenship. she says: “While it was
always true that one person’s hunger and
poverty diminishes us all, we can no longer
live in the united states or Europe or other
parts of the developed world and pretend
that global poverty doesn’t affect us. We are
all interdependent, and we all have a
responsibility to act.”
o
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n
a
c
need
.
.
.
t
s
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en i m
i know
but that’s why mankind
alone among the animals
learns to cry
© Nikki Giovanni.
Reprinted by permission of the author
sister Deidre has seen what hatred can do
and how people can push back against it.
e compassion she learned from her family
runs through her work at the united
nations, as she advocates for billions of
voiceless, impoverished people around the
world. In a recent essay, sister Deidre noted
that poverty is more than having a low
income; it is a multidimensional reality that
Hallmarks
11
c L a s s O f 2 0 1 0 V a L e d i c t O r i a n , s a L u t a t O r i a n a n d M c a u L e y aWa r d W i n n e r
Valedictorian Lia Bonacci of Shelton has been
awarded a one-time undergraduate research
fellowship and plans to major in biomedical
engineering. She will attend the Honors
College at the University of Connecticut as
a Presidential Scholar.
Salutatorian Emily Ruggeri of Orange plans to
further her love of the sciences next year at
Cornell University in the College of Engineering.
Eugenie Guterch, RSM, Chair of the Board of
Trustees, presents Amanda Rodrigues, ’10 of
Monroe with the Catherine McAuley award.
Amanda will attend Harvard University in
the fall.
aLuMnae Of tHe cL ass Of 1960
r e c O g n i z e d at g r a d u at i O n
Representatives of the Class of 1960, celebrating their 50th jubilee,
were recognized in a warm, time-honored Lauralton Hall ritual, as
members of the graduating class presented each jubilarian with a
single rose and President Antoinette Iadarola, Ph.D. handed them
golden diplomas and gifts.
Members of the Class of 1960 gathered at the 2010 Commencement (left to
right): Patricia Rapp Reynolds, Judith McKeon Willard, Carolyn Della Pietra,
Rosita Sciortino Hargus, Patricia Duch Iancale; Alyce Harkin Casey,
Margaret Healy Kelly, Patricia Scherer Bellmore, Connie Lupariello
Fraccascia, and Anne Cassidy Weimann; missing from this photo is
Geraldine Gamble Caccavale.
Class of 2010Commencement
ressed in traditional white caps and gowns, the 104 members of the Class of 2010 graduated on June 6 in the Lauralton Hall gymnasium.
Proud family and friends listened as valedictorian Lia Bonacci and salutatorian emily ruggeri gave commencement addresses.
D
e Catherine McAuley Award, Lauralton’s highest honor, was presented by the Chair of the Board of trustees, eugenie guterch, rsM, to
amanda rodrigues, recognizing Amanda’s academic achievement, service and character.
President antoinette iadarola, Ph.d., shared heartfelt remarks and bestowed the diplomas along with eileen dooling, rsM, President of the
sisters of Mercy of the northeast, and Principal ann Pratson. eileen dooling, rsM, also gave an inspirational speech in which she told students to
listen to their hearts and to know the world around them. “Know your world and what’s happening in it. Know its people, its cultures, its religions
and its richness, and don’t be afraid. Know what’s happening and the people it’s happening to, and love. Don’t be a bystander,” said sr. Eileen.
e entire Lauralton Hall community congratulates the Class of 2010.
12
Hallmarks
L a u r a Lt O n f a M i Ly L e g a c i e s W e r e r e c O g n i z e d at
t H e g r a d u at i O n L i t u r g y
Class of 2010 Legacy Families
Many members of the class of 2010 have legacy
connections to Lauralton but a few whose mothers,
grandmothers, and/or great-grandmothers are also
alumnae include the following:
Margaret Boynton, ’10
Margaret Stuart Boynton, ’26 (deceased)
Great-grandmother
(Back row, left to right): Kaila Casey, ’10; Kerrigan Cotter, ’10; Ashley Carrigan, ’10; Cara Denos, ’10; Olivia D’Atri,
’10, Sarah Macone, ’10; Jennifer Mager, ’10; Carol Lyddy O’Connell, ’10; and Bianca Reising, ’10.
(Front row, left to right): Margaret Casey, ’87; Jacqueline Sconzo Casey, ’72; Megan Lyddy Cotter, ’79; Kathleen
Busko Currivan, ’74; Penny Obuhanick Denos, ’80; Barbara Judd D’Atri, ’76; Ellen Noonan Macone, ’79; Jacqueline
Lynch Mager, ’78; Carol Lyddy O’Connell, ’76; and Laura Pinciaro, ’83.
Kaila Casey, ’10
Margaret Casey, ’87
Mother
Jacqueline Sconzo Casey, ’72
Grandmother
Margaret Fagan Casey,’32 (deceased)
Great-Grandmother, former faculty
1981 Claven Award Recipient
and 2009 Father Doherty Award Recipient
Kerrigan Cotter, ’10
Megan Lyddy Cotter, ’79
Mother
Carol Benson Lyddy, ’43 (deceased)
Grandmother
Ashley Currivan, ’10
Kathleen Busko Currivan, ’74
Mother
Principal Ann Pratson; President Antoinette Iadarola, Ph.D.; Eileen Dooling, RSM, President of the Sisters of Mercy
of the Northeast; and Eugenie Guterch, RSM, Chair of the Board of Trustees.
Cara Denos, ’10
Penny Obuhanick Denos, ’80
Mother
Olivia D’Atri, ’10
Barbara Judd D’Atri, ’76
Mother
Sarah Macone, ’10
Ellen Noonan Macone, ’79
Mother
Jennifer Mager, ’10
Jacqueline Lynch Mager, ’78
Mother
Carol Lyddy O’Connell, ’10
Carol Lyddy O’Connell, ’76
Mother
Carol Benson Lyddy, ’43 (deceased)
Grandmother
Bianca Reising, ’10
Laura Pinciaro, ’83
Mother
Hallmarks
13
STAFF PROFILE:
Terry Lawler
Book Lover, Technology Buff, and Decaffeinated Barista
ur goal is to make the media center a
lively, welcoming place,” says media
specialist Terry Lawler, MLS. “With lots of
laptops available and free Wi-Fi [wireless
internet connectivity], we are Lauralton’s
answer to Starbucks®.” The welcoming part
certainly seems to be working because about
270 of the 430 students who attend Lauralton
visit the media center every single day.
And that doesn’t count all the teachers
who pass through.
“O
Lauralton’s wealth of architectural nooks and
crannies means that it’s never hard for a
student to find a silent place to study, and the
back of the library is relatively quiet. Still,
Terry is convinced that giving students a
vibrant gathering place yields big benefits.
“Learning is a collaborative process these
days,” she says. “Kids use technology
14
Hallmarks
relentlessly to communicate and stay
connected with each other, but here they
get interpersonal time, too. There are also
unique opportunities for teaching and
learning. I’ve seen students consult faculty
who aren’t even their own classroom
teachers. They just happened to be there
at the same time, and the student felt
comfortable asking them for help.”
When asked what books were most popular
this past year, Terry hesitates. It’s not that she
doesn’t know what’s popular; it’s just that it’s
tough to even define the word “book” these
days. “What you hear about is print versus
non-print. A student may go to the iTunes®
website, download a popular novel and listen
to it,” she says. “It’s a novel all right, but the
student hasn’t experienced it in its print form.
Sitting down and reading a bound book
The Lauralton Library is not your grandmother’s bastion of bookishness. You will find no shushing
librarians, no dusty stacks, and no pin-dropping silences. The Helen Meloy Schwalje Media Center
is more akin to a collegiate coffeehouse without the coffee. It’s a place to chat with classmates,
share news, exchange ideas, relax a bit, and ... oh, yes, do some research, too.
doesn’t have the same appeal for a lot of
young people as it did for older generations.
That includes using e-reader technology
like KindleTM because it emulates the
experience of turning pages.”
Being a big advocate of printed books
doesn’t mean Terry loves technology any
less. “I use it constantly and I really see
the communication benefits,” she says.
“For example, I’d love to take the media
center’s page on the Lauralton website
to the next level by adding a blog, some
forums and podcasts.”
But back to the question of what the students
are reading. “Due to the success of the
Twilight series, they will snap up anything to
do with paranormal romance,” Terry answers.
“But the most popular book with students this
past year wasn’t Twilight—they had already
read it. The teachers were the ones reading
Twilight to see what the students were talking
about. The most popular book with the
students was Dear John by Nicholas Sparks.
Once they read it, they would usually go
through all his novels.” This is something
Terry loves to see. If a student takes an
interest in a particular popular author, she
can usually be encouraged to read a similar
author, and then perhaps take a step toward
more literary works.
What is Terry herself reading? “Right now, I’m
reading The Help. It’s set in the South, which
is where I grew up. It takes place during the
1960s and shows how events at that time
were interpreted differently by the three main
characters—two black and one white. That
book is actually on the Lauralton summer
reading list. And like the girls, I confess that
I also have a weakness for supernatural
stories, so I enjoy authors like Kim Harrison.”
What were Terry’s favorites as a child? “I
read everything! My favorite was definitely
Nancy Drew—I loved mysteries. Hardy Boys
because they were mysteries, too, but they
were a distant second to Nancy. I loved Jane
Eyre and Great Expectations and Catcher in
the Rye. But I would read literally anything.”
She laughs. “My family will often ask if I
remember some major incident, only to find
that I don’t. They say, ‘Oh, she must have been
off-planet that day,’ meaning that I had my
nose in a book!”
Hallmarks
15
Staff
Notes
Following one week of intensive study
about Ecuador, spanish teacher Barbara
d’ambruoso voyaged to Ecuador with a
group of educators to learn more about the
country through classes, museum visits,
and meetings with knowledgeable experts.
she then enjoyed one week on the
Galápagos Islands.
History teacher Marilyn cummings was
selected to attend the highly competitive
national Endowment for Humanities (nEH)
summer workshop on Andrew Jackson and
“e Hermitage” in tennessee. e workshops
covered the controversies and turbulence of
Andrew Jackson, his times, and his reputation
under the broad theme, “e Hermitage,
Andrew Jackson, and America 1801-1861.”
Each workshop combined classroom and
field studies at e Hermitage. e workshop
was presented through collaboration between
e Hermitage and Middle tennessee
state university.
External relations Coordinator
Julie Kinsella was nominated
to the Board of the Milford
Preservation trust. e trust
recently held their second
annual meeting at Lauralton
Hall, where author Michael
Dooling, whose book “Milford
Lost and Found” includes a
chapter devoted to Lauralton,
was the guest speaker.
Mr. Dooling is the brother
of Eileen Dooling, rsM,
President of the sisters of
Mercy of the northeast.
(Le to right): Milford Preservation Trust Board Member Timothy
Chaucer, Julie Kinsella, ’88, and author Michael Dooling.
In July, Ms. Kinsella attended “Aim High 3.0” — Cheney & Company’s conference for
independent school communications professionals held at e study at yale in new Haven.
e program was packed with workshops and presentations delivered by a team of guest experts.
Lauralton Hall
Faculty/Staff Art Exhibit
For the second year, the Fine Arts Department presented
an exhibit of work by many faculty and staff members.
e exhibit was open to the public and the works were on
display for one week in the Claven Auditorium.
is portrait by art teacher Judith Doherty is
acrylic and acrylic glaze on canvas. It is entitled
“My Suzy” aer the artist's daughter.
Seven teachers certified for UConn ECE
Lauralton Hall is proud to announce that seven certified faculty members will
teach uConn Early College Experience (ECE) classes in the 2010-2011 school
year, and 66 students are eligible to participate in the program.
ECE is a concurrent enrollment program that allows motivated high school
students to take uConn courses at their high schools for both high school
and college credit. Every course taken through uConn ECE is equivalent to
the same course at the university of Connecticut. students benefit by taking
college courses in a warm setting that is both familiar and conducive to learning.
Established in 1955, uConn Early College Experience is the nation's longest
running concurrent enrollment program and is nationally accredited by the
national Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (nACEP).
High school instructors who have been certified through the university of
Connecticut serve as adjunct faculty members and teach uConn ECE courses.
Becoming a certified instructor for uConn Early College Experience is a
significant professional achievement. uConn ECE instructors reflect the
credibility of uConn ECE, and represent a high level of professional trust
and respect. e opportunities that uConn ECE instructors provide to their
students will make a difference in the students' success in college.
16
Hallmarks
( ont row): Courtney Dwyer, Margy Sargent, and Kate Rodgers;
(back row): Susan Cavar, Corene Crozier, and Lisa Peterson;
missing om this photo is Regina Moller.
LAURALTON’S CERTIFIED UCONN ECE TEACHERS:
Susan Cavar
Biology AP
Corene Crozier
Elementary Discrete Math
Courtney Dwyer
United States History AP
Regina Moller
French Language AP
Lisa Peterson
European History AP
Kate Rodgers
English Literature & Composition AP
Margy Sargent
Fundamentals of Music I
Warm Welcomes
We warmly welcome history teacher Lauren ariker
Korman. she comes to us from the Cheshire Public
school system. Most recently, however, she’s been
serving as a long-term substitute, teaching AP u.s.
History, College Prep History and Current Issues here
at Lauralton Hall since January 2010, filling in for
Mrs. Dwyer who had a beautiful baby girl. Beginning
in the fall, Mrs. Korman will teach World History,
Modern World History, and Government. Mrs.
Korman earned her teaching certification in 2008 and
is one thesis away from earning her master’s degree in
History. Prior to teaching, Mrs. Korman worked as
Press secretary to Congressman Les Aspin, Chairman
of the House Armed services Committee on Capitol
Hill in Washington from 1987-1993. she went with
Congressman Aspin to the Pentagon when he became President Clinton’s first secretary of
Defense. Mrs. Korman worked in a number of capacities in the Department of Defense over
the next seven years when she and her husband Mark moved to their home in Cheshire,
Connecticut, in 1999 so their children could be near their grandparents, aunts, uncles and
cousins. Mrs. Korman and her husband have two beautiful children, Jacob, age 12, and Molly,
age 10. Coincidentally, Mrs. Korman grew up off Wheeler’s Farm road, just a few minutes
from Lauralton Hall, so she feels like she’s coming home!
Staff Anniversaries
Congratulations to faculty and staff members who celebrated Lauralton milestones in the
2009-2010 school year, and were recognized and received service awards at the annual
end-of-year staff meeting. e Lauralton Hall community salutes you!
christine farren Healey, ’67, Math teacher – 30 years
Janet Powers, ’75, Math Department Chair /Math teacher – 30 years
Kathleen shine, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid – 15 years
Mark allen, social studies teacher – 10 years
Patricia doerr, World Languages Department Chair/spanish teacher – 10 years
tracie serio, Math teacher – 10 years
Members of the Lauralton staff share some of their
recent book recommendations below:
PHOTO BY: HAROLD SHAPIRO
President Antoinette Iadarola, Ph.D., is pleased to
announce the appointment of Lisa M. Hottin as
Executive Director of Development, which became
effective July 6, 2010. Ms. Hottin brings with her over
25 years of experience in fund development. she comes
to Lauralton from the yale university school of nursing,
where she was most recently Director of External
relations, holding various posts there since 2000,
including Director of Development. In addition to her
professional work, Ms. Hottin has also participated in
several professional associations and memberships.
she is currently a member of the Council for
Advancement and support of Education (CAsE)
as well as the American Association of Colleges of
nursing – Advancement Professionals network, where she served as Chairman in 2007-2008.
A graduate of Columbia university with an M.s. in Library service, she also holds a B.A. in
American History from the honors program at Fairleigh Dickinson university.
Staff Bookshelf Picks
Media Specialist Deborah Beauvais recommends:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows
(The Dial Press, 2008)
Not My Daughter
by Barbara Delinsky (Doubleday, 2010)
President Antoinette Iadarola, Ph.D. recommends:
Any of the numerous books written by Nikki
Giovanni (see list below)
Night by Elie Wiesel
(Bantam Books, 1960)
External Relations Coordinator
Julie Kinsella, ’88 recommends:
740 Park: The Story of the World’s Richest
Apartment Building by Michael Gross
(Broadway, 2005)
Media Center Chair Theresa Lawlor recommends:
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
(Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam, 2009)
Physical Education/Health Department Chair
Peggy McGowan recommends:
Ya-Yas in Bloom by Rebecca Wells
(Harper Collins, 2005)
“fun, happy, hair-raising reading ... great for summer”
– Peg McGowan
A Selection of Published Books
by Renowned Poet Nikki Giovanni
Having written well over 30 books, below
is a selection of a few published books by
acclaimed poet Nikki Giovanni, who will be
visiting Lauralton in March 2011.
The 100 Best African American Poems
(Sourcebooks Media Fusion, 2010)
Bicycles: Love Poems
(William Morrow & Company, 2009)
Hip Hop Speaks to Children with CD:
A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat
(A Poetry Speaks Experience)
(Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2008)
On My Journey Now: Looking at African-American
History Through the Spirituals
(Candlewick, 2007)
The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni: 1968-1998
(William Morrow, 2003)
Recently Published Books
that Include Chapters
About Lauralton Hall
Milford Lost and Found by Michael C. Dooling
(Carollton Press, 2009)
Milford : A Brief History by Frank Juliano
(The History Press, 2010)
Hallmarks
17
student Highlights
Environmental Fashion Show
On April 22, the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, 40 very excited students staged the 5th Earth Day fashion show
under the guidance of Environmental Club moderator Donna DiMassa. The students designed, created, and modeled
eco-friendly outfits. Each model also shared an environmental fact to help raise awareness of ecological problems.
Models Michele Dalena, ’11 and Maggie Mellot, ’11
exhibit their eco-friendly designs.
Lifelong Gifts for Children at Orphanage
(left to right): Art Club students Teresa Starzecki, ’11, Chloe Walker, ’11, and Emma
Molloy, ’10 pose with portraits they created of orphaned children in Peru as part of a
nationwide program called The Memory Project—an initiative whose purpose is to
inspire caring and a positive sense of self. The portraits will be sent to the children
and the artists will receive photos of the children holding their portraits.
Student Art
This watercolor by Adriana Corso,
’11 was one of many Lauralton
student works exhibited in March
at the Café Atlantique in Milford.
This watercolor by Kristen Rasbach,
’10 was on display at the annual
spring Fine Arts Festival.
Mercy Beyond Borders
Youth & Government
Inspired by religion teacher Christine Ring, a group of students collected
their lunch money change beginning during Lent of their sophomore year
and continued throughout their junior year. The collection was donated to
Mercy Beyond Borders.
The Youth & Government club
participated in the Connecticut State
Youth & Government Conference in
Hartford. Pictured here are future
legislators: Shelby Halasz, ’12 and
Shelby Halliday, ’12.
Spring Play
(left): Taylor Williams, ’10 and
Jennie Serra, ’10 star as two
sweet old ladies with a habit of
poisoning their guests in a
student-run production of
Arsenic and Old Lace.
(front row left to right): Sofia Tavareszlock, ’11, Margaret Mellott, ’11,
Stephanie Simko, ’11 and Lindsay Warren, ’11; (back row left to right):
Julia Hannigan, ’11, Leslie Gorzkowski, ’11, Grace Wilson, ’11, Leila Dunn, ’11,
Emily Devaney, ’11, and Chair of the Religion Department and Campus Minister
Christine Ring.
18
Hallmarks
Lauralton Singers Perform at Avery Fisher Hall
The Lauralton Hall Advanced Vocal Ensemble and
the Concert Choir performing at Avery Fisher Hall.
On April 27, the Lauralton Hall Advanced Vocal Ensemble and the Concert Choir performed at Avery Fisher
Hall in New York City under the direction of music teacher Margy Sargent and at the request of Perform
America organizers. The concert included outstanding high school groups from Connecticut and New Jersey.
World Languages Honor Society
Induction
Thirty-seven world language students were recently inducted into the
French, Latin and Spanish honor societies. Pictured here are newly
inducted Spanish honor society members (left to right): Dominique
Bonessi, ’11, Faith Ellwanger, ’12, Danielle Flanagan, ’11 and Lauren
Flanagan, ’11. The ceremony included a guest presentation by
Spanish honor society inductee Dominique Bonessi, ’11, who shared
some of the highlights of her summer 2009 trip to Egypt.
Lauralton Softball
The Lauralton Hall softball team reached the
finals of the CIAC Class M Softball Tournament.
The team finished the season with a 21-5
record and a ranking of 6 in the state poll.
Two Crusaders were named All-State Athletes
by the Connecticut High School Coaches
Association: catcher Courtney Collins, ’10 and
center fielder Abigayle Casey, ’11. Courtney
Collins was also named MVP All-Area and
All-State by the New Haven Register.
Softball Varsity team (front row, left to right): Rebecca Napolitano, ’11; Rhea Schneider, ’12; Jessica
Napolitano, ’13; Sydney Spitz, ’12; Marisa Dowling, ’12; and Caitlin Bennett, ’13; (back row, left to right):
Fallon Foster, ’12; Abigayle Casey, ’11; Courtney Collins, ’10; Jessica Linden, ’11; Mariel Schlaefer, ’12;
Emma Soviera, ’13; Hayley Spragg, ’12; Sydnee Sousa, ’13, and Manager Carley Rutherford.
Hallmarks
19
Career
Corner
With thanks to
our presenters ...
Kristin Huffman
Actor
Katy Potts
Architect
Gregg Wies & Gardner Architects
Debra Kelly Woodward, ‘90
Attorney/Partner
Kelly & Norris
Career Day
A Success
Kristen Haydon Howell, ‘85
he Guidance Department was pleased to host the
second biannual Career Day. This year’s participants
included over 30 successful women professionals,
many of whom were Lauralton alumnae, from a variety
of fields—such as medicine, business, and fine arts—
who generously offered their time and career advice.
Keynote speaker Sharon Brennan, ’65
As career exploration is an important step in the college
search process, this was a perfect opportunity for the
students to hear about avenues for their interests, encouraging and motivating them to achieve success in
their high school academics. The day began as keynote speaker Sharon Brennan, ’65, an educational consultant,
addressed the students. Sharon is a 1996 Claven Award recipient and she is also a former Chair of the Lauralton Hall
Board of Trustees.
Sharon Brennan, ’65
Director
American Red Cross in Central Florida
Kristi Buynak
Director of Material Logistics
Sikorsky Aircraft
T
If you’d like to share some of the life lessons you’ve learned, along with information about your profession at
Career Day 2012, please contact guidance counselor Sue Fracker at [email protected] or
203-877-2786, ext. 122. Both repeat presenters and new participants are welcome.
Educational Consultant
Ashley Mossa, ‘03
Engineer
Westinghouse Electric Co.
Sara Sirowich-Bastos, ’99
Engineer
BL Companies
Marybeth Reardon Miklos, ’88
FBI
Nicole Benson ’04
Graduate Student
UCONN Department of Allied Health Science
Santina Galbo ‘04
Graduate Student
UCONN Department of Allied Health Science
Meghan Kerrisk ’04
Graduate Student
Yale University Ph.D. program in
Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry.
Lauralton Hall Interns are Great for Business!
f you are interested in helping give talented, successful students their first opportunity in the career world, please
contact guidance counselor Sue Fracker at (203) 877-2786, ext. 122 or [email protected]. Give Lauralton
students the valuable gift of experience at your business and help launch a career. In return, not only will your
business get a hard-working, eager intern, but you and your business will receive recognition in the next issue of
Hallmarks, as did the two businesses listed below.
I
A L U M N A E A N D / O R C O M PA N I E S T H AT H AV E R E C E N T LY H I R E D L A U R A LT O N I N T E R N S :
Tamika Warner ‘95
Graphic/Web Designer
Warnerworkx Design
Technical Support Repsentative
Cablevision
Michele DiNello
Human Resources
SUBWAY Corporation
Lisa Shea
Human Resources
SUBWAY Corporation
Joanna Lee, ‘99
Mary-Morgan Childs, ’02 | Carpe Dancem Apparel
Lisa Valerio, ’99 | Valerio Financial Group
Marketing/Fashion Design
Lilly Pulitzer
interns: Gina DeFeo, ’10, Monica Laskos, ’10,
and Lucy Moye, ’11
interns: Gina DeFeo, ’10 and Meghan O’Connell, ’12
Dr. Emily Blair
T E S T I M O N I A L
Dear Lauralton Alums,
Wait until you take on a Lauralton intern or three, as I did, to see your company
soar! In September 2009, I founded Carpe Dancem Apparel, so dancers on any
budget can “Seize the DANCE ... in Style!” It is a unique clothing company
offering a full collection of “ready to buy” designs and customizable team wear.
In April, in an effort to expand my client pool, gain an online presence and set up
a marketing campaign, I spoke with Sue Fracker in the Guidance Department and
immediately secured intelligent Lauralton students to join my team of interns to
tackle these projects! Gina Defeo, ’10, Lucy Moye, ’11 and Monica Laskos, ’10
have been indispensible to the growth of the company and the rapid progress
made ... and that is still being made.
20
Hallmarks
Medical Doctor
The professionalism and dedication that Gina, a Sales Representative, shows
has been apparent from the beginning as she dove into the research component
full-steam ahead. Lucy’s commitment to her role as the Media Representative
was also clear from the onset. For example, she came back to work the evening
of her first day’s training to orchestrate her first photo shoot. Monica, a Research
Assistant, is generating excellent results on her assigned tasks, and I can count
on her for anything I ask. These students are hard workers and always willing to
put in the extra time to help with projects not even in their position descriptions.
Their work has been invaluable and I am most grateful for this blessing.
I encourage business professionals to boost their team by offering internship
positions to promising Lauralton young women.
Sincerely,
Mary-Morgan Childs, ‘02 | http://carpedancem.wordpress.com
Sarah Pfisterer
Musical Theater Performer
Kristina Brito Cappetta, ‘96
News Producer
WTNH-TV
Nancy Downing, ’84
Nurse
Norwalk Hospital
Amy Daniels DiGiugno, ’83
Nurse
Norwalk Hospital
Tara Glennon
Occupational Therapist/Professor
Quinnipiac University
Wanda Lanzone Hannigan, DMD
Periodontist
Fairfield Periodontics
Maryjo Gallo
Pharmacist
Stop and Shop
Sharon Cappetta
Philanthropic Officer
The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
Sharon Rentz
Photographer
Dawn Moser
Physician’s Assistant—Cardiovascular
St. Vincent’s Medical Center
Sarah Longden, ‘89
Producer
Dateline NBC
Jessica Lewis, ’90
Psychotherapist
Shannon Gerry, ‘97
Researcher
Wellesley College
Meghan Hunter Kranyak, ‘97
Respiratory Therapist—LIFE STAR
Hartford Hospital
new Haven reception
lively crowd of over 25 new Haven
area alumnae and Legacy society
members met on April 25 in the
beautiful home of congresswoman
rosa deLauro, ’60 to greet our
president, dr. antoinette iadarola,
Ph.d. e reception included an
informative discussion about the
Academy’s future plans and recent
events. Dr. Iadarola led a “Q & A”
session about Lauralton, which our
alumnae appreciated. Congresswoman
DeLauro shared her memories as a
boarding student back in the fiies
and had the crowd roaring with laughter
about her stories as a student, including
being told by the sisters to eat pizza
and bananas with a fork and knife! e
reception was a great success and more
are planned throughout Connecticut
and new England. If you are interested
in hosting an informal gathering, please
contact the Alumnae Office.
A
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, ’60 with
President Iadarola.
Rita Siclari Walker, ’53 and Legacy Society
member Millicent Friedberg Zolan, ’43.
Courtney Dickinson-Niemi, ‘96
Senior Inventory Planner
Stony Creek Brands
Kara Justo, ‘89
Social Worker
St. Vincent’s Medical Center
Stefanie Stevens, ‘99
Special Events Coordinator
Connecticut Food Bank
Allie Pantaleoni, ‘04
Sports Management—VP of Operations
ESBL Sports Management
Tracey Meaney Kelly, ’85
State of Connecticut Witness Protection
Program Coordinator
Office of the Chief State’s Attorney
Rose Baird
Teacher (Elementary)
Sam Sherwood, ’04
Teacher (Science)
Mott Hall V Middle School, Bronx, NY
Kim McClure Brinton, DVM
Veterinarian
Country Companions Veterinary Services, LLC
Maurya Keating
Vice President & Associate General Counsel
AXA Equitable
Maria Kinsella, AP ’88, ’91;
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, ’60;
External Relations Coordinator Julie
Kinsella, ’88; and Kristine Kinsella, ’91.
Aileen McDonough, ‘93
Writer/Editor/Business Consultant/Owner
3am Writers
Cat Urbain
Writer
Children’s book author and
grant writer for Hole in the Wall Camps
Alyssa Reyes, ’06; Roberta Tordoff Clouet, ’54;
Patricia J. Rooney, RSM, ’54; Congresswoman
Rosa DeLauro, ’60; and Ryan Donahue, ’06.
Hallmarks
21
Irish night a Huge success
sellout crowd of more than 500 people,
including the 2010 Grand Marshall of
the Greater Bridgeport st. Patrick’s Day
Parade, Mr. robert O’Keefe, celebrated Irish
night in February. e sounds of thundering
bagpipes and drums filled the gym as the
Fairfield Gaelic Pipe Band marched in to start
this spectacular event. Guests rose to their feet
to applaud—the first of many ovations that
evening. Celtic Music Master and Lauralton
faculty member Damien Connolly and his
band trAD roused the crowd with footstomping, traditional Irish music. Patty K.
Lenihan, owner of Lenihan school of
Irish Dance, Monroe, presented a flawless
show of world-champion Irish step dancers
performing in full costumes of traditional
and contemporary design. ough the dancers
did not perform in hard shoe to avoid marring
the gym floor, the crowd stomped and clapped
in time with the girls.
A
new this year was the “Best table” contest,
where guests decorated their tables in the
spirit of the season. First place winner was
amy fedigan, ’95 and friends who created
“Finnegan’s rainbow,” complete with a large
balloon arch, blinking lights, a pot of gold,
and a table filled with gourmet fare. Amy’s
name is engraved on the perpetual trophy,
which will be presented at this annual event.
rounding out the evening were homemade
desserts contributed by members of the
Alumnae Executive Board, as well as a “Luck
of the Irish” raffle with proceeds benefiting the
Alumnae scholarship, awarded to current
Lauralton students in need of financial aid.
e winner of the Irish Night Best Table
perpetual was Amy Fedigan, ’95.
Here CIM Chair Catherine Lopata and
iends pose with the trophy they did not
win!
served basis. Watch the school website for
details and reservation information for this
not-to-be-missed event. to volunteer to
help, donate raffle prizes, or for more details,
contact Kathleen Kearns donahue, ’80,
at [email protected] or
203-877-2786, ext.114.
Plans are underway for Irish
night 2011, scheduled for
March 5, 2011. save the date
and reserve early, as reservations
will be on a first-come, first-
Direct from the new york metropolitan
music scene, the Highland rovers Band
thrilled with traditional Irish favorites as
well as the contemporary sound for which
they have become known. Parents, alumnae,
faculty, staff and friends sang along with
many of their songs. e Fairfield Gaelic
Pipe Band returned for another set
beginning with an incredible drum solo,
followed by the entire pipe band joining
in for the encore. Guests danced well into
the wee hours!
O’Keefe, President
Mrs. Fitzgerald, Maureen
all of the Greater
Iadarola and Grand Marsh
y Parade Robert O’Keefe.
Bridgeport St. Patrick’s Da
Faculty members Marilyn Cummings
and Pat Doerr show their Irish spirit.
(Front, le to right): Fathers Club president Joseph Castignoli, Kathleen Morton, ’12, and Roberta Morton enjoy the night with iends.
22
Hallmarks
Lauralton summer Academy for
st. Martin de Porres Academy Middle
school Girls Completes 7th summer
he summer Academy, a partnership
between Lauralton and st. Martin de
Porres Academy, the new Haven Jesuit
model middle school for girls and boys, has
completed its 7th summer. e two-week
experience for the middle school girls featured
Language Arts, spanish and Math, along with
a variety of activities. is year, the students
enjoyed a presentation by the “slant of Light”
eater troupe, a group of young women who
talked with the girls about creating a play,
directing, and performing. e students were
also given the opportunity to perform in a
play for the teachers.
t
Lauralton Hall rising sophomores volunteered
as teacher aides and mentors to the students
for the two-week experience. e program
principal is Mrs. Peggy Mcgowan, Lauralton
Hall Physical Education/Health Chair.
Mrs. McGowan works in conjunction with
Mrs. Allison rivera, President of st. Martin de
Porres Academy, and Ms. christine ring,
Lauralton Hall Campus Minister. is
program is partly funded by the generosity
of the sisters of Mercy of the northeast’s
Mercy Ministry Fund.
Each participant receives a full scholarship
to the program, which strives to encourage,
challenge, support and broaden the
experiences of the girls while reinforcing their
academic skills in an effort to help prepare
them for success in the next school year.
Lauralton Hall President Antoinette Iadarola,
Ph.D. with Lauralton Hall student volunteers
and Lauralton Summer Academy students om
St. Martin de Porres Academy.
Cast of Lauralton Hall’s Fall Musical “Annie” is Selected
It may be summer, but the cast of Lauralton Hall’s fall musical production of “Annie” is already in place. Some of the principal cast members include:
Dominique Bonessi, ’11 of Milford
as Miss Hannigan
Victoria Conaway, ’12 of Trumbull
as Grace
Jeff Sargent of Trumbull as Warbucks
Orphans
Briana Archer, ’12 of West Redding
as Duffy
Rajane Brown, ’13 of Bridgeport
as Pepper
Andrea Castillo, ’13 of Monroe
as Molly
Brenna Donahue, ’14 of Trumbull
as July
Maggie Mellott, ’11 of Norwalk
as Annie
Amy Patterson, ’12 of Bridgeport
as Kate
Saray Yoney,’13 of Easton as Tessie
The Boylan Sisters
Emma Linsenmeyer, ’12 of Fairfield
as Ronnie
Abbey Maloney, ’13 of Fairfield
as Connie
Carolyn Savoia, ’13 of Ridgefield
as Bonnie
The student production of “Annie”
will take place Friday, Oct. 22
through Sunday, Oct. 24 in the
Parsons Complex Auditorium,
70 West River St., Milford.
Tickets will go on sale in the fall.
Save the date and stay tuned for
more details.
Hallmarks
23
SUMMER 2010
CLASS NOTES
DEARLY DEPARTED
ALUMNAE
Walter F. Stachowicz, husband of Mildred
Bujanauskas Stachowicz, ’41, March 1, 2010
’43 Sister Margaret Mary Conklin, a Sister of
Charity of St. Elizabeth, March 31, 2010
Robert D. VanWart, husband of Sharon Toothill
VanWart, ’60, May 21, 2010
’51 Maureen Reidy Maguire; sister of
Sheila Reidy Sargent, ’59 and Colleen Reidy
Baumgardner, ’63; April 6, 2010.
“Eternal rest grant upon them, oh Lord, and may
the souls of the faithful departed through the
mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.”
’56 Gail Ewanietz Kopalik, April 19, 2010
’57 Judy Ciglar Kearns, March 1, 2010
ENGAGEMENTS
’59 Patricia Lavery Gleeson; mother of Coleen
Gleeson Noonan, ’89 and Dr. Shelagh Gleeson,
’91; April 1, 2010
’88 Catherine Walsh to Christopher Gumkowski
’60 Patricia Kalapir Tuzzio, October 22, 2010
’68 Carole Christy Surina, former Lauralton
faculty member 1972-1979, sister of Patricia
Christy Philipp, ’70, April 10, 2010
’76 Laurene DeVincentis McDevitt, mother of
Megan McDevitt, ’12, April 18, 2010
’96 Liza Riggione to Vincent Squeglia
’97 Jennifer DeCanio to Stephen O’Brien
’98 Eileen M. Donohue to Brian P. Kenney*
’02 Colleen Catalano to Daniel Laughlin III
’03 Ashley Mossa to Jeremy Lindeman
* wedding to take place in the Lauralton Hall Chapel
IN MEMORY
WEDDINGS
Eugene W. Abdale and Muriel R. Abdale, parents of
Ann Margaret Abdale, ’86, July 4, 2009
’97 Selina Piselli to Sean Filkins, May 15, 2010*
Kelley Adams, mother of Conner Adams, ’10,
March 24, 2010
’03 Bernadette Riley to Brandon Amorosso,
June 19, 2010
* wedding held in the Lauralton Hall Chapel
Edward Milton Bevington, husband of
Paula Lawton Bevington, ’54, May 20, 2010
Ralph Ambry Bowley, Selectman for the Town of
Fairfield, husband of Deborah Boyle Bowley, ’62,
former Trustee and currently coordinator of special
projects at Lauralton; father of Gillian Bowley, ’94
and Shannon Bowley, ’98; nephew of Marty
Antisdale, Lauralton tennis coach; and brother-inlaw of Leila Boyle Connor, ’60; April 10, 2010
Gianna Grace Coppola, daughter of
Karen Sapione Coppola, ‘91
’98 Megan Flood-Merwin, a former Lauralton
faculty member, and her husband Brian recently
had their second child, Olivia Grace. She joins
three-year-old brother Will. The family resides in
Maryland.
’99 KaraJayne Mandanici Satalino and husband
George welcomed their second son, Luke Daniel, on
April 25, 2010. His two-year-old big brother Gabriel
just adores him!
FAMILY ADDITIONS
’88 Nora Roach Ford and husband Sean announce
the birth of their daughter, Siobhan Ford, April 28,
2010. Proud mom is a 2003 Claven recipient.
WHAT’S NEW?
Leon “Burry” Burrows, Jr., father of
Lisa Burrows, ’92, April 19, 2010
’91 Karen Sapione Coppola and her husband
announce the birth of their second child, Gianna
Grace, born August 27, 2009. She joins four-yearold sister Mia.
’48 Frances McNally Hargreaves is thrilled to
announce that her great-grandson, Elijah Clinch,
was born December 16, 2009.
Joan E. Chiota, mother-in-law of 2000 Claven
recipient Diane (Dee) Trautman Chiota, ’61;
grandmother of Katie Chiota Dresch, ’98;
February 25, 2010
’92 Maureen Lagasse Ysewyn and husband
Doug announce the March birth of son number
three, Kellan Hayes Ysewyn. Proud grandma is
Peggy Sasso Lagasse, ’58.
Robert D. Miller, husband of Marilyn Johnson
Miller, ’54, August 28, 2009
’96 Carrie King Dean announces the birth of her
daughter, Schuyler Naomi Dean, August 20, 2009.
Helen M. Minutola, mother of 1994 Claven
recipient Marianne Minutola Hennessey, ’58,
grandmother of Board of Trustees member
Maura Hennessey, ’87, May 24, 2010
’96 Jackie Catanese Klahold and husband
Keith announce the birth of their daughter,
Ashlyn Jayden Klahold, born March 5, 2010.
Susan Rhoades Nouss, mother of former “Christmas
in the Mansion” Chair Nancy Nous-Brown, and
grandmother of Courtney Brown Cave, ’98,
March 8, 2010
24
Hallmarks
’98 Katie Chiota Dresch, and husband Brian
announce the birth of their first child, Hailey
Elizabeth, born March 2, 2010. Proud grandmother
is Diane (Dee) Trautman Chiota, ’61.
1940’s
’49 Norma Quatrella Marshall is proud
to announce that her granddaughter,
April-Ann Marshall, ’10, graduated from
Lauralton this past June. Norma notes, “It’s hard
to believe six years have gone by since her sister,
Mary-Megan Marshall, ’08, started at Lauralton
Hall and now April-Ann has graduated! Looking
forward to seeing everyone at the Golden Girls
Luncheon in September!”
’49 Alice Ogalin notes that the greatest gift of her
retirement years is the honor of being the senior
altar server for masses at St. John the Evangelist
Parish in Canton, Mass.
SUMMER 2010
1950’s
’50 Jane Sweet Stagg, Class Agent, is excited
to announce that plans are underway for
Homecoming and the Class of 1950’s 60th
Reunion on September 18 and 19, 2010.
This year the class will celebrate at Lauralton
with Mass, followed by the Soiree on Saturday
evening and the Golden Girls Luncheon on Sunday.
She notes, “Our class will enjoy seeing movies of
our graduation day, and photos from our years at
Lauralton and past reunions. It would be wonderful
if all of our classmates (now there are 50 of us)
would make plans to join in the festivities on this
special occasion. I am really looking forward to
seeing you!”
’51 Joan Kleinknecht has kept herself very busy.
She had the honor of having her painting “You Are
My Sunshine” transferred to a banner that hung on
a lamppost during the summer of 2009 on the Post
Road in Fairfield. She reads monthly to second
graders at Caesar Batalia School, Bridgeport, tutors,
babysits former students’ children, takes art classes,
and does gardening and genealogy. Joan is a
member of the Order of Malta and sits on the
Board at Bridgeport Hospital.
’53 Anamae “Anne” Lucey Surber and her
husband Joe of Trumbull observed their golden
wedding anniversary at a Mass celebrated in their
honor on May 22, 2010, followed by a party at
Roberto’s Restaurant in Monroe. They are the
parents of three sons, Timothy (and his wife Kate),
Brian, and the late Kevin. Anne and Joe also
renewed their vows at the Jubilee Anniversary Mass
officiated by Bishop William Lori on April 25, 2010.
They further celebrated their special occasion on a
cruise to Bermuda. Anne is retired as a registered
nurse from St. Vincent’s and Park City Hospitals,
and was also employed as an industrial nurse and
office nurse during her career.
CLASS NOTES
’57 Jeanne Cormier
Thayer is happy to share
news about her
granddaughters. Erin
Elliott graduated from
Southern Connecticut
State University, Lauren
Abelli will attend Paier
College of Art, and Emily
Elliott received a
scholarship to Sacred
Heart University.
’58 Joanne Catandella
Fletcher received the 2010
Johnson & Johnson/ADHA
Award for Excellence in
Dental Hygiene. This award
is presented to an
individual who has had
Kellan Hayes Ysewyn, son of Doug and Maureen Lagasse Ysewyn, ’92.
significant impact on the
present and future of the
daughter graduated from the University of
dental hygiene profession. Joan resides in Texas.
Maryland, Baltimore County.
’59 Barbara Naylor Mutrynowski announces the
’68 Marianne Damato VanZandt is proud to
birth of her seventh grandchild, Eric Falzone, to
announce that her daughter Meghan graduated
daughter Jennifer Mutrynowski Falzone, ’89 and
summa cum laude from Salve Regina University.
husband John.
A Pell Scholar, she received the Biology Biomedical
Award for the highest GPA in her department.
She plans to be a veterinarian.
1960’s
’60 Eleanor Collimore Sluben retired from
nursing five years ago after working in various
positions; her favorite one was being a nursing
instructor at the University of Bridgeport in the
1970s and 1980s. She hopes to attend the 50th
reunion in September and sends her best to all
of her classmates.
’63 Kathryn Lucarelle Penzotti announces the
arrival of her granddaughter, Ella Kathryn, born
June 2, 2009.
’65 Sharon Franko has
retired after 41 years of
teaching for the Diocese
of Bridgeport. She will be
summering in a new home
in Maine with fellow alum
Kristine Wojtowski, ’65,
who retired from nursing
in July 2009.
’68 Eileen M. Peschel Smith
is back in the classroom
teaching 6th, 7th, and
8th grade science in a
Catholic elementary school.
Her oldest child married,
her son is engaged, and her
1 9 70 ’s
’72 Noreen Hermanns Fenton is enjoying
volunteer work and her four grandchildren.
She is chairman of the annual Irish Festival
in Louisville, Kentucky.
’74 Carole Durkin-Youngpeter is off to Malawi
(Central Africa) for the summer. Her youngest
daughter Alyson, who graduated magna cum laude
from Southwestern University last year, has been
serving as a volunteer with the Marianist Brothers
for the past year. It’s a family affair, as Carole will
be traveling with husband Keith and their oldest
daughter Jessica, who works in Dallas for Taylor
Yearbook Publishing Company.
’77 Claudia Bruno Sheketoff is pleased that
her daughter Amy Jo Sheketoff, ’14, will join
the incoming class of Lauralton Hall freshman.
Her daughter Melissa Sheketoff, ’08, is also an
alumna. Claudia’s son Nicholas graduated this year
from Jacksonville University with a bachelor’s
degree in Business.
Gabriel and Luke Satalino, sons of KaraJayne Mandanici Satalino, ’99,
and husband George.
Hallmarks
25
SUMMER 2010
CLASS NOTES
1980’s
’80 Kathleen Kearns Donahue, 2000 Claven
recipient, is thrilled that daughter Brenna
Donahue, ’14, will be a member of the incoming
freshman class. Brenna was one of three students
from St. Catherine of Siena, Trumbull, to receive
the Patricia Gleeson Memorial Award, which is
given to a graduating student attending Lauralton
Hall who excels in academics and is involved in
school activities. This award honors Lauralton Hall
alumna and former St. Catherine of Siena teacher
Patricia Lavery Gleeson, ’58, who passed away this
year. In addition, daughter Ryan Virginia Donahue,
’06, graduated from Fairfield University with a
BA in Communications and Marketing.
’83 Mary Keeton Baier, P.E., has been
reassigned to District 3 construction for the
Connecticut Department of Transportation.
Her title is Transportation Supervisor Engineer,
and she is responsible for and in charge of
all roadway and bridge construction from
Bridgeport to the New York line, including the
Merritt Parkway ... her favorite!
’83 CDR Joanna Collins Nunan, USCG, writes:
“I really enjoyed the recent Hallmarks and thought
I would send along an update from Puerto Rico.
My husband Tom Nunan (FP ’82) was just featured
in The Losers, a movie that opened in April. If you
YouTube “The Losers TV Spot #5,” he is the Colonel
at the Pentagon. Most of the year. I’m the only 0-6
in the house as the Deputy Commander of the
Coast Guard Sector San Juan. We’ll be moving to
another tropical island this summer, Oahu, where I’ll
be taking command of CG Sector Honolulu. I’m
really excited for our daughters, Brigid (12) and
Grainne (5), who will attend Sacred Heart Academy,
an all-girls Catholic school in Honolulu. It’s great to
see how Lauralton and the Lauralton Ladies
continue to flourish.”
’84 Sabrina Farrell Eschweiler was recently
promoted to Information Technologies Manager
at MBI, Inc., Norwalk.
litigation associate for Diserio, Martin, O’Conner &
Castignoli, L.L.P., of Stamford. She graduated from
Quinnipiac University School of Law in 1997.
’99 Margaret Nagle is the Northeast Regional
Account Executive for Osborne & Little,
London, England.
2000’s
’85 Donna Rooney O’Hara is thrilled that her
daughter Molly O’Hara,’14, is a member of the
incoming class of Lauralton Hall freshman. She joins
a long legacy including grandmothers, aunts, greataunts and cousins who have all attended Lauralton.
’00 Lauren O’Connell Vanney gave birth to a
daughter named Veronica Aileen Vanney on
August 13, 2009, in Dubai.
’85 Suzanne DeGiacomo O’Neill has a new
position as Regional Sales Director for Select
Minds in New York City.
’02 volunteers are needed to serve as Class of
2002 Class Agents with classmate Jennifer Rose,
’02. Please contact the Alumnae Relations Office
to join this dynamic team.
’87 Maura L. Hennessey is pleased to report that
this past fall she completed her first Ironman
Triathalon. Maura is serving as a member of the
Lauralton Board of Trustees.
1990’s
’90 Debra Kelly Woodward has been named
Milford’s Assistant City Attorney. Debra, a seasoned
attorney who built her practice at her Trumbull
firm, Kelly & Norris, LLC., will leave her practice,
which opened in 2001. Prior to that, she was a
’01 Natalie Cerino Kovacic is a 2009 graduate of
the University of Pittsburgh Law School.
’02 Sarah Jane Flood recently graduated summa
cum laude from George Washington University
with a master’s degree in Education and Human
Development. Sarah is a grants manager for
Open Society Institute in Washington, D.C.
’04 Nicole Benson graduated from the University
of Connecticut with a master’s degree in Allied
Health: Health Promotion and Education.
’05 Jessica S. Vigliotti, Alumnae Executive
Board member, had another article published
in the American Journal of Clinical Pathology,
Microbiology and Infectious
Disease section, entitled
“Increased Sensitivity and
Specificity of Borrelia
burgdorferi 16S Ribosomal
DNA Detection.”
’05 Kristen McGoey
is a registered nurse on
the Burn/Plastic Surgery
Unit at Massachusetts
General Hospital.
’06 Elizabeth Correa
graduated from Roger
Williams University on May
22, 2010, summa cum laude.
Elizabeth received the
President’s Core Values
Medallion, was valedictorian
of the School of Education,
winner of the Excellence in
American Studies Award,
and granted a Thesis
of Distinction for her
Members of the Lauralton Advanced Vocal Ensemble after participating in the St. Patrick’s Day Mass at St. Augustine Cathedral,
Bridgeport, Flag Raising at Bridgeport City Hall and the annual parade.
26
Hallmarks
SUMMER 2010
CLASS NOTES
Class of 2010 Class Agents are presented at the Senior Class Alumnae Induction Ceremony and Luncheon. The Class Agent
program provides a vital link between graduates and Lauralton Hall. Anyone interested in the program is encouraged to
contact the Alumnae Office. Class Agents are needed for all classes.
Left to right: Amanda Rodrigues, ’10, Mary Kate Brigantic, ’10, Cara Denos, ’10 and Rebecca Rego, ’10
psychological and cultural work on Dr. Seuss.
She will become a published researcher in coming
months, as her thesis is in the final stages of
publication. She will attend Boston College in
the fall to pursue a master’s degree in Applied
Developmental and Educational Psychology with
the goal of becoming a child psychologist.
’07 Jane Becker participated in an SEA Semester
while away from studies at Brandeis University,
where she just completed her junior year. Jane
traveled on the 134-foot Corwith Cramer, to St.
Croix, a journey of approximately 3,000 nautical
miles. At the Woods Hole, Mass. campus, Jane
developed a research project that was tested and
completed aboard the Corwith Cramer. At sea, she
served as Junior Watch Officer and collected data
for her project, provided weather observations to a
national database, and charted the Cramer’s course
using celestial navigation.
’07 Jessica Colucci is a disc jockey at Sacred Heart
University and has a show called “Jessie’s on
Screen” on the student-run radio program.
’07 Allison Kirk attends the U.S. Naval
Academy at Annapolis, Md., not West Point
as previously reported.
’09 Abbigail Colucci is enjoying attending the
University of New Haven.
’09 Curran Mitchell is happily attending
Providence College.
Library Media Center
Wish List
Librarian Terry Lawlor would appreciate your assistance in supplying the
Library Media Center with a Sony KDL-32EX500 32" LCD TV and computer
(about $1200). She is also seeking 5 flip video ultra camcorders (about $130
each). Last, the Library Media Center would also like Milestone Documents
in African American History print and ebook (about $395).
For information on how you can help underwrite all or part of any of these
items, please contact Lisa M. Hottin, Executive Director of Development, at
[email protected], ext. 129.
Thanks for your consideration!
Hallmarks
27
SUMMER 2010
CLASS NOTES
Lauralton Arbor Day
Hallmarks Feature Writer Meg Greene
The Class of 2010 planted a tree on campus as part of the traditional
Lauralton Arbor Day celebration.
Connecticut CARE delegation met with US
(far left) and other members of the 2010
Representative and Lauralton alumna Rosa
DeLauro, ’60 (center) in May. CARE, one of
the largest humanitarian agencies in the
world, held its annual conference in
Washington, D.C., where CARE sponsors
visited their congressional representatives to
advocate on behalf of impoverished women
and families around the world.
Caroline Holguin, ’10 (left), Amanda Rodrigues, ’10 (right), and Rebecca Rego, ’10 (back).
Recognize these photos?
WIN A LAURALTON T-SHIRT!
If so, e-mail or send us the identities
of the people or events (along with
any comments) and we’ll randomly
select a correct answer and award the
winner a Lauralton Hall T-shirt!
Photo #1 ...
Our readers were
stumped again!
???????
Note the photo number and
send your answers to:
Director of Alumnae Relations
Look for the correct answer, names of
winners and your observations in the
next issue of Hallmarks.
1
Photo #2 generated a lot of
interest among our alumnae.
Monique Coe Wilson, ’78, of
Virginia, identified this photo by
recognizing classmate Connie
Cuneo, on the left holding her
classmates’ foot. Monique quips,
“I wouldn’t be surprised if this
photo was entitled ‘How many
Lauralton Ladies does it take to
change a light bulb?’ I remember
well that ‘someone’ would
unscrew the lights as a prank,
leaving the catacombs in total
darkness. I believe this photo
was showing a reenactment!”
M Y S T E R Y
P H O T O
W I N N E R S
2
28
Hallmarks
?
Congratulations Lauralton Hall
Class of 2010 on your college acceptances!
albany college of Pharmacy
gettysburg college
Mount saint Mary college
stony Brook university
albertus Magnus college
Harvard university
Mount saint Mary’s university
suffolk university
alvernia university
High Point university
Muhlenberg college
syracuse university
american international college
new york university
temple university
american university
Hobart and William smith
colleges
northeastern university
the catholic university of america
assumption college
Hofstra university
northwestern university
the george Washington university
Bentley university
indiana university
at Bloomington
Pace university, new york city
the university of scranton
iona college
Pennsylvania state university,
university Park
the university of tampa
ithaca college
Philadelphia university
James Madison university
tulane university
Point Park university
John carroll university
united states coast guard academy
Providence college
Johns Hopkins university
university of colorado at Boulder
Purdue university
Keene state college
university of connecticut
Quinnipiac university
Kenyon college
university of delaware
rensselaer Polytechnic institute
La salle university
university of edinburgh
champlain college
roanoke college
college of charleston
Lafayette college
roger Williams university
university of Massachusetts,
amherst
college of the Holy cross
Lake forest college
sacred Heart university
university of Miami
colorado state university
Lasell college
saint anselm college
university of Mississippi
connecticut college
Le Moyne college
saint Joseph college
university of new england
cornell university
Lehigh university
saint Joseph’s university
university of new Hampshire
curry college
Liberty university
saint Louis university
university of new Haven
dalhousie university
Loyola Marymount university
saint Michael’s college
university of Pennsylvania
drexel university
Loyola university chicago
salve regina university
university of Pittsburgh
duquesne university
Loyola university Maryland
santa clara university
university of rhode island
eastern connecticut
state university
Lynchburg college
savannah college of
art and design
university of san diego
Manhattan college
eckerd college
Manhattanville college
school of Visual arts
university of Vermont
elms college
Marion Military institute
seton Hall university
Villanova university
emmanuel college
Marist college
siena college
Wagner college
endicott college
Marquette university
skidmore college
Washington and Jefferson college
fairfield university
Marymount Manhattan college
Wentworth institute of technology
fairleigh dickinson university
Massachusetts college of
Pharmacy & Health sciences
southern connecticut
state university
Boston college
Boston university
Bryant university
cabrini college
carleton university
carnegie Mellon university
central connecticut
state university
fordham university
trinity college
university of south carolina
springfield college
Western connecticut
state university
franciscan university
of steubenville
Merrimack college
st. Bonaventure university
Western new england college
Miami university, Oxford
st. John’s university
Wheaton college
franklin and Marshall college
Monmouth university
st. Lawrence university
Wheelock college
franklin Pierce university
Moravian college
stonehill college
Xavier university
Mount ida college
Hallmarks
Academy of Our Lady of Mercy | Lauralton Hall
200 High Street | Milford, CT 06460
state Awards Lauralton 2nd Grant
for Barn restoration
e executive director of the connecticut trust for Historic
Preservation, Helen Higgins (center) presented interim director of
development Patricia J. rooney, ’54 (le) and President dr.
antoinette iadarola (right) with a Historic Preservation technical
assistance grant (HPtag). e purpose of this grant is to assist the
school in the cost of preparing bid level architectural plans and
specifications for the restoration and adaptive reuse of the barn. e
money comes to the school as a “matching grant,” which means the
funds must be matched. anks to the generosity of various donors
and Lauralton Hall supporters, the match has already been met,
creating a total of $27,400 to use toward the next phase in the
renovation process.
I M P O R TA N T U P C O M I N G D AT E S …
Homecoming
Saturday, September 18,
at 5:00 p.m.
Details on inside cover.
Golden Girls Luncheon
Sunday, September 19, at noon
Open House for Prospective
Students and Families
Sunday, October 3,
1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Please spread the word!
RSM in Residence
Deirdre Mullan, RSM
Tuesday, October 5
Guest speaker in Lauralton’s
guest lecturer series.
See page 11 for more
information on this guest.
Entrance Exam
Saturday, October 16, and
Saturday, October 23, at 8:00 a.m.
Fee $60. Call (203) 877-2786,
ext. 144, for details.
Student Musical Production
Friday, October 22, through
Sunday, October 24
Parsons Complex Auditorium
70 West River Street, Milford
“Annie” will be presented.
Mother/Daughter Brunch
Sunday, November 14,
at 11:00 a.m.
Scholar in Residence
Dr. Jonnie Guerra
Monday, November 15
and Tuesday, November 16
See page 10 for more information
on this guest.
Christmas in Song
Thursday, December 9, at 7:30 p.m.
Parsons Complex Auditorium
70 West River Street, Milford
Lauralton’s annual holiday concert
... a must see!
Irish Night
Saturday, March 5, 2011
at 7:30 p.m.
Save the date!
Poet in Residence
Nikki Giovanni
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Save the date! More to follow.
See page 9 for more information
on this guest.
Stay Connected … find us on:
When logged on to Facebook, enter “Lauralton Hall Alum, Milford, CT” in the Facebook search box and click “Become a Fan.”

Literary issue - Lauralton Hall

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