spirituality - Ursuline Academy

VOICES
SUMMER 2010
SPIRITUALITY
Spiritual Life
in Four Parts
UA Alum Takes
Faith on the Road
Kairos:
Right Thing, Right Time
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32
36
Dear Ursuline Community,
Having spent my entire life in education as a student, teacher or administrator,
you might say I never lost the rhythm of the school year. I fully understand that
our nation’s industries don’t come grinding to a halt just because the sun comes
out in June. Adults still get in their cars and hustle to work; working parents
must make arrangements for their young ones; deadlines, goals and reports are
set and met. Various leadership and sports camps, planning meetings and the day
to day business of the very active enterprise we call Ursuline mean it will be far
from a lonely place while school is out. Still…it’s summer. While the livin’ may
not be exactly “easy” for us grown-ups, most of us will take it over winter any
day. Let us give thanks for summer.
And let us give thanks for the many alumnae, students and faculty members who
contributed to this issue of Voices. They wrote about something very personal
and dear to them: their spirituality, the theme of this summer issue of Voices.
Their memories and insights give credence to Ursuline’s long-held belief that
all of the academic and athletic accolades in the world will never supersede the
foundation on which they arise, namely, the search for relationship with God.
Finally, we hope you’ll read the Baccalaureate Address of senior Christina
Mondi on page 14. If you’ve ever wondered about the faith and aspirations
of the “younger generation,” you’ll be inspired and filled with hope for our world
when you read her remarks.You’ll also understand why her class bestowed her
with the Christian Leadership Award.
All of us at Ursuline wish you a safe and joyous
summer, hopefully one during which you can renew
and refresh those beliefs you hold dear.
Peace and Prayers,
Voices is published three times a year to report
school and alumnae news to parents, alumnae
and friends of Ursuline Academy.
Robin Anzinger Galvin '65, editor.
rgalvin@ursulineacademy.org
Ursuline Academy Development Department
5535 Pfeiffer Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242
Phone: (513) 791-5794
2009-2010 Board of Trustees
Patricia Fox Alderson
Gary M. Breissinger
Sr. Ellen Doyle, OSU
Patrick C. Gilligan
Dianne Kreuzman Hill '73, Secretary
Mary G. Hobson, Vice Chair
Sr. Patricia Homan, OSU
Monica Donath Kohnen
Donald P. Laden
Tamara Kearney Lanier '95
Alan H. McCoy
Michael S. McGraw, Chair
Ramona Payne '76
Sr. Ruth Podesta, OSU '50
Brian A. Ross, Treasurer
Gregory M. Utter
Judy Wildermuth Wells '78
William E. Wiebe
Administration
Sharon L. Redmond, president
sredmond@ursulineacademy.org
Adele Iwanusa, principal
aiwanusa@ursulineacademy.org
Mary Bender, assistant principal
mbender@ursulineacademy.org
Thomas Barhorst, assistant principal
tbarhorst@ursulineacademy.org
Development Department
Anne Jarrad
Development Director
ajarrad@ursulineacademy.org
Donna Scheidler Gruber '75
Director of Alumnae & Parent Relations
dgruber@ursulineacademy.org
Sharon Redmond,
President
Lori Haines
Director of Special Events
lhaines@ursulineacademy.org
Kathleen Knecht '98
Coordinator of Annual Giving
kknecht@ursulineacademy.org
Mary Alice Redden LaPille '76
Coordinator of Records & Research
mlapille@ursulineacademy.org
Marianne Lang
Development Assistant
mklang@ursulineacademy.org
On the cover:
The garden at St. Angela Merici’s house in Desenzano, Italy. Religious Studies teacher Brenda Kristof writes
of her pilgrimage to Italy wherein she followed in the footsteps of the Ursuline foundress.
Robin Anzinger Galvin '65
Director of Communications
rgalvin@ursulineacademy.org
Design: Anne Shannon Graphic Design
Printing: The Jos. Berning Printing Co.
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SUMMER 2010
Brenda Kristof
A Journey
of the Heart
In religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or
search of great moral significance. Sometimes it is a journey
to a sacred place, or shrine of importance to a person’s beliefs
and faith. Members of every major religion participate in
pilgrimages. Muslims travel to Mecca, Christians and Jews to
Jerusalem, Buddhists to the site of the Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya,
and Hindus to the sacred waters of the Ganges in Varanasi.
By Brenda Kristof, Religious Studies Faculty
“It began in historic Rome, and
ended by the tranquil waters of Lake
Garda in Desenzano, at the foot of
the spectacular Alps. Spiritually it
continues to be a journey of the heart
revealing powerful insights about the
tremendous gift of human freedom…”
In June of 2008, I had the opportunity to go on a religious
pilgrimage to Italy sponsored by the Ursulines of Brown
County. It began in historic Rome, and ended by the tranquil
waters of Lake Garda in Desenzano, at the foot of the
spectacular Alps. Spiritually it continues to be a journey of the
heart revealing powerful insights about the tremendous gift of
human freedom, which is a source of incredible creativity, as
well as horrible cruelty and destruction.
The highlight of the pilgrimage was the time spent walking in
the footsteps of Ursuline foundress, St. Angela Merici. Angela
modeled a “lived theology” that grew out of experiences and
events. Theology evolves from truth to truth as we live out our
lives in search of our true selves, our mission in life and the
meaning of the world around us.
Angela Merici was a visionary who lived during a time in
history when women had two choices in life—marriage or
the convent. With little money or power, the unconventional
Angela created a third option, living as a single woman, who
dedicated her life to the education of young girls, by turning
her own home into a school. Today Ursuline schools and
colleges throughout the United States and Europe continue
Angela’s vision, guided by God’s call that is open to change and
committed to helping others.
I am proud to be an Ursuline educator who is part of a legacy
of strong, innovative women who are dedicated to providing an
excellent values-based education that offers young people the
tools to live freer, happier lives.
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SUMMER 2010
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In front of the farmhouse at Le Grezze, where Angela Merici
lived in Desenzano, the Ursuline sisters installed a crooked
path to symbolize her spiritual journey. The crooked path
follows the actual path between the house and the well where
Angela walked daily to draw water. In a private moment, I
walked Angela’s crooked path as I reflected on my own spiritual
journey replete with zigs, zags, and detours. In fact, I often
say that, “I am backing my way into heaven,” referring to those
occasions when my will and God’s will haven’t always meshed,
when God has had to prod, push, and pull me in the right
direction.
There are many things that I want to do with and for people
through teaching and service. I look forward to the future with
great anticipation and enthusiasm, wondering what God has
in store for me. I do not know where my path will lead as I
develop my own “lived theology,” but one thing that I know for
sure is that God will continue to be my faithful companion as
we walk the crooked path together.
Statue honoring St. Angela Merici
in Desenzano
Yet I am always with You;
You take hold of my right hand.
Psalm 73:23
The garden by Angela Merici’s home at
Le Grezzee in Desenzano
The crooked path, symbolizing Angela’s spiritual journey
Lake Garda and the Alps, Desenzano, Italy
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SUMMER 2010
Father Jack Wessling
Priestly Presence is Ursuline’s Blessing
He’s a thousand superlatives, all of them true; a fan, a fixture,
a friend. Beloved by students and faculty, he’s our own Father
Jack Wessling, who has preached and taught at Ursuline for
thirty-three years. Former religion teacher Sr. Joan Roach got
the Wessling ball rolling at UA when she asked Fr. Jack to teach
Intro to Philosophy in the fall of 1977. Since then, there’s been
no turning back for Jack.
Fr. Jack’s philosophy course allows students to discuss issues of
faith in a different context from a course specifically intended
to teach Church doctrine. A chat with Fr. Jack in preparation
for this issue of Voices was a far-reaching conversation, a
winding road of insights distilled here, in his own words.
Of Faith And Youth
• Faith is both a decision and a gift, a process in which we
hope to replace our quest for certitude with our quest for
understanding.
• Few would be attracted to God as the “Ground of Being”
or “Subsisting Existence,” the God that is a conclusion of
a syllogistic argument. For Christians, faith is rooted in a
beautiful story which is to be lived in our everyday lives.
Sometimes the institutional actions of the Church fail to
communicate this.
• For many students, time at Ursuline is a kind of moratorium
or a transition in their spiritual life. It is the time between
the religion they were indoctrinated in and the faith yet to
be chosen. They must have time to go through this stage.
• Above all, it’s important to recognize these high school
years as a time of searching for:
– Meaning and purpose
– Love
– Happiness
– Who do I want to be?
• Not everyone can have a relationship with God like
St. John of the Cross or Thomas Merten. Many of our
students will find God in the people they serve. Service
is one way of becoming one with God.
• Students need to have their beliefs and
their doubts respected.
A quiet moment before the Sending Forth Mass
What You Didn’t Know
Father Jack claims it’s the homily that gives him fits. “Teaching
is a piece of cake compared to preaching,” he said. The
advantage at Ursuline, he feels, is that he knows the students,
but he still worries about repeating stories he’s told before.
“They like to leave Mass feeling it was worth being there…
that’s the burden I feel,” he said. If the students’ and faculty’s
recollection of Fr. Jack’s homilies is any measure of their
efficacy, then this is a burden carried with skill and grace.
A FATHER JACK MEMORY
Sittin’ On The Dock of the Bay
Long time English teacher Cathi Schellhous recalls
an Ursuline faculty party at a lake house some 25
years ago or so. Whose house and what lake are long
forgotten. Some of the partiers were boating; some
were visiting in the home or on the grounds. But Cathi
found herself sitting on the end of the dock with Fr.
Jack. She asked him, “What exactly is existentialism?”
She was expecting the Cliff Notes version, the summer
picnic version. The answer she received was anything
but brief, and far from exact. It’s existentialism, after
all. She claims that after 45 minutes, she looked at him,
said goodbye and jumped in the lake. The lesson: Never
ask a philosophy scholar for an explanation; it requires
a time commitment you may not be able to fulfill.
VOICES
SUMMER 2010
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JOURNEY TO
EL SALVADOR
SISTER PAT BROCKMAN '46
Late last December my brother and sister-in-law, Steve and
Diane, invited me to celebrate my 60th jubilee of religious
profession by joining members of their Harrison, Ohio, parish
(St. John the Baptist) on their annual trip to El Salvador. This
pilgrimage adventure was two-tiered for me. One level was
traveling with fourteen members into the life of Santa Cruz
and Our Lady of Guadalupe, twin parishes just outside of the
capital, San Salvador. The other was the celebration of the 30th
anniversary of the death of the great martyr, Archbishop Oscar
Romero. In the 1970-80s, Romero’s homilies became the weekly
radio news during the Civil War in the context of God’s love and
hope. One witness said, “Monseñor Romero seemed like a pair
of enormous hands trying to hold El Salvador together when it
was at a point of breaking into a million pieces.”
Sister Pat at the Chatelatango site of the martyrdom of four American women.
Sister Maura Clarke, M.M, Sister Dorothy Kazel, O.S.U., Sister Ita Ford, M.M., and lay
missioner Jean Donovan were killed in El Salvador on Dec. 2, 1980. The murders were
part of a brutal pattern of attacks by death squads and members of the Salvadoran Armed
Forces against persons working with El Salvador’s poor and war refugees.
“Angela saw in the martyrs’ lives a
mirror of the self-gift that each of
us is called to give”
It was chiefly from this country that a large number of refugees
came through New Jerusalem where I was working with and
was associated with in the 1980s. So I was aware of the Church’s
history during that time, including assassinations of the four
North American women – one of whom was a Cleveland
Ursuline, and the six Jesuit priests and their two women coworkers. All of these martyrs were engaged with teaching the
gospels and serving the poor.
Just as important was my awareness of Angela Merici’s love of
the martyrs and of pilgrimage, and this pilgrimage went to the
heart of martyrdom. Angela saw in the martyrs’ lives a mirror
of the self-gift that each of us is called to give in our much less
public life. Perhaps this “slice” of our encounter with El Salvador
will touch some truth of your own gospel journey.
The week of March 20 began with festivities honoring the great
Oscar Romero, bishop of El Salvador who was assassinated for
his preaching of the Gospel, his call to non-violence, and his
challenge for truth from the government and Church authorities.
This 30th anniversary of his death was drawing pilgrims from
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“The week of March 20 began with
festivities honoring the great Oscar
Romero, bishop of El Salvador who
was assassinated for his preaching of
the Gospel…”
the families whose children’s education the parishioners are
sponsoring. These were shining reunions, the children laughing
and hugging! It was like a medieval festival with vendors selling
cotton candy, Romero banners, T-shirts, candles….women
balancing stacks of papooses on their heads. Papooses are a
relative of burritos filled with spinach, squash, or chicken.
The crypt of the El Salvador Cathedral next to Romero's tomb. There are always
flowers and pictures around the crypt.
the entire world, also to the site of the assassination of the four
American women as well as that of the Jesuit martyrs who were
teachers and pastors in El Salvador.
A high moment came when the newly elected President of
El Salvador, Mauricio Fundes, arrived, the first ever from
the FLMN, the party of the poor. He spoke at length. At one
point there was an explosion of cheers and someone translated
for me. He had said, “My administration will be judged on
the values of Oscar Romero.” The crowd – including us! –
went wild – Viva Romero! Romero’s cause for canonization
is moving forward as he, almost alone of Church officials,
continued to speak the truth of the killing of 75,000 Christians.
He continued to preach the gospel, overcoming his own fearfilled nature to stand against the evils of his country.
Accommodations were simple but comfortable at the OASIS
guesthouse, owned and run by a lovely couple, Damian and
Carolina Alegria, former guerrillas who lived through the
Civil War. They are clearly of those who are building a middle
class economy. Damian is now the San Salvador delegate to the
national legislative body; Carolina runs the daily business of the
guesthouse as well as making beautiful jewelry. We arrived on
Saturday about noon after a flight through Houston, and a brief
orientation. We prepared to go immediately to the opening
festivities for the Romero week. Most of our days began early
and lasted with reflections late at night. Often our meals were
taken there at the guesthouse or eaten with the parish. Twice
Renee took us to Mister Donut’s, a gringo type of fast food
place. Once we ate picnic style in a mountain park.
The walk was slow, growing to tens of thousands, moving
through an open market, being joined by “gringos” from around
the world. The faces of Asia were there; the Canadians were
there carrying a banner of their Toronto Romero Center for
the Homeless, all mixed with lines and lines of the common
folk. The brown Mayan faces were shining for joy, celebrating
the Shepherd-hero who had come from their midst. We
arrived at the Cathedral with Mass in progress, the crowds
chanting, talking, our feet swelling! Renee, our CRISPAZ
guide, recognized that most of us had been up for about 16 or
17 hours, and our energies were failing. She called David, the
bus driver who was to accompany us all week. We headed back
to our OASIS, where we took off our shoes, stretched out our
swelling feet and entered into the first of our evening reflection
times. The day’s heat had abated and most of us slept well,
unconcerned with a shower equipped only with cold water.
The plaza Salvador del Mundo was the gathering point for the
three mile walk to the Cathedral. Since this is the first year my
brother has gone, he was looking with great anticipation for
During the next six days, activities moved between encounters
with the people and the great historical moment that was
shaping our present. At Santa Cruz and Our Lady of Guadalupe
VOICES
SUMMER 2010
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“A high moment came when
the newly elected President of
El Salvador, Mauricio Fundes,
arrived…”
These murals are a way to use art to tell the national story. This mural is on the hill where
Our Lady of Providence Cancer Hospital is located in whose chapel Oscar Romero was shot. Notice
that the people all have the wounds of Christ in their hands and feet.
parishes there were celebratory meals, playful meetings, serious
reviews of the education program, and plans for a future health
program. Pictures were taken of every family that had a child
in the education program so that the 100 or so sponsors back
in Harrison, Ohio, could see them. Rather than emphasis on
money given, there is great attention to “accompaniment” as the
nature of relationship between St. John and their twin parishes.
There were overnights in private homes. One morning we
walked through the neighborhood, seeing faith and family love
in the midst of great poverty. One couple had a very small
home – two rooms – but proudly showed the oven from which
they carried on their bakery business, treating us to the delicious
products which they take daily into the streets to sell.
After one evening gathering an especially warm but shy
“teenager,” Roberto Martinez, had approached me in Santa Cruz.
He slipped his arm under mine and smiled. I was to discover that
Roberto is a 33 year old “techno-apostle,” the parish computer
geek. I was led to an evening meeting of the Basic Christian
Community which he directs. We prayed briefly. There, 20-25
persons introduced themselves through a translator, and told
of their various ministries in the parish. That night I walked
through crumbled cobblestone to stay with Roberto and his
parents, Victoria and Rafael. They spoke no English, I no Spanish.
We used sign language and facial expressions to communicate.
Victoria took one look at my sore bunions and hurried to get
Band-Aids. I found out later she had been a nurse. Rafael,
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VOICES
SUMMER 2010
discovering that my sandals were clogged with dog dirt, stripped
them off my feet and returned them later in mint condition!
The next morning Rafael, standing outside at the top of his
steps and above the tin and stone-walled homes in the street, he
pointed proudly beyond them to San Salvador glowing through
the mountains like the Heavenly City. This said something to me
about the faith of these people.
It was a profound experience to travel several hours to
Chalatenango, the farm area where the four American
missionary women had been killed in 1980. Dorothy Kazel, a
Cleveland Ursuline, was one of these. The women’s presence
was palpable! The men in our group held strands of barbed wire
apart so we could enter the area. We kissed this holy ground,
sat outside on a low wall. In the heat and dust where they had
first been buried, one of the women re-read the story of their
brutal rape and murder. Then we prayed before entering the
simple church that has been built there to honor them. In our
reflection after Eucharist, I was especially touched as some of
the men expressed not only anger, but the deep confusion some
of them felt, trying to imagine how the soldiers could hold their
evil intention through the hours it took to bring the women
from the airport to this site. It was as if, by their actions, these
men had violated their own manhood as well as the women’s
womanhood.
The El Salvador pilgrimage flowed smoothly and directly into
my return for Holy Week. Romero is more than the hero;
really, he is the Christ for the Salvadoran people. His meekness,
powerful love, his direct confrontation with evil revealed
Jesus to them. He told Teresa Salas who worked with him,
“It’s important not to love ourselves so much that we’re not
willing to take the risks that history demands of us.” The people
understand what few of us have never come to know. They have
as a nation received the blows, the torture. They have had to
flee, to protect one another, to endure the lies, the constant
misrepresentation of their faith. Indeed their non-violence made
them vulnerable. It is honest and appropriate that in the national
art, the people are shown with wounds in their hands and feet!
One witness wrote, “Romero was a coward and he knew it. He
was a prophet and didn’t know it.” However, his ongoing fear
was not as consuming as his compassion for the poor. To follow
in his footsteps that week was to see what he prophesied has
happened: he has been resurrected in the people – and we were
honored to have met them in two parishes.
A lovely garden flowed from the small dining room of the
OASIS. Some of us went there for quiet reflection or reading in
the moments before leaving for each day’s events. There were
exotic vines and flowers hanging along the walls. I was intrigued
by the large footprint-shaped stones that formed a path through
the garden. The following poem came to me:
ROMERO GRACE
Yeti-sized footprints
cross the garden
flat, broad, quiet. I follow them wondering
why they trace their path
in Salvadoran grass.
Are they a moment
of Buddha enlightenment
rising up out of our
eternal emptiness?
Interrupting no one.
flat, broad, quiet.
We walk thru
Chalatenango dust
finding our sisters’ spirits there
Our footprints catching up
with them
as we kiss the ground they
hallowed before us.
Can we match prints with
those of shining children?
With mothers wizened
by terror’s path?
Fathers shaping a slow
future with footprints
flat, broad, quiet?
We are here
soles humbled
our service smallt
Our footprints…
flat, broad, quiet.
Pat Brockman (03.24.10)
Sister Pat with a young Santa Cruz parishioner at the outer mural of the parish. Most
buildings, even many homes, are built behind a wall and entered by a gate.
VOICES
SUMMER 2010
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2010 National Merit Scholars
Seven young women from Ursuline Academy were named as 2010 National Merit Finalists
by the National Merit Scholarship Program. They are Colleen McCroskey, Teresa Whitaker,
Indre Matulaitis, Rachel Fogg, Emily Cleary, Shannon Manley, and Lauren George
Special Recognition
These seniors received special recognition at Ursuline’s graduation this year. From left –
Cara Nicolas, elected to speak by her classmates; Maria Thomas, Archbishop McNicholas
Memorial Award; Christina Mondi, Christian Leadership Award; Alex Abbate, Centennial
Spirit Award; President Sharon Redmond, Emily Cleary, Senior Scholar Award; Shannon
Manley, Senior Scholar Award, Courtney Smalley, Senior Scholar Award.
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VOICES
SUMMER 2010
THE VESTER VISIT
Alum Established Vester Ivy Scholarship
Linda Vester Greenberg '83 and her husband Glenn came to campus for a visit to coincide
with the Academic Awards Ceremony. Linda presented the Vester Ivy Scholarship to Indre
Matulaitis who will attend Cornell University. Ten years ago, Linda and Glenn established the
Vester Ivy Scholarship fund to enable attendance at the Ivies by Ursuline students. Thus far, 13
students have benefited from the establishment of this fund. A scrapbook of notes and photos of all
of the Vester scholars was presented to Linda and Glenn at the ceremony.
Linda spoke to the student body at an assembly in the morning (in a uniform skirt, no less!) of the
importance Ursuline had played in her life. Faculty and students alike responded enthusiastically
to her heartfelt message. She was available for questions and advice throughout the day. Linda and
Glenn’s generosity to Ursuline is legend, but the gift of their presence was priceless!
Animated and amiable, Linda’s visit was
an inspiration to students.
Linda Vester with this year’s Vester Ivy Scholarship winner
Indre Matulaitis. Indre will attend Cornell in the fall.
Linda chats with Ed and Karen Parchment at a reception before the
Academic Awards Ceremony. Their daughter Kourtney received the
Vester Ivy Scholarship last year. Kourtney attends Cornell.
Linda dons a uniform skirt when
speaking at a student assembly.
Principal Adele Iwanusa Retires
The Ursuline community bid a fond goodbye to Adele, who
has served as Principal at Ursuline for the past five years. She
has spent her entire adult life in education, both as a teacher
and administrator. While at UA, Adele devoted much of her
time to studying and developing school goals and objectives in
order to receive accreditation from the Ohio Catholic Schools
Accreditation and North Central Association. She implemented
a new process for the observation and evaluation of teaching
faculty called “Leadership by Design Classroom Observation
System.” Adele was celebrated at the end of the school year at
a faculty gathering at the home of Kathy Geraci Stall '76
which included the reading of a poem in her honor by resident
poet and English teacher Jan Graham '68. Adele’s enthusiasm,
energy and kindness will surely be missed!
Adele Iwanusa with husband Ken, also recently retired. May good health and
good times bless their future!
VOICES
SUMMER 2010
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EASTER
BUNNY
Visits UA!
Avery Rudell with mom Jennifer Sullivan
Rudell '93
Student volunteers welcomed the youngsters.
The Alumnae Easter Egg Hunt brought out hundreds of little ones, their parents
and grandparents on a lovely Saturday in March. The Easter Bunny (aka Director
of Community Ministries Tim Beerman) greeted the eager egg hunters and led
them to the copious numbers of eggs hidden about the campus by the freshman
class. The enthusiastic freshmen took an active role in this year’s event, stuffing
hundreds of plastic eggs with candy. Gallons of juice, coffee and a million donut
holes later, a good time was had by all. See you next year!
Kathy Schnee Kline '90 with Lauren & Cameron
Daddy helps.
The Easter Bunny (aka Tim Beerman of the faculty) was on hand to greet his young friends and their parents.
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SUMMER 2010
Keira Kuznar, Anne Scheidler McGraw '68, Carey McGraw Kuznar '94, Evan
Kuznar, Jenny McGraw '00 and Kellen Van Sickle
Three generations: Meg Schneider Lynch '96 with Adelaide, Pam Sweeney
Schneider '65, Kate Schneider George'93 with Noah, Zachary and holding
baby Joshua
Impart as much as you can
of your spiritual being to those
who are on the road with you,
and accept as something
precious what comes back
to you from them.
Albert Schweitzer
Moya Kearney, Sidney Lanier, Tamara Kearney Lanier '95. Tamara is a member
of UA’s Board of Trustees and chair of the Marketing Committee.
Young alums-to-be
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SUMMER 2010
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2010 Baccalaureate
Reflection
Christina Mondi '10
I am not a packrat; however, as I was cleaning/excavating my
room last week, I came to the strange realization that I still own
all four of my Ursuline school planners. I don’t know whether
I’ve been hanging on to them so that I can reminisce about the
good old days when I was juggling term papers and lab reports
and translations simultaneously, or because I can’t bear to part
with the exquisite artwork I colored in them during Learning
Life Skills. But for some reason or another, I haven’t gotten rid
of them yet.
My planner from freshman year is a funny thing. For one, you
can tell how wisely I used my study halls—and my 60-pack
of Crayola markers—by the quantity of snowmen, flowers,
hearts, and other doodles littering its pages. And yet, my freshman planner is so…detailed. I carefully filled in every line with
information about each of my assignments, and checked them
off as I finished them.
See, that’s what was important to me freshman year: getting
good grades, doing what was expected of me. And to be honest, there wasn’t a whole lot more to it. The weekend boxes
in my freshman year planner are mostly blank…no parties, no
birthdays, no movie dates written in. I was so focused on becoming the kind of student that I thought I was supposed to be,
that I never considered what other plans and paths God might
have in store for my life. There’s something comforting about
making lists; something satisfying in being able to check things
off of them. And there’s something scary in the possibility of
deviating from the list, of throwing it out all together, of loosening our grip on the steering wheel of our lives, and letting
God take control, and discovering His will for our lives.
Christina Mondi
As we prepare for our high school graduation, it can be easy to
lapse into the mindset that this occasion marks more things to
check off of our to-do list: exams, check; college acceptances,
check; diploma, check. We’ve bubbled in our last Scantrons,
cleaned out our lockers, said our goodbyes. Our work here is
done. Or is it?
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SUMMER 2010
In today’s Gospel, after a long day of ministry, the disciples
urge Jesus to dismiss the crowd so that they can find food and
lodging before nightfall. “We are in a deserted place here,”
they remind him. They’ve healed everyone they can, preached
till their voices cracked, and now, it was time for the people
to fend for themselves. In the disciples’ eyes, their work there
was done.
Sound familiar? We’ve done everything we had to do here at
Ursuline, haven’t we? Isn’t it time for us to move on?
The disciples asked the very same questions. But in Jesus’ eyes,
there was more work to be done in that so-called deserted
place. He and His disciples had taken away the people’s chronic
illnesses and pain; now, it was time to tend to their immediate
needs—to nourish them, and give them the strength to move
forward.
And so he tells the disciples: “Give them some food yourselves.” He calls on them to look beyond themselves and their
own weariness, to reach outside of their comfort zone, and to
reach out to others. He urges them to go above and beyond
what is expected and required of them as His disciples, and to
do something extraordinary: to feed a crowd of five thousand.
And he calls upon each of us to do the same. We, the class
of 2010, faithfully executed what our parents and teachers
expected of us during our time here at UA. We passed chemistry, joined clubs, got into college. Each of us did the work we
had to do—but as a class, we did so much more. We became
so much more.
You see, where I remember sitting in this theater with a class
of 14-year-old girls at Freshman Orientation four years ago, I
am now surrounded by 178 beautiful young women. We grew
up in this place together. With each other’s love and support,
we have grown into stronger, more confident young women
than many of our middle-school selves ever thought we could
be. And in the end, that work which took place within each
of us over the years meant more than any academic work we
were required to do.
Looking at my planners from my final two years at Ursuline
prove this point. Sure, I had more and more assignments to
write down, and my backpack only grew heavier over the
years. But scrawled in the margins and corners of my junior
and senior year planners there was something more: movie
dates, reminders to self to bake cakes for people’s birthdays,
phone numbers. And as you flip through the pages of those
planners, you’ll notice a growing trend: those items—as well
as notes about theater rehearsals, Kairos meetings, and choir
practices—began to take up lines intended for assignments,
and the assignments are scrawled in the margins. My priorities
Christina receives the Christian Leadership Award from President Sharon Redmond
at graduation.
were shifting, and at the end of the day, my algebra homework
was often the thing that did not get checked off my list. But I
was starting to realize that it was not the most important thing.
The people here in this room became more important to me
than any paper or project. The girls that I saw as my classmates
freshman year became my friends, and eventually, my sisters.
And they—you—helped me to realize that people are the
most important thing. Work can wait. Reaching out to others
and making a difference in the lives of others, cannot…and being open to receiving this same treatment from others can’t,
either. The sisters that I made here, the teachers I encountered,
and the faith I developed nourished me in a way I could have
never expected, and helped me to become the kind of person
I wanted to be, but didn’t know how to be as a thirteen-yearold.
Many have speculated as to whether or not the feeding of the
5,000 as told in our Gospel was really a miracle. Some theologians have suggested that the bread and fish came from the
crowd itself, with each person contributing what little scraps of
food she had. 5,000 ordinary people with loving and generous hearts came together, and with the disciples’ guidance, did
something extraordinary: they fed each other. Thus, perhaps
the miracle came from within the community itself. The community fed itself.
The disciples doubted that they could feed the crowd by themselves. Jesus knew better. He knew that a seemingly-impossible
task—feeding 5,000 people with five loaves and two fishes—
would not be impossible for the disciples if they trusted in
God and leaned on the community for support.
VOICES
SUMMER 2010
15
And He knew the same about us—the class of 2010—all along.
He graced us with intelligence, beauty, and loving hearts. Over
the past four years, He has opened doors and opportunities for
each of us which we never expected. But He has given us the
courage to walk through them all…and here we are today, on
the other side, ready to move forward into the next.
We, as freshmen, never imagined that we’d make it to this
day. We couldn’t have pictured ourselves as we are now if we
tried. But there are a few people within our community seated
with us here today who could. Our parents, grandparents, and
loved ones knew how wonderful we were from the beginning
(they’ve got the home videos and old report cards to prove it.)
At our Freshman Orientation, Ms. Redmond told us this day
would come and predicted that over the next four years, we’d
do great things and become Ursuline women. Our teachers saw
the potential in us all along. I think they believed in us more
than we believed in ourselves.
In giving of themselves, they were fed. They saw that, with
Christ’s love and just a few fishes and loaves, they could touch a
crowd of 5,000. And they were nourished, too.
So, class of 2010: whether you’ve got your whole future
mapped out, or are headed places this fall which you never
expected; whether you’re going to be a mother or a doctor or
a writer or a lawyer…remember this place, and who you have
become here. Share the love that you experienced here at 5535
Pfeiffer Road with your roommate from New York. Don’t
keep all that you’ve learned and experienced here at Ursuline
to yourselves. Share it. Amazing things will happen in your
life if you do…because the vision of St. Angela—the one we
always sing so much about at Ursuline—is so much greater,
wider, and more amazing than anything we could ever dream
of for ourselves. But there’s a God above, and a theater full
of people here, who see it in us. It’s time for us to go out and
reach for it.
And there’s the catch. The miracle.
Like Jesus, those who love us believe in us more than we
believe in ourselves. They expect more of us than we expect
of ourselves, because they see all that we’re capable of. Their
dreams for us—and God’s plans for us—exceed the ones we
have for ourselves.
Everyone but us knew we’d make it. But now, class of 2010,
we know…and we can and will do it all over again this fall. Because as everyone always reminds us, we are Ursuline women,
and, no, our work is not done. Our work here in this building
is done, but the work here—within us and within this class—is
not. And our work feeding others is just beginning.
Ursuline has given us a recipe for happiness and success: faith,
gratitude, open minds (and classrooms), sisterhood, selfesteem. We learned that recipe and learned it well here, and
practiced it many times. Now, it’s time for us to figure out how
we will share that recipe and use it to nourish others.
Seniors, I ask you: whose lives will you touch next? Who will
you share all that you’ve been given here at Ursuline with?
God is calling each of us to feed those around us, to go above
and beyond and reach out to a world which is hungry for love.
This is our call; this is our challenge: to share, and to love. And
though we’re going our separate ways this fall, we’ll all be in
this work together.
But there’s one final, beautiful caveat to all this.
The Gospel says that “they all ate and were satisfied.”
All. Including the disciples themselves.
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VOICES
SUMMER 2010
Developing the muscles of the soul
demands no competitive spirit,
no killer instinct, although it may
erect pain barriers that the spiritual
athlete must crash through.
Germaine Greer
WEBSITE
MAKEOVER
What Features Would You Like?
by Paige Scheidler '99
The most exciting day of the school year was when we received
our schedule for that semester. We would gather around the
table in the lunch room, sit on the floor in the hall or ignore the
teacher talking as we color coded our schedule for the semester with our markers. Having graduated 11 years ago, much of
Ursuline has not changed. The coloring of schedules, values,
school spirit and emphasis on academics are all still the same.
But when you stand outside the school to look at it, nothing is
the same. By making such drastic and incredible changes to the
bricks and mortars of the school, Ursuline was the only girls’
school in Cincinnati to grow enrollment.
I have watched with excitement and a bit of sadness as
Ursuline has grown and changed with the times. When I was
at UA, the internet was something that was just starting to
become a tool accessible to everyone. Since I have left, the
internet has become an important part of every department.
Ursuline is no longer just changing the way it looks, it is
changing the way it moves forward to support its faculty,
parents, students and alumnae.
?
Email your suggestions to
ursuline@ursulineacademy.org
or post your suggestions on Facebook
I am excited to tell you that Ursuline is giving the school
website an extreme makeover. Ursuline hopes to continue
nurturing a strong community spirit by building a website to be
informative and interactive for the entire Ursuline community.
Our hope is that the website will be the first place you look
for all Ursuline news or share your new and exciting news. We
want to make it easier for you to be aware of events, connect
with other parents, watch as our teams are winning their games
and to be more connected to Ursuline.
I’m excited about the prospect of this website being the
central location for all things Ursuline. A place for parents,
alumnae, and students to post questions, talk to one another,
and make every aspect of working with Ursuline easy. In
addition to being able to make a donation online, paying tuition
online will only be one click away! I have high hopes for this
website and what it can offer everyone associated with the
school. I have been fortunate enough to get one of the first
glimpse of what the website will look like and I can say it is
glimpses
beautifu The hope is that UA will be able to launch the new
beautiful!
som
site sometime
this fall.
th we would like to hear what you as parents and
Until then,
alumnae would like to see on the website. Please know that
cann accommodate all suggestions, but we would like to
we cannot
su we are addressing your needs the best we can. Please
make sure
emailil your suggestions to ursuline@ursulineacademy.org or
post your suggestions on Facebook. We look forward to hearing
from you and we hope you will enjoy the new website this fall.
VOICES
SUMMER 2010
17
Students and Spirituality
What’s On Their Minds?
Brenda Kristof and Marilyn Parks Herring '68, teachers of Literature
for the Spirit, an interdisciplinary course that uses literature as a tool to
explore spiritual ideals, asked their students to respond to three prompts:
1) What does the term spirituality mean to you?
2) Consider the various ways that Ursuline has
shaped your spiritual and religious formation
over these past four years. What experiences and
teachings have been of the greatest value to you?
3) What is your hope as you move through life with
regard to your spiritual development?
MOLLY ALLEN '10
BROOKE SKYLLINGSTAD '10
My hope as I move through life in my
spiritual development is that I never
stop asking questions. I believe asking
questions and seeking answers are the
most important aspects of spirituality.
I never want to become passive
on my spiritual journey; rather, I hope
to be an active participant in shaping
my faith.
I think the two experiences that have
been of the greatest value would be
Kairos and junior retreat. Those two
retreats were the first times I ever
felt really close to God. It started at
junior retreat and was expanded by
Kairos, but not only did Kairos expand
my relationship with God, it allowed
me to become closer to people that I
had hardly even talked to. These two
retreats changed the way I viewed the
world – for the better.
CHLOE STAGAMAN '10
Spirituality is a constant search for
inner peace that leads to enrichment
of the soul, and that helps to form
beliefs, opinions and values. To feed
your spiritual self is to feed your
soul. Ursuline gives each student
plenty of opportunities to develop her
spirituality, whether through projects,
discussions, Masses, etc. I have most
enjoyed learning about world religions
and relating them to Catholicism. I
hope to always have God in my life,
and to be able to leave others with the
same hope I have developed here at
Ursuline.
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VOICES
SUMMER 2010
MARY ROBERTS '10
Ursuline has taught me to deepen my
faith, while revealing to me religious
diversity. I have learned to become
closer to God through spiritual literacy
– learning about forgiveness and practicing hope, as well as via knowledge
gained about other religious viewpoints. Also, Ursuline has taught me
that questioning and truth-seeking is
actually a very good thing.
MURPHY O’NEILL '10
ERIN WILLIAMSON '10
Ursuline has helped to lay the foundation of my spiritual and religious
formation through student led liturgies, through social teachings, service
projects and class discussions.
Fr. Jack’s homilies have always been
great teaching for me. His enthusiasm
and love are unwavering, and his way of
communicating is perfect. His positive
demeanor has encouraged me to grow
in my spiritual development.
EMILY SULLIVAN '10
CHRISTINE PHAN '10
I firmly believe incorporating religion
classes into our schedules has helped
keep so many of us in touch with our
faith and religion. We are continually
challenged to question, discover and
learn, not only about our own religion
and personal beliefs, but also those of
other religions. Without these opportunities, I feel like I would be stuck in
robotic mode, following the motions
without also having the belief and
passions.
Throughout my four years at Ursuline,
I have embraced a new perspective on
Catholicism, for I am Buddhist. I was
able to connect various similarities between Catholic and Buddhist philosophy. I was able to open my Buddhist
background to my peers as they open
their religion to me.
KATE HOBAN '10
My hope is to become spiritually in
tune with myself and become closer to
God as I move through my life. In my
challenges through my life, I will use
my spirituality to guide me on my way,
knowing that God will send me in the
right direction. My hope is that I will
remain open to God’s word and allow
Him to take me on this path that I
call my life.
MARY ALLEN '10
One of the greatest experiences I
have had at Ursuline in regards to my
spirituality was going on Kairos. While
on the retreat, I learned so much about
myself and my classmates. One teaching that I will remember forever is that
every person has a story that is worth
hearing, and that everyone has had certain life experiences that have shaped
them. While on Kairos, I realized how
much potential we all have to impact
those around us, and that part of being
spiritual is to accept others.
LINDSEY KUVIN '10
ARIEL NEUMANN '10
Spirituality is the never-ending journey
that we take with God. It is not something that can be taught or defined – it
is something personal that is constantly
changing into what you need it to be at
that point in your life.
Coming together as a school for Masses
and prayer services have been great
experiences. The sense of community
is so strong, and we all feel connected
to each other and to our spirituality.
VOICES
SUMMER 2010
19
BOTH SIDES NOW
A Mother and Daughter
Talk About Lessons Learned
feel comfortable onstage at UA in a goldfish costume, and that
worked out excellently. So, perhaps this is a risk I am supposed
to take, a risk that will only extend and enhance the personal
and spiritual growth Ursuline has granted me.
There’s only one way to find out! But first, I want to thank Ursuline – for affirming me, for accepting me, for transforming
me, and most of all, for loving me, me, the girl scared stiff of
social interaction freshman year, the girl hunched over algebra
homework in the hallway, the girl in the goldfish costume.
Barbara Cleary (Emily’s mother)
Emily Cleary '10
I truly am a different person now than I was when I walked
through the doors of Ursuline for the first time. In the loving,
accepting environment of Ursuline Academy, I grew into a confident young woman comfortable being herself. I’ve done crazy
things that, as a freshman, I never would have dreamed of doing
– like morning announcements in a British accent – because of
the spiritual growth Ursuline has provided me.
Amid the highs and lows that constitute our lives, there are
opportunities everywhere for learning, personal growth,
spiritual development, love. We can keep our shoulder to the
wheel and our nose to the grindstone, or we can look up every
now and then to seize and explore the opportunities. It may
be as simple as picking up a book, engaging in a discussion, or
taking a class. Sometimes the opportunities are not so pretty.
Sometimes it seems like God, or Life, is playing a cruel joke on
us. But those may be the greatest (not the best, the most fun,
or the happiest, but the greatest) opportunities of all. In The
Sound of Music, Maria’s answer to the Mother Superior’s question, “What have you learned?” was, “That I have to look for my
life.” It is up to each of us to do that, to find those opportunities, and find the lessons we can learn if we choose.
My prayer for our children is that they each take all the lessons
and experiences they’ve been nourished with at Ursuline, and
use them to continue to seek opportunities on their journeys
And now, as I stand on the cusp of my college experience, every- of personal and spiritual growth. As long as they live, may they
thing I have learned about myself in the past four years is being never stop looking for a lovely thing.
tested. I am worried that, in a college environment where I may
not feel comfortable, I will revert back to the introspective person I was in grade school. At the same time, I didn’t expect to
20
VOICES
SUMMER 2010
Praise from a Parent
Jim McCarthy was born to be a teacher. He inspires students to rise
to new heights, gives them a passion for learning and is always a
positive influence in the classroom. A few years ago I heard Thomas
Friedman, NewYork Times journalist and author of TheWorld is Flat
speak on his book. He was discussing how US employment opportunities are now often open to people all over the world. When asked
what parents could do to prepare their children for this, his reply was
“when your children find a good teacher have them take every class
that that teacher teaches. A good teacher gives a child a passion for
learning and if they have that they will always be able to adapt to
changing times.”
Sharon Redmond with Ursuline’s Teacher of the Year Jim McCarthy. Jim teaches AP
Economics, AP US History and World Civ I.
Teacher of the Year, Jim McCarthy
Social Studies teacher Jim McCarthy has been named the recipient of the 2010 Sister Xavier Ladrigan Excellence in Education Award. Established in 1992 to honor outstanding teachers
for their efforts both in the classroom and in the larger school
community, the award is named for the Superior General of
the Ursuline Sisters who oversaw the school’s move from Oak
Street to Blue Ash. Jim, who enjoyed a successful career in
business before he began to teach a few years ago, was honored
at the recent Faculty Appreciation Dinner. Some excerpts from
his nominations follow.
From his Students
Mr. McCarthy is always willing to explain things a second or third
time, if necessary, as well as being there for students outside of class.
He also participates in many after school activities. No matter what
the activity, Mr. McCarthy does his best to make sure we have a positive and fun experience.
He is one of the most personable and fun loving teachers. Even
after we are long gone from Ursuline, the lessons we learned from
Mr. McCarthy will be engrained in us and the memory will never
be forgotten
Retirees Honored
at Annual Faculty
Appreciation Dinner
Ursuline said goodbye to four beloved members of the faculty at the end
of the school year. President Sharon Redmond spoke about the contributions of each as
they enjoyed the view from their places of honor in their official school captain’s chairs.
From left, Mary Koenig-Clapp, religious studies; Adele Iwanusa, principal; Chester
Burton, science; and Joanne Brewer, world languages. They will be missed!
VOICES
SUMMER 2010
21
Faculty Speaks of Spirit from the Heart
BRENDA KRISTOF
RELIGIOUS STUDIES DEPARTMENT
What does the term “spirituality” mean to you?
As a Catholic I believe that God created humans with both a
body and a spiritual and immortal soul. Our souls give us a
share in God’s life. Our spiritual nature makes us unsatisfied
with living merely a physical existence in the here-and-now. It
tugs at our hearts, leading us to ask ultimate questions like,
“What am I here for? Why do I exist? What does it all mean?” In
the depth of our souls we thirst for an ultimate happiness that
only God can quench. Church father St. Augustine pondered
this “holy hunger” when he penned the famous lines, “You have
made us for yourself, O God, and so our hearts are restless until
they rest in you.” Spirituality is that part of me that hungers for
God.
What is the main take-away from the specific
course(s) that you teach?
As individuals, a culture, and a global community we are always
in the midst of transformation. Exploration of the Sacred can
open new avenues of experience and empowerment. Learning
others’ stories and the stories of Jesus, can give birth to brand
new ways of expanding our understanding of what it means to
be human in relation to God, self, and others. In the senior
elective, Literature for the Spirit, students study the Biblical
stories of Job, Martha and Mary, Mary the mother of Jesus, and
the prodigal son, along with the stories of Morrie Schwartz of
Tuesdays with Morrie, St.Thomas Moore and many strong female
characters in fictional writings. Students in Christian Ethics
class learn the stories of great people like St. Maximillian Kolbe,
Mother Teresa, and Bishop Oscar Romero. Each of these stories
shows that virtuous living is the path that leads to happiness in
this world and the next.
MARILYN PARKS HERRING '68,
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
Teaching and discussing the stories in great literature challenges
students and teachers to become more compassionate people.
We are stretched to enter worlds we might never have known
and to feel emotions that move our hearts in unusual ways. It is
always amazing to meet characters searching for God or somehow trying to construct meaning from their lives. The theme of
redemption offers great promise in literature, as in life.
(note: Marilyn teaches UA seniors . . . A.P. English,
English IV-Honors, Literature for the Spirit)
MARY BETH KOCH,
RELIGIOUS STUDIES DEPARTMENT
I see spirituality as the connection of the innermost aspect of
myself with God. When I am honestly connected with God, this
helps me connect my will with God’s; leading me to act in the
world and with others the way God would want. When I work
on my spirituality I become the best version of myself that I can
be at this point in my journey. My hope for any spiritual exercise is that it helps me grow closer to God and do as God would
want me to; I believe that this will lead me on the right path.
What is the main take-away from the specific course(s)
that you teach?
Christian Awareness: The primary goal for this course is that
the students develop a greater sense of self, God and other, and
my hope for my students is that this knowledge will lead them
on a path toward God and working for justice in the world. We
discuss the goodness of the individual person, the love of God
for us and ALL people of the world, the blessings we have, and
What is your hope for your students as they move
through life with regard to their spiritual development? the responsibility to use our talents and gifts to work for the
good of all in this world.
I pray that my students will know that Jesus is walking the journey with them and seeks for them the happiness that they desire. Scripture: In Scripture, we study the story of God’s love for
humankind revealed through both the Hebrew and the Christian
I hope that my students will be critical thinkers who will have
Scriptures. By reading about God’s love (through various books
the courage to create a better world based on love.
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VOICES
SUMMER 2010
of the Bible), expressed especially through the life, death, and
resurrection of Jesus, we can see God’s hope for how we ought
to love others. My hope is that the students truly understand
the stories and the core meaning so as to lead them toward a
greater & personal understanding of God, leading them to be
transformed by God’s love.
What is your hope for your students with regard to
their spiritual development?
My greatest hope for my students is that they understand and
feel God’s love for them and the responsibility that comes with
this. If they truly experience this, I trust that they will continuously work toward being the best they can be; this includes a
personal development as well as a commitment to justice in
any and all aspects of life. My prayer is that they truly know
God’s love for them and that this leads them to unite their will
with God.
PATRICE TRAUTH, ART
Teaching art involves guiding students through the challenges
of the creative process. I believe each individual has tremendous potential to give expression to her inner voice. Working
through the creative process helps us to understand what it
means to be human. It involves confronting limitations, working through them, and making choices and connections. It
requires me as a teacher to respect human differences and to be
open to surprising possibilities. This belief is transforming.
SISTER LUCY SCHMID, OSU
RELIGIOUS STUDIES DEPARTMENT
Spirituality refers to the totality of my interior and exterior
being, the intangible “me” completely surrounded by and filled
with God. Spirituality refers to my relationship with Jesus and
our mystical love life from which flows the desire to love and
serve others.
The Prayer and Spirituality course invites the students into
a deepening awareness of the life around and the life within,
especially sensitivity to and awareness of God in everything.
The most difficult part of Prayer is showing up for it, giving time and self to in some way being with God. The class
provides the time and a variety of spiritual exercises for the
students to experience as they search for a way of prayer that
best nurtures their personal relationship with God.
The “Prayer Room” (classroom 408, so named by the first
Prayer and Spirituality students to attend class in that space),
is filled with images expressing the inner life of the students.
Around the perimeter walls of the room are displayed Sacred
Circles-of-Intention carefully created by the girls in two hours
of silence; Holiness embraces the room and students in the
arms of deep prayer.
My desire for students is a widening openness to God who
knows, loves, and likes them, and a deepening of life in God. As
their life expands, so their love expands because God is their
most faithful and intimate Companion. They will be compelled
to share God’s love for them in their serving of God’s people.
KIM DOUTHIT, RELIGIOUS STUDIES DEPARTMENT
Spirituality, for me, is becoming more aware of my inner
nature; understanding my connection to the divine. Scripture
class is an examination of the people’s relationship to God
and how their spirituality has developed over time. Students
attempt to understand the major events that have directed the
spiritual journey of the faithful. The theology class encourages
students to examine who they are, their personal relationship
with God and how they would like to see that develop in the
future. It asks the students to begin listening to the “voices” of
the divine within.
My hope for our students is that they understand spiritual
development as a journey and remain open to where their
journey may lead.
BARB NEYER MUSTARD '76
FRENCH
A huge part of the spirituality of Ursuline that we take for
granted is PA prayer every morning. It is a moment or two
when everyone stops what they are doing and listens to what
the pray-er of the day has to share. Sometimes it is a rote
prayer, sometimes it is clear it was pulled together on the fly,
but more often than not, “prayer on the air” is the product of
reflection shared lovingly, respectfully and, of course, prayerfully, with the UA community. A couple minutes each morning, multiplied by 180 minutes a year over all the years we are
here makes an impressive shared experience for all who are in
this building.
VOICES
SUMMER 2010
23
Stellar Athletes Honored at Induction
The Athletic Hall of Fame welcomed some new members this
spring: swimmer Whitney Myers '03, Monica Maccani
Fickell '97, softball, and the 1991 state championship Swimming & Diving Team. The featured speaker was Frank Busch,
head men’s and women’s swimming coach at the University of
Diane Redmond, athletic director,
welcomes the crowd.
Arizona, six-time NCAA Coach of the Year, eleven-time PacTen Coach of the Year and part of the 2004 and 2008 Olympic
coaching staff. The cocktail reception was highlighted by
remarks by Ursuline AD Diane Redmond and Hall of Fame
coordinator Sue Mackey '76.
Some members of the 1991 swim team: Jenni Dahl Petrillo '91, Mary Kraemer
Meyer '92, Shannon Keiley Holtman '91, Coach Lynn Jenkins, Julie Wolf '92,
Beth Jackson Glass '92, Holly Oppelt Diaz '92
Displays touted the achievements of the honorees.
Monica Maccani Fickell '97, right, with
Kelly Oppelt Farrell '96
Whitney Myers '03 with U of Arizona
swim coach, Frank Busch.
Senior Student Athletes Honored
A happy group of college bound senior student athletes were honored, along with their parents and coaches, at a special
breakfast in the spring. These young women all signed to play sports at their colleges and universities in the fall.
From left, they are: Breann McDowell - University of Louisville, swimming; Monica Melink - Indiana University, soccer; Molly Allen - Butler University,
soccer; Libby Prickel - Indiana State, soccer; Bea Hobson - University of Chicago, soccer; Anna Prickel - NKU, volleyball; Dani Reinert - University at
Buffalo, volleyball; Desirae Ball - St. Louis University, basketball; Ali Backscheider - Butler University, soccer. Not pictured: Lynn Brotherton - Xavier
University, swimming; Lauren Reiniger - Dominican University, volleyball; Lauren Marlatt – Winthrop, volleyball.
24
VOICES
SUMMER 2010
The Emerald City…There’s No Place Like Ursuline
Ursuline Academy Convertible Car Raffle
Ursuline Ultimate Auction 2010
He Takes the Cash!
Ursuline Academy will be celebrating the 28th Ultimate Auction on November 20, 2010, in our own Besl Theatre. This
year’s event is guaranteed to be an enjoyable night of silent and
live oral auction items. The success of Ursuline’s Annual Ultimate Auction is made possible each year through the dedicated
parents, alumnae, and friends of Ursuline.
This year’s Auction is co-chaired by Ellen & Neil Bourgeois, parents of Katie '11, and Shelly & Sean Seitz,
parents of Sheridan '11 and Taylor '13. Together we are
building a talented Steering Committee who will ensure that
Auction 2010 breaks all attendance and monetary records.
Working on the Auction is a community building event. Both
silent acquisitions and live Auction committees have begun
their enormous tasks of gathering items that are unique, oneof-a-kind, familiar, and yours to bid on!
There are two ways to donate to the Ultimate Auction. Our
sponsorship program is one way to support the Auction. Gifts
range from $250 to $5,000. This is an easy way to make a donation to the Auction. The sponsorship can be a personal one
or through your business, and all sponsors receive an ad in our
handsome catalog. Another way to participate is to donate an
item or any cash donation. All donations help make the event
financially successful.
Your attendance at the Auction guarantees it will be a night
to remember. Whether you are an alumna or current parent,
we would love to have you come or bring a group to make up
a table of 10.You can put together a group of alumnae classmates, friends, neighbors, parents from your daughter’s team,
class or choral group. The Auction is even more fun when you
are with friends. If you’d like to receive an invitation or put a
group together, please call Development at 513-791-5794 ext
1218. Remember…there’s no place like Ursuline!
by Lori Haines, Director of Special Events
Ursuline Academy has had a fun spring with the very first Convertible Car Raffle. The Car Raffle drawing took place on April
23rd, the conclusion of Spirit Week, with the announcement of
the nine $100 winners, student participation winner Marisa
Reddy '12, and the Grand Prize Winner. Joe Bayer, grandparent of Courtney '13 and Christina '10 Arand held the Grand
Prize ticket. He chose the $20,000 cash prize over the option of
choosing among the Jeep Wrangler Sport, Mazda Miata, or VW
Beetle – all convertibles.
The Car Raffle is an important source of revenue for Ursuline.
It helps provides the funds that support the students with an
excellent education, and to keep Ursuline available to all qualified
young women regardless of cost. We are proud of our students and
we are proud of what we are able to provide for them.
We are grateful to the parents, students and staff of Ursuline who
bought or sold tickets. The girls sold 648 tickets, helping the
school to reach its goal of 2000 tickets. We are grateful to Bob
Reichert and CincyAutos.com for their willingness to sponsor, bring the cars to Ursuline’s campus, and generate excitement
amongst students and faculty. A special thank you to Rob Ford of
Barnes Dennig and Bob Reichert for assisting with the drawing, and to Margi McCarthy Snelling '83 and Tracie Hoffman for their commitment throughout the Raffle.
The Big Green Raffle will kick off in July for a November 20th
drawing. To be placed on the mailing list, please call
Ursuline Academy’s Development Office at 513-791-5794.
Emily Adams '11 and Director
of Special Events Lori Haines
wait for Bob Reichert, CEO of
CincyAutos.com to announce the
car raffle winner at the Spirit
Week assembly.
Joe Bayer, grandparent of Courtney ’13 and
Christina’10 Arand held the
Grand Prize ticket.
Sean & Shelly Seitz and Ellen & Neil Bourgeois,
next year’s Auction chairs.
VOICES
SUMMER 2010
25
VISIONS
Lost in the Mohave Desert
and Adjusting to Bifocals
Diane Neyer Rose '74
Recently my husband and I took a trip to San Diego. Wow!
Each day we were greeted with a sunny, refreshingly cool
climate, rocky coastline along with wide sandy beaches, and
the flowers, well, exquisite. Through over 30 years of marriage, John and I have learned that when we travel, we perceive
things differently even though we SEE the same sites. We also
enjoyed getting away from the city and hiking in Joshua Tree
National Park which is part of the Mohave Desert. Joshua
Trees, the only type of tree in the park, are overgrown yucca
plants. Perhaps you’ve seen this tree silhouetted in a photograph of a beautiful sunset. The tree certainly isn’t the focal
point, yet it gives the picture a sense of balance. Together the
beauty of the scene exceeds the sky and tree separately; like
the synergy in a marriage.
Imagine hiking on this barren land dotted with a few of these
pathetic looking trees, some extremely large round rocks,
prickly cacti and little else. With a rough map, no compass, a
few snacks and some water in a backpack we attempted to hike
to the top of a 5,500 foot peak. We could see the top, or at
least what we thought was the highest point, but often the trail
to the summit was obscured from rock fall or covered over
by debris from the strong winds that blow through this part
of California. Exploring mountainous terrain in the US and
Europe, we have learned to rely on the markers left by fellow
hikers to help guide our path. Called cairns, these humanmade stacks of rocks are often more helpful than a topographical map. They also serve as a reminder that we are not alone
on the journey. We enjoyed our hike, ventured off the path
quite a few times, built a few new cairns and discovered magnificent splendor in a stark desert.
As each of us travels along the long and winding road called
life, we often look for adventure and challenge but also seek
to maintain some balance and familiarity along the way. We’ve
acquired some skills, discovered our natural abilities and have
a general idea of our goals in life. Oftentimes we find that the
path is not clearly marked. We rely on the advice and encouragement of family, friends and teachers and, when the road
ahead is blocked or wiped out by a storm, we hope to possess
Diane Neyer Rose '74 with husband John
the courage to blaze our own trail. We come to rely more on
instinct, or perhaps it is the Spirit within, to be our guide. This
kind of vision is part of the foundation of our Ursuline heritage.
Recently I have been trying bifocal contacts in an attempt to
“get back” my ability to thread a needle, remove a splinter
or read the fine print that has suddenly appeared on so many
labels. This shift in what I can clearly see and my journey
through life’s oases and deserts are perhaps God’s invitation
to acquire another kind of corrective vision. I am trying to
let go of my own expectations of the future and rely more
on my deepening faith in God as my guide. Here at Ursuline
Academy, I feel blessed to witness and encourage the expanding, global focus of the current student body. The students are
learning to see beyond themselves, to reach out to serve the
needs of others. I am also abundantly thankful for the creative
and spiritual vision of all the women and men who have been
part of Ursuline Academy.
Vision is more than having hopes and dreams.
Much more than the daily to do list.
More than setting and achieving goals.
Vision is the ability to trust in the uncertainty of the future.
Vision entails letting go of details.
Seeing with our whole self the beautiful gifts that
await us each day.
Vision allows us to close our eyes and listen.
Listen and hear the breath of God.
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VOICES
SUMMER 2010
Ursuline Dance Team Has a Brilliant First Season
The inaugural season for the Ursuline Academy Dance Team
culminated in several awards at the Show Case Unlimited,
International, state and national competition recently. The
team won the following:
Production: 2010 State Champions, 2010 National Champions, High Score of entire day on Saturday of the competition (4/10/10), Showcase Star Rating. Pom: 2010 State
Runner Up, 2010 National Runner Up, Showcase Star Rating,
High Point Award. The Ursuline Dance Team Boosters also
won the Best Boosters Award.
Members of the Dance Team are: Courtney Arand, Meghan
Bauer, Kristen Beck, Carolyn Bender, Kayla Boehner, Makiah
Estes, Grace Ferguson, Sarah Fitzpatrick, Ashley Gray, Emma
Groene, Marnie Grow, Maria Hale, Jessie Haskamp, Hannah Jarvis, Carolyn Johnson, Erin Kochan, Colleen Koenig,
Katie Lenart, Anosha Minai, Emily Morris, Josie O’Connell,
Angie Pan, Marisa Pike, Grace Ries, Laura Schoettmer, Taylor
Seitz, Catherine Schomaker, Christina Tefend, Rachel Treinen,
Megan Toomb, Megan Valerio (captain).
Some members of the award winning Ursuline Dance Team perform during halftime.
Service Learning on Display
called by St. Angela to reach out to our neighbors and there
are myriad ways that UA students do this. The budding artists
of Fundamentals first wrote about where and how they serve
and then reflected on how that service impacts their own
lives. They then chose to highlight different service projects
that they have taken part in this year and came up with a visual
representation of UA students in the midst of giving back.
Art & service meet in this installation of Jeanine Boutiere’s '01 Fundamentals of Art.
Clockwise from bottom left: Abby Cundiff, Emily Greve, Julia Court, Grace Kallenberg
Jeanine Boutiere’s '01 students in the Fundamentals of Art
course lately explored their spirituality in a visual way. Given a
prompt of “How does community service fit into your life?,” the
students were challenged to create an art installation that illustrated Ursuline’s commitment to serving those in need. We are
The sculptures were created out of rolls of clear packaging
tape using various casting methods that challenged the girls
to become engineers as well as artists. To cap off the visual
experience, the installation included personal reflections on
service and statements like, “I serve by collecting canned food
at Kroger’s for the canned food drive.” The entire school body
was invited to then participate in the installation by writing
down the ways that they serve and then adding their reflection to a designated area of the sculpture. The final result was
a layered representation of the amazing efforts our students
put forth to serve their communities and further the Ursuline
spiritual tradition.
VOICES
SUMMER 2010
27
A Spiritual Life
in Four Parts
Susan Smyth Tew
'58 received the Leadership
Medallion from Xavier University in
May, and much of what follows was included in her acceptance remarks at that school’s commencement.When she was asked to
contribute to this Spirituality issue of Voices, we soon realized that her
speech would ably serve two purposes.
I would like to remember with you my own high school
days at Ursuline and how I was given my first experiences of
leadership. I’m remembering especially junior and senior year
with Sr. Jane Stier '46 as our homeroom teacher. I remember her encouraging me to run for class office in junior year,
being the treasurer and then elected Student Council president for our senior year. I remember the formative meetings
with her and with Sr. Gabriel who was the principal, and
also the “on stage” experience from the class plays with Mrs.
Smith. Certainly, our characters were carefully formed in our
Catholic faith by weekly Mass, religion classes, the songs we
sung in Glee Club, and the general expectations of decorum.
Today I want to share with you four pillars of commitment
that have defined the past 50 years of my life: marriage,
motherhood, intentional community, and solidarity
with the sick and dying.
FIRST PILLAR OF COMMITMENT:
MARRIAGE
I am a woman of deep personal faith who begins most days
with Mass and prayer; this is the real well-spring of my active
life. So when I say that the most important spiritual decision
of my adult life was the decision to marry my husband, John
Tew, you will know that I am not talking about “falling in love.”
Rather it was choosing a man to be my life partner and the
father of our children; a man with whom I would work out my
and our personal salvation, who, with me, would seek ways
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VOICES
SUMMER 2010
to face the inescapable challenges and struggles of life with
courage and perseverance. This is the daily exercise of living a
spiritual life. We received the sacrament of matrimony 44 years
ago at Bellarmine Chapel with Fr. Brueggeman officiating—
and soon became parents of three wonderfully creative children
who have given us eight even more wonderful grandchildren.
We had no idea when we began this journey what its demands
would be, or what sacrifices would be required, but were confident that the grace of the sacrament would be enough to guide
and sustain us. John’s career as a neurosurgeon has taken us
both to the very center of the meaning of life—he deals with
life and death issues every day. One of the biggest challenges
we face is how to balance the time required by his career and
the demands of raising an active family. We learned early that
“our time was not OUR time,” so we had to be creative finding
time for us. When we failed to make time for each other we
grew in our separate ways performing the urgent tasks required of young marrieds. It usually took some crisis to wake
us up, to realize the consequences of our negligence, to ask
for forgiveness and resolve to be better. That’s the pattern of a
maturing love in our experience.
SECOND PILLAR OF COMMITMENT:
M OT H E R HOOD
Ah! The kiln where pieces of raw clay are molded and shaped,
glazed and fired in order to become works of art. What a privilege to be entrusted with this sacred responsibility of forming
and nurturing character, always remembering that I am not
the “master” potter, only his willing handmaid who says, “Yes!”.
Without a doubt, parenting is the most important commitment
of a lifetime, critical for the survival of our culture, yet it is the
one with so little formal preparation. It requires real presence, attention and devotion 24/7. I have been very impressed
watching our children’s generation, just a little older than you,
who are working hard to create a vital family culture, some by
choosing to home school or more simply, by creating family
rituals where everyone participates. Here’s my invitation to
you today: Just consider with me that IF “family” is one of the
prominent economic engines of society; IF it is also the primary “factory” where human nature and character are formed
and shaped; then in a real sense it is not unlike the many corporate entities that vie for your devotion over the next 20-40
years of your adult lives. In that sense, I would suggest that
every family needs a Chief of Operations, an on-site manager, a
director of traffic, a quality control steward who watches over
the little things. I wouldn’t have expressed it this way 40 years
ago, but that is a way I’d suggest we all think about it today,
particularly as the role of parenting is increasingly overlooked
in a highly professionalized society. Lest you think we have
enjoyed smooth sailing as parents, we haven’t! Despite all the
best intentions, we had our break downs, especially during our
children’s adolescence and early adulthood. We’ve rescued each
of our three children from jail for adolescent misdemeanors,
but our real pain and suffering came from a fractured relationship that required years of patient love and forgiveness, prayer
and therapy before healing and reconciliation took place. We
have seen a marriage be broken and then severed and we’re still
struggling to find ways to be faithful to our responsibility as
loving parents.
THIRD PILLAR OF COMMITMENT:
INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY
One of the most reliable resources in negotiating life’s challenges, and not getting distracted or fragmented by the sirens
of our contemporary culture, is the formation of what I call
INTENTIONAL community. It may be just 3 or 4 other people
with a common vision/desire who commit to meeting regularly to share their real life stories and struggles and to seek ways
to remain true to the course. When I was in my mid-thirties
developing the character of our small children, I realized that
I didn’t know the Bible very well. So when the invitation came
to form a study group with a Scripture scholar who would
teach us, I found myself in a leadership role, offering to provide
hospitality in our home for monthly meetings. This was my first
experience of creating an intentional community to undertake
a study that would form us as the primary teachers of our children and bind us together, as we sought to deepen our relationship to God. Sr. Kathleen, our teacher, and the oldest woman,
Wilma, became our wisdom figures and they guided our study
for more than 25 years becoming two of our most trusted confidantes. I have been part of several other intentional communities: Women Writing for (a) Change, “Inklings,” a small Faith
sharing community, and Emmaus Prayer Group. The profound
personal growth the Emmaus women experienced during our
pilgrimages to Medjugorje and the Holy Land compelled us
to commit ourselves to being spiritual companions. We have
been meeting weekly for 20 years attending Mass, practicing
centering prayer and sharing our lives’ stories in a sacred circle
of trusted friends. Community service is a natural expression
of being grounded in this deep experience of love. We live in a
city rich with cultural and educational opportunities that have
enhanced our lives and those of our children. Choosing institutions whose needs best match your gifts and then volunteering
in that capacity expands life’s dimension and purpose. New
friendships are forged as needs are met and soon new networks
of resourceful and generous people are identified. Growing
into wisdom with this network of friends is one of my greatest
comforts and joys!
FOURTH PILLAR OF COMMITMENT:
S O L I DA R I T Y W I T H T HE
SICK AND DYING
During the past 20 years it seemed there has been an unusual
increase in the incidents of cancer and degenerative diseases.
I began to wonder where God was when good people who
have lived exemplary lives are beset with such illnesses. It
challenged the preconception that if you lead a moral life, are
generous with your resources and go to church that God will
provide. What then, is the role of suffering in our lives? Is there
an underlying invitation to grow through this agony? Holding
these questions in my heart gave focus to the ways I listened to
our sick friends’ stories and their needs. I remember the first
time I experienced the sudden death of a friend. The afternoon
following her death many of her friends gathered at her home.
They looked to me to organize the funeral and give her eulogy
because I had been the leader of our monthly scripture studies.
They promised to pray me through it, as I had had no experience giving eulogies. In fact, at funerals I could barely find a
voice to sing or pray out loud through my tears. To be empowered by the circle of spiritual companions to do something that
was way outside my comfort zone and experience felt like being used as an instrument of God’s healing touch. Writing and
delivering that eulogy gave me the courage to grow this edge of
my spiritual life and respond when my mother was dying and
she asked me to speak about her life.
I hope that I have communicated a common thread that runs
through these four pillars of commitment: marriage, motherhood, intentional community, and solidarity with the sick and
dying. The common thread is a commitment to building relationships in love, remaining with them through failure and sickness, and persevering in the belief that a life fully lived is lived
in a community of love and service. To borrow a sentiment
from Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, to truly love another person
is to see the face of God! While such accomplishments may
not fill your resume, they have everything to do with finding
happiness and fulfillment in your own lives, and with building
stronger communities for our future.
VOICES
SUMMER 2010
29
S TA R R Y, S TA R R Y N I G H T
The Ziegfeld Follies Come to Besl Theatre
Ursuline alumna and Broadway star Sharon Wheatley '85
with renowned accompanist Terry LaBolt was the headline
act for the 4th annual Starry Starry Night, a benefit for Ursuline’s Performing Arts department. UA vocalists Kate Beach
'10, Caroline Gruber '10 and Alyssa Newman '10 were
featured soloists with the Jump 'n Jive Show Band, as well as
instrumentalists from our Jazz Ensemble; our A Capella Choir
sang with Sharon Wheatley and the Show Choir performed
with UA music director Chris Larsen. A version of “So You
Think You Can Sing” had four faculty members, Marilyn Herring '68, Brian Harsh, Tim Beerman and Robin Galvin
'65, auditioning for Flo Ziegfeld, graciously played by assistant
principal Tom Barhorst. This was an evening of great cheer
and wonderful music, all to support the arts at Ursuline.
Many sponsors made the
gala evening possible.
Presenting Sponsor
The McCoy Family
Show choir members sang “A Pretty Girl” with music director Chris Larsen.
Florenz Ziegfeld Circle ($1000)
The Fitzpatrick Family
Fanny Brice Circle ($500)
Art & JoAnn Arand
James & Kathleen Havey
Fr. Jack Wessling
Sophie Tucker Circle ($250)
John & Margaret Abbate
David & Joyce Bartish
John & Nancy Clement
Flagel, Huber, Flager & Co
– Randy & Gina Kuvin
Bob & Gale Fogg
Daniel & Cynthia Prows
Drs. Pramod & Usha Reddy
Kelly & Sharon Redmond
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VOICES
SUMMER 2010
Broadway star and alumna Sharon Wheatley '85 receives roses after her stellar performance. The A Capella Choir accompanied her in the singing of “Starry, Starry Night,” Don
McLean’s iconic song about the painting of the same name by Vincent Van Gogh.
Ursuline Women’s Club
A Great Way to Stay in Touch
The Ursuline Women’s Club is open to all mothers of alums and
friends of Ursuline. The group organized many years ago when
mothers who had enjoyed one another’s friendship while their
daughters were at UA simply didn’t want to lose their connection to each other or the school. Under the leadership of Susie
Keating Lame '76, a roster of great programs generated much
enthusiasm. If you would like to receive emails about future
UWC programs, please contact Mary Alice LaPille at
mlapille@ursulineacademy.org. Come join the fun!
UWC celebrated Earth Day with alums Helen Diehl Fox '77 and Juliann Brumleve
Gardner '77 who taught a container gardening class featuring their raised vegetable beds. They own One Small Garden (www.1smallgarden.com), and explained
that even a small vegetable garden could feed a family throughout the year.
Donna Neyer Broderick '76, Kim Greiwe Gusweiler '76, Stephanie Sudbrack-Busam '76,
Connie Gessing Haglage '75, Julie Milam Ross '76. Stephanie gave a presentation on
social networking for UWC Members.
URSU L I N E
WOM E N’S
CLUB
The cold days of February were warmed with a Cooking with Caitlin event held
at the Kitchen Design Studio, courtesy of alum Janine Melink Hueber '74. Kelly
MacEachen Trush '95, Chef Caitlyn MacEachen Steininger '05 and Molly Sandquist
'95 served 50 UWC members. Check out www.cookingwithcaitlin.com for great
recipes and meal ideas!
VOICES
SUMMER 2010
31
Restless Heart
Takes Her Faith on the Road
Katie Sellers '05
I study theological ethics, also known as moral theology. Since
I graduated from UA five years ago, I’ve spent time studying
in Rwanda, India, Nepal, Italy, Guatemala, Mexico, and most
recently, Ecuador. My days are star-studded with the likes of
Plato, Thomas Aquinas, Augustine of Hippo, Sallie McFague,
Jon Sobrino, and Thomas Merton. I not so secretly dream
about waking up tomorrow able to read Hebrew, Greek, and
Latin fluently. (I currently know none of these.) The bread
and butter of my bookish life is Catholic Social Teaching,
which I happen to think is one of the best kept secrets about
the Catholic faith. (Did you know that the thinking of Medieval Christian mendicants directly influenced Human Rights
and International Law in the West? I didn’t either! Until, that
is, I started studying Catholic Social Teaching.) I believe in a
faith that does justice and a love that transforms the world.
Some will call me a hopeless idealist. I’d like to think I’m a
hopeful Catholic.
Katie’s travels took her to Mexico
“I believe in a faith that does justice
and a love that transforms the world.”
When I left Ursuline I had no idea the places I’d go. I only
knew I was terrified of having to leave my community behind. I was anxious, confused, hopeful, and uncertain. Saint
Augustine might say I was “restless.” Indeed, one of the most
quotable lines of Augustine comes from the first pages of his
Confessions. I think it describes my post-UA anxieties quite
well, “our heart is restless until it rests in you.” I was searching for something when I left UA. Indeed, my senior superlative – “most likely to travel the world”—would seem to indicate that my classmates noticed I was searching for something
while I was still at UA. Whatever the case, it wouldn’t be an
exaggeration to say that when I got to college I was full of the
hope that the meaning of my life would soon be revealed. My
theology professors might call that “false hope.”
If hope is what sustains us on our spiritual journey, then “false
hope” is all the stuff we think will sustain us but actually falls
short, sometimes drastically short. My freshman year of college—as I signed up for every activity imaginable, overloaded
on classes, tried my hand at a varsity sport (having never
played a sport in high school!), and maintained a long-distance
relationship—was exhausting. I came home to Loveland that
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VOICES
SUMMER 2010
summer unsure if I would even return to school in the fall. I
was that emptied. But I didn’t want to be empty. I wanted joy.
I wanted assurance. And I wanted to stop feeling so restless.
That was my prayer.
And I think God must have heard, because two of the great bits
of providence I’ve experienced in my life happened that summer. First, I was hired to work on an organic farm alongside
two of my old UA friends. Second, I went to Rwanda.
Now you have to understand, in the midst of my exhausting
freshman year, I made almost no friends. I see in retrospect
that my busyness was the culprit. Workaholics reap what we
sow, and I have mountains of essays and scruffy notebooks as
the sole fruits of those nine months. Only when I stopped
being a frantic student and assumed the slowed, attentive life
of a farmhand, did I realize one of the key lessons of my life:
cultivate friendships. Loneliness is a dehumanizing experience,
and no amount of work we do can fill the space of even one
good friend.
Working side-by-side with two of my closest high school
friends, I realized over the course of that summer what I’d been
missing during the past year of my life. There is nothing so splendid about my years at Ursuline as the friendships I made and have
sustained. From the Pink Flamingos to Academic Team all-stars,
Mock Trial, JETS, International Club, Witness Reps, Early Bird
Econ, and Hands Across the Campus, Wednesday morning
Eucharist, Prayer and Spirituality, Fr. Jack lookalike days, and
caroling with Elmo…that is the stuff that friendships are made
of! And friendship is the very core of the Christian life.
St. Thomas Aquinas (patron of scholars, students, theologians,
and Catholic schools) wrote, “that which is loved with the love
of friendship is loved simply and for itself.” My friends love me
for who I am and nothing else. This is the same love that God
has for us and which Jesus invites us to have for God-self, when
He says in John 15:15, “I have called you friends.” Augustine
asks in his Confessions, “who will enable me to find rest in you?”
When I think today about my relationship with God—the Being in whom I can place all my trust, in whom I find my rest—I
can’t help but think about those closest friendships I still have
from my time at Ursuline. Because of you I have been changed
for the better.
But also because of you, I have been encouraged to pursue my
dreams and make sense of them when they come true. Casein-Point: Rwanda.
The second providential note to the summer after my freshman
year was the opportunity to spend a month in Rwanda studying
their education system and economic development since the
“Whatever
you did for one
of these least
brothers of mine,
you did for me.”
(Mt 25:40)
Orphan children of Gihara Rwanda
VOICES
SUMMER 2010
33
1994 genocide. I had received a few small grants (the greatest
idea since sliced bread!) to fund my travels, and I was expected
to return to campus in the fall to report on my findings. It
seems so silly when I think of it now—send a naïve freshman
to a developing country, alone, and expect her to return able to
summarize her experience for the academy into nice bulletpointed statements. Not a chance.
I loved Rwanda. Going there was a dream come true! Rwanda
was and still is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been,
and the hospitality and openness I was shown there made me
deeply rethink, for the better, the way I welcome strangers
into my life. But my experience there opened a spiritual can
of worms that had been bursting at the seams since my days
at UA. That can was labeled “JUSTICE” and the troublesome
contents “POVERTY.”
I’m taking a course this semester on human rights, and my professor is always saying, “Poverty is the elephant in the room.”
As I learned during my time at UA, poverty comes in all shapes
and sizes. In the US, we like to compartmentalize poverty,
create programs and social outreach initiatives, which meet the
needs of the poor—The Drop-In Center, Ronald McDonald
House, Habitat for Humanity. Please don’t misunderstand,
these sorts of programs are critically important and serve a
need in society, and a need in my personal spiritual formation!
where the Final Judgment is described, is concerned with
the most basic corporal needs of life – food, water, shelter,
and companionship. “Whatever you did for one of these least
brothers of mine, you did for me,” (Mt 25:40). Christ’s love is
a love that transforms people’s lives by sustaining their human
needs.
While Americans try very hard, and often do well, at meeting
those first two requisites – food and water – the latter two,
especially companionship, are challenging for us. Americans
struggle with strangers. I’m as guilty of this as the next person.
There was something, though, about UA that made making
friends—in the classroom or in the Cincinnati community—
easy. I remember thinking as a student that we were always
busy, but somehow there was always also time to make new
friends. Perhaps this was because UA felt like nothing short
of an extended family, and it is the family, which the Church
uses as a metaphor for humanity. “We are one human family,
whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic and ideological differences. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers,”
(US Catholic Bishops, “A Century of Social Teaching.” To
What I question, though, about the way we address poverty in
the US is that by creating such projects we too often keep the
poor from us. The Community Service programs at UA and
the deep questions which Mr. Forman, then Community Service Director, used to ask me, helped me see that the lines we
draw between rich and poor are never so clear-cut and boxedin as they seem. Poverty is pervasive and systemic, and every
person who pays taxes or votes directly contributes to the way
the system functions. If we want to improve the system, we
better start befriending those who depend on it.
When Christianity first came to Rome around 40-50 AD, the
city was awash with desperately poor, living side by side with
lavishly rich. Like Cincinnati, Rome has seven hills, and during
the time of early Christianity, upon those seven hills lived the
wealthy. They had marble palaces, public baths, and lush gardens. Immediately below them, in lowlands between the hilltops, lived hundreds of thousands of poor. Estimates place the
population density of these poor parts of ancient Rome to be
anywhere from three to six times greater than that of modern
New York City! And these poor weren’t living in high-rises.
In uniform at the Taj Mahal
The message that Christianity brought to Rome, and which led
Christianity to flourish in a special way amongst the poor, was a
message of justice. Matthew 25, the only place in the Gospels
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understand our responsibilities to the poor, to overcome the
boundaries and structures, which we create, which perpetuate poverty, we ought to start living in solidarity, treating each
other as the family we all are.
In Rwanda, what I noticed is that poverty is quite the opposite
of what we experience here. There, community abounds. I
never walked in a house or attended a meeting where I wasn’t
greeted energetically and offered the best drinks and food
available. When I wasn’t doing field research, I was being (quite
pleasantly) dragged from visit to family visit by my Rwandan
host. Everyone wanted to meet me and wish me well, so much
so that at times I felt like I was the prodigal son, returning
home after living a wastrel life abroad. Their love was overwhelming, in the best sense. But so was their poverty.
Where America has the wealth to feed and give water to all of
its people with some left to spare, Rwanda struggles to meet
these physical needs. This tiny “Land of a Thousand Hills” is lush
with vegetation, but there is no economic cushion for a rainy
day. When I was there in 2006, about ninety percent of the
country lived on a subsistence agrarian economy. If the harvest
was good, they ate. If the harvest was poor, they starved.
While visiting an orphanage school run by some religious sisters, I asked what was their greatest hope for the school. (This
school had mud-brick walls and mostly dirt floors. Dormitories consisted of concrete floors on which the students lay
blankets or thin mats by the dozens. There was a garden on
the property on which the whole school, hundreds of young
children included, depended for food.) “We would like a water
truck.” This would allow the sisters to keep all the students in
school during the day, rather than having to choose some to
walk miles each way to the nearest well. Then wouldn’t you
like a well? I asked. “Yes, but a water truck is cheaper.” These
sisters were nothing if not practical.
could to provide for the orphans in their care. There aren’t
words to describe that kind of tireless love. It is transformative.
When I returned to the US, I didn’t know what to make of my
own country. How could Rwandan people with so little love so
much? How could Americans with so much lack in community,
which is free? What sovereign God allows for hunger, thirst,
homelessness and loneliness to exist? That last question is a bit
simpler to answer, oddly enough; it’s the same loving God that
calls each of us to ameliorate these needs wherever and whenever we see them. If we are friends of God then we will care
for God’s people. That is what friends do.
Reflecting on my spiritual formation, I marvel at how deeply
Ursuline prepared me for the places I was going. There is no
greater example of Christian love than to lay down one’s life
for a friend. Time and again during my years at UA my friends
showed me compassion and generosity, without greater reason
or reward than my friendship. Since leaving high school, and
facing far greater life challenges since then, it has been these
same friendships which have given me hope and sustained me
throughout my journey.
What I believe, though, has been and will continue to be my
greatest challenge is learning through my deepest friendships
how to love everyone— be they hungry, thirsty, homeless, or
lonely—more deeply. This is the call of the Christian faith—to
transform the world through love. As a hopeful Catholic, I am
excited to spend my life working toward this end.
In either case, though, the chances of them having this hope
met were slim to none. One water truck costs the equivalent
of decade’s worth of the average Rwandan’s income. Despite
this, the sisters hoped, and they prayed, and they did all they
“This is the call of the Christian
faith—to transform the world
through love.”
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SUMMER 2010
35
K A I ROS
The Right Thing at the Right Time
by Lisa Woodall
KAIROS – an appointed time in the purpose
of God; the perfect moment in the divine sense;
it is the right thing at the right time . . . who we
really are, and who we are becoming.
Ask Ursuline alumnae from any era to recall their favorite
memories of senior year and their answers will likely cover
housewarming, senior tea, spirit week and prom.
There is one senior event, however, that only the graduates
of 1987 and beyond can mention as an event that provided
them with some of their most treasured memories. It is often
remembered as an invaluable, life-changing experience, but it is
an experience that UA alums who graduated over 23 years ago
know very little about. It’s Kairos.
Those familiar with Greek may know that kairos refers to qualitative time; time that cannot be measured. It is unlike kronos,
which refers to the quantitative, linear time of clocks and calendars. The word “kairos” translates literally to “an appointed
time in the purpose of God.” The concept of kairos in our lives
refers to the perfect moment in the divine sense; it is the right
thing at the right time.
For Ursuline graduates beginning in the late 1980s, Kairos
also translates to a spiritual awakening – a Kairos retreat is a
four-day journey of self examination. Participants have the opportunity to reflect on the role of God in their lives, and each
retreat has four basic themes: Who am I, Who is Christ
in my life, What is Christ’s message and How do I live
Christ’s message. Everyone answers these questions differently and what one brings home from their Kairos experience
also differs. But what makes a Kairos retreat so different from
other retreats?
In order to keep the experience free of expectations, the
specifics of the Kairos retreats are secret , but in general, the
retreat includes group sharing, presentations by peers and
adult leaders, opportunities for quiet time and reflection, and
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VOICES
Tim Beerman, Director of
Community Ministries
SUMMER 2010
a chance to receive the sacraments through community Masses
and opportunities for Penance.
“I see [Kairos] as having a living, breathing quality that is fueled
by the participants,” said Tim Beerman, Director of Ursuline’s Community Ministries, who has participated in more
than twenty UA Kairos retreats. “Every retreat is different according to the experiences and personalities of those attending
. . . but when trust, respect and honesty enter any relationship
they tend to bring about positive consequences.”
Each retreat is led by a team composed of a small group of
seniors (who were chosen to experience Kairos for the first
time as juniors) and a few specially-trained faculty and staff
members. The retreat activities build community, foster trust
and openness, and encourage reflection. Students talk about
their challenges, their accomplishments and their dreams in
ways they never talked about things before. In the end, they
find that their relationships with family and friends have become more important, and that they have become more sensitive to their own feelings and to the feelings of others. Often,
all of this culminates in a desire for reconciliation.
The Kairos experience is infused with faith. Each day begins
and ends with prayer, and three Eucharistic Liturgies are
celebrated, with a special time set aside as well for the sacrament of Reconciliation. At several points throughout the day
there are times to reflect on the events of the retreat, and the
girls are encouraged to take notes and process their feelings
through journal writing. Over the course of the retreat, there
is a strong, gradual bonding between the retreatants. This supports them not only while they experience Kairos, but also in
the days, weeks and years that follow.
A group picture from K64 (Group 3): Seniors Lauren George, Sara Wiener, Chelsea Rolfes, Missy Gottschlich, Kristen Elias, Annie
Juenger, Emily Bauer, and Katie McCuen.
It is hoped that through Kairos, each retreatant learns that she
is loved, lovable, and loving, and that she comes to see Jesus in
a new light - as her real friend. She is challenged to grow in her
relationships at home and to face her problems. As a result,
she often seeks more caring friendships going forward. Many
young women experience a deep sense of consolation along
with an increase of self esteem as a result of the retreat.
Tim Beerman can testify. “What I hear most often from
participants varies based upon where they are in their life at a
particular point in time… seniors often speak of how grateful
they are to share in this experience with their classmates – they
form relationships with individuals who they might not have
really had the chance to know, they value and respect the trust
which is established as a core element of the retreat experience, [and] while the retreat is not intended to answer all questions of faith, many students feel supported in their journey in
re-connecting with God.
Tim continues . . . “Alumnae have told me on countless occasions that their Kairos retreat was one of the highlights of
their senior year. I am convinced of the on-going relevance the
retreat has when graduates stop by my office and say, ‘I pulled
out my Kairos folder the other day for a little pick-me-up!”
Could Sr. Mary Ann Jansen, OSU and Mrs. Adele Lippert have known what they were starting in February of 1987
when they brought six UA seniors to Sacred Heart Academy in
Louisville for a Kairos retreat? A few weeks later, the eight of
them conducted the first Kairos retreat at Ursuline, launching
a spiritual tradition that has touched more than 2,500 Ursuline
seniors since.
Kairos at UA founders and retreatants in the program’s first year: Front – Catherine Hughes '88, Beth Burwinkel '87, Courtney Ashworth '88; middle – Mrs.
Adele Lippert, faculty member Kathy Wade, Megan Lewis '88, Michelle Schick '87,
Julie Hadden '88; back – Fr. Larry Tensi and Sr. Mary Ann Jansen.
“What the Kairos retreat program offers to our students,
and does so well, is the chance to slow down from everyday
life and to view one’s relationship with God, with self and
with others in a new light,” says Tim. “What one discovers
is not magical or mysterious; but, rather that when ordinary people come together to form a community of faith,
we are often not only reminded of who we really are – but
we can also glimpse who we are becoming.”
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SUMMER 2010
37
®
Alums Remember
Spirituality at UA
Our nearly 1700 Ursuline alumnae on Facebook were given
the following prompts in order to jar some memories that
would tie into this issue’s theme of Spirituality.
1) The thing I remember most about
Father Jack’s homilies is…
2) The thing I remember most about
Sr. Cecilia’s or Sr. Lucy’s Prayer class is…
3) The thing I learned at Ursuline that has
helped me in my spiritual life is…
The following are their responses. (And please, if you haven’t
already, join Ursuline’s ever-growing alumnae Facebook group!)
Allison Perry '06
Sr. Cecilia Huber and Sr. Lucy Schmid really helped
shape my spirituality and religious views into what they are
today. I will be graduating this May with my Bachelor of
Science in Nursing and, I must say, what they have taught
me has helped me immeasurably in my interactions with my
patients and in my personal life. I am truly thankful to both
of them for guiding me and sharing their wisdom. They are
both remarkable women and I feel blessed to know them.
Santana Kulis '13
The thing I remember most about Father Jack’s homilies
is how I have never seen him stop smiling. It always makes
my day so much better when I’m having a rough one (and
not).
Caitlyn Castillejo '04
The thing I remember most about Fr. Jack’s homilies is…
During one of the all school masses, Fr. Jack was running a
little late. The whole school waited in the theater for maybe
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VOICES
SUMMER 2010
15 or 20 minutes before Fr. Jack finally came walking down
the aisle. During the homily he addressed his tardiness and
explained that he had been sitting in his reclining chair looking
out the window, watching two birds and “lost track of time as
he contemplated his celibate existence.”
Danielle Wood '04
The thing I remember most about Fr. Jack’s homilies is his
smile, and he always found a way to be inspiring. The thing
I remember most from Sr. Cecilia’s Prayer class is a quote
from her. She said “naps are good for the soul.” I quote her to
this day, usually after I take a nap! Sr. Cecilia taught me that
religion isn’t just about following rules, but about finding an
inner spirituality.
The thing I learned at Ursuline that has helped me in my spiritual life is that it is up to the individual to figure out how to
feel about religion and spirituality, not that there is a particular
way one is supposed to feel or think. I feel that Ursuline was a
place for young women to figure out their individual spiritual
journeys, while being accepted for it.
Katie Griffith '05
The thing I remember most about Father Jack’s homilies is
how he related them to our lives, and how they were never
without a good laugh. I always looked forward to his homilies.
The thing I remember most from Sr. Cecilia’s Prayer class is
her sweet nature and genuine desire to support our spiritual
lives. She was so creative in the ways that she inspired us. The
thing I learned at Ursuline that has helped me in my spiritual life is the importance of spiritual well-being and a strong
relationship with God and those around you. When I started
attending a public university I realized how I took Ursuline’s
spiritual encouragement for granted. I missed having the opportunities for school prayer, retreats, Sister Lucy’s Prayer
and Spirituality class, and the ability to openly talk about these
things on a daily basis.
Rosie Elefante '05
The thing I remember most about Father Jack’s homilies is:
the spring day he admitted to the real reason why he was 10
minutes late to mass. He said something to the effect of, “Sorry
I’m late girls, but I was sitting out on my back porch watching
two red birds and pondering the loneliness of my celibate existence.” The thing I remember most from Sr. Cecilia’s Prayer
class is: how important it is to just lay down, relax, and listen
to soothing music when life gets too stressful.
Jessica Harbison Weaver '01
The thing I remember most about Father Jack’s homilies is
how open and accepting they made you feel. You could always
find a message in what he had to say that applied to your life.
The thing I remember most from Sr. Cecilia’s Prayer class is
making mandalas in the Chapel and listening to guided meditation. She always knew how to make a relaxing spiritual space
amongst the hustle and bustle of the Ursuline schedule! The
thing I learned at Ursuline that has helped me in my spiritual
life is that spirituality can be found in so many places and
people, not just where you expect it to be.
Kate Martin '06
The thing I remember most about Father Jack’s homilies is
the way he used humor to convey important messages. The
thing I remember most from Sr. Cecilia’s Prayer class is the
sense that she instilled in us that we were each unique, and
therefore there was no way our prayer life was going to be
cookie-cutter. She gave us many different tools, knowing they
wouldn’t all work for all of us, but wanted us to find as many
ways as possible to build a relationship with God.
Ashley Enyeart '09
The thing I remember most about Father Jack’s homilies
are the wonderful stories he would tell about people he came
to know in his life. He always managed to mix humor with a
meaningful message.
Hayley Elder Lantz '00
I loved Sr. Lucy so much, and her classes left me with so many
fond memories. The thing I remember most from Sr. Lucy’s
Prayer class is how warm Sr. Lucy was, and how welcome I
felt to share anything...she is such a dear person, and I miss seeing her!
Holly Gottschall '09
The thing I remember most from Sr. Lucy’s Prayer class is all
of the amazing and fun projects we took part in. It was definitely one of my favorite classes at Ursuline.
Steph Dawes '05
The thing I remember most about Father Jack’s homilies is
when he said, “one day I was sitting on my porch, watching
two red birds and contemplating the loneliness of my celibate
existence...” and when he likened walking down the aisle at the
last mass before graduation (not my graduation, I think I was
a sophomore or junior that year) to being expelled from the
birth canal... more seriously, it was probably his sincerity and
clear passion about helping us connect scripture and faith to
our lives. The thing I remember most from Sr. Cecilia’s Prayer
class is meditation days and dipping candles. Sr. Cecilia did
a really amazing job of showing me the importance of taking
time for myself - both as a mental and emotional break – but
also as a time to explore my faith and spiritual side. After
Kairos in the fall, her class helped me really begin to figure
out how to live the Fourth for the rest of my life- for myself
personally and for the health and well being of my relationships. The thing I learned at Ursuline that has helped me in my
spiritual life is… Fr. Jack’s and Sr. Cecilia’s classes were my
connections. Spirituality for me comes from my relationship
with myself, my friends and family, and with faith in God... the
time to explore that in Prayer and Spirituality and Kairos were
vital to this realization.
Katie Sellers '05
The thing I remember most about Father Jack’s homilies is...
the reason he was late for mass “I was sitting on my
back porch watching two redbirds and pondering
the loneliness of my celibate existence.” BEST. LINE.
EVER!!!!! The thing I remember most from Sr. Cecilia’s
Prayer class is ……feeling loved enough to let go of my
stress, if only while I was in her company. The thing I
learned at Ursuline that has helped me in my spiritual life is
asking questions. Questions invite us to engage the other.
The other is a living, breathing, feeling, acting part of the body
of Christ. If I want to get to know Christ alive in the world, I
better be ready to ask questions. (Being able to articulate this
explanation is something that came after UA, as I continued to
ask questions all the way through two degrees in theology.)
Megan Schriefer '03
The thing I learned at Ursuline that has helped me in my
spiritual life is that to have spirituality doesn’t mean you have
to attend church every Sunday, reciting hymns and prayers...
spirituality can simply be sitting down with someone and getting to know them, volunteering a few hours here and there to
help out a friend or an organization, sharing a part of you with
others. My biggest spiritual learning experience came from
my Kairos retreat my senior year. I learned more then I could
ever imagine about myself and my classmates. I will never
forget the difference those three days made in my life!
Emily Haglage '06
The thing I remember most about Father Jack’s homilies is
that they were fun and creative. He never had a boring story or
a topic in which I wasn’t interested. And if you happened to not
like what he was saying, all he had to do was smile to win you
over! The thing I remember most from Sr. Cecilia’s Prayer
class is that prayer can be everywhere and in everything. It’s not
just something you “should do” before you go to sleep. Praying
is something you can do while driving, while walking to class,
while helping a friend, while in church, or even when you
see a homeless man (which happens a lot in St. Louis, where I
currently go to school!). Sr. Cecilia’s Prayer class helped me
VOICES
SUMMER 2010
39
realize that prayer can be meditative and hopeful. The thing
I learned at Ursuline that has helped me in my spiritual life
is God is there when you need Him the most, but He is also
there when you don’t think you need Him as much. UA helped
me realize that I could go to God if I was having trouble (like
preparing for an AP Bio test or trying out for Student Council
Board), but that I should also thank God for all the great things!
My life is nowhere near perfect, but I find comfort in the fact
that I know I am living the life God has planned for me.
Thanks UA!
Sarah Sawyer '89
The thing I learned at Ursuline that has helped me in my spiritual life is the potential of ritual—the repetition isn’t boring, it
collects richness over time.
Ginny Walters '07
The thing I remember most about Father Jack’s homilies is
the way he always made us smile.
The thing I remember most from Sr. Lucy’s Prayer class is the
camaraderie and the sharing of stories. The thing I learned at
Ursuline that has helped me in my spiritual life is that everyone
deserves to be loved, regardless of whether or not they’re different from me. GO LIONS!
If you are not familiar with online networking, don’t fret.
It is very easy to join. Just go to www.facebook.com
and follow the prompts to sign up.
®
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VOICES
SUMMER 2010
“The fact that I can plant a seed
and it becomes a flower,
share a bit of knowledge and it
becomes another’s, smile at
someone and receive a smile
in return, are to me continual
spiritual exercises.”
Leo Buscaglia
ALUMNAE
Spiritual
Reflections
Laura Bride Strietmann '84
The Deepest Connection
Twenty six years ago, my Ursuline classmates and I were
crowned with laurel leaves while wearing our white dresses
and carrying our red roses. Our four years at Ursuline were
filled with learning, fun and growth. We had entered in 1980
as young teens fresh into adolescence, and we left in 1984
much closer to adulthood, and much closer to being grown
women.
On that day in May, being eighteen, and oh so wise, I was
certain, it was my friends and our fun that would keep me
connected to Ursuline after our graduation. Now at fortyfour, and the beneficiary of twenty six years of life’s joys and
sorrows, I realize it was so much more of what I learned and
experienced in my faith at Ursuline that keeps me connected.
My only daughter will be entering UA as a freshman this fall of
2010, and I have spent much time back at UA recently. Being
back on campus more frequently in the last year than I have
been in the last twenty-six, I have come to realize, my connection to UA is more about my faith, than it is about the friends
and fun. Or maybe even more so, it is about the connection of
both of these elements in an Ursuline education that made me
realize very recently how much my faith has played a part in my
Ursuline connection.
While at Ursuline during the eighties, faith on campus was
brought to us in a variety of ways including masses and religion
classes. My most fond and special memory is of my freshman
retreat to Ursuline Brown County. I cannot remember if this
retreat was mandatory, or just an extra event to sign up for, but
in any event, it is one of my deepest spiritual memories of my
time at UA. A small group of students ventured to the Brown
County campus for a few nights, and we toured, prayed, and
experienced what the founding nuns did at Brown County,
when they dedicated their lives to the Lord. Two special bonds
were made on this retreat, one with our friends, and one in our
faith.
Father Jeff Kemper, Sister Joan, Sister Peter, Sister
Carol and Sister Gabriel all fostered my spirituality while
at Ursuline. It is a blessing to have had the experience of their
faith filled teachings in the class rooms of UA. While a teenager, I was more concerned (or not) about my letter grade, but
in reality, not only was I being taught academics, but I was also
being taught how to live a faith-filled Catholic life.
This past spring I was blessed enough to speak to UA’s Teens
for Life club, one of the largest and most active clubs on campus. As the volunteer recruiter for Pregnancy Center East, I
was invited to come speak to the Ursuline young women about
working in a pro-life crisis pregnancy center. Looking out into
the faces of these young woman, knowing they were in attendance at this meeting on their own free time, affirmed to me
Ursuline is still committed to bringing our Catholic faith and
its Gospel values to young women as they are educated.
Most certainly, the students of UA will experience their faithbased education in a way, where they are so surrounded by values, just as I was, that they do not even realize the greater message they are receiving. Friends, fun, faith all combined while
learning in a Christ-centered atmosphere. Ursuline Academy is
a special place; it is because of this education I am who I am as
a person, and as a Catholic. To me, this is truly the deeper, and
the absolutely important and perfect connection.
Laura Bride Strietmann ’84, is the mother of two sons, both recent
graduates of St. X High School; her only daughter will be attending
Ursuline this fall. She has been involved in pro-life ministries her
entire life, and most recently with Pregnancy Center East, as a client
advocate, board member, and now as volunteer recruiter and coordinator. She is enrolled at The Athenaeum of Ohio working in the Lay
Pastoral Ministry program. Since graduation, Laura has stayed very
connected to many of her Ursuline classmates, and most recently has
had much fun reconnecting with classmates on Facebook that now
live all over the country.
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SUMMER 2010
41
So I went! (My mother was worried. “Oh Meg,” she said, “Mennonites are weird!”) It was a difficult year in which I grew immeasurably. The following year I worked and saved money, and
then I returned to college and got married. I forgot all about
the Mennonites.
Nancy Brumleve Jarvis '61
When I came to Ursuline the seeds of Catholic spirituality had
been sewn by my devout parents. Happily Ursuline provided
an excellent medium for my growth. The bright, dedicated,
holy, modern nuns were key to the rich spiritual atmosphere
at Ursuline. I admired the passion Sr. Joan Brosnan had for
her subjects including religion. We formed an enduring friendship. Being in the Sodality all four years taught me the need for
discipline in seeking God. When I make time for God, I draw
closer to the Divine. A loving God longs for my attention. As I
emulated the Ursuline sisters, my spirituality deepened and I
desired to be an Ursuline myself. Although that didn’t happen,
the time I spent at Oak Street and Brown County solidified the
values and ideals that have carried me through the years. Life
itself has moved me into an ever deepening faith. I have chosen
to rely on God when I couldn’t control events, deal with illness, meet goals or rely on my own resources. I have been
able to turn my life over to God again and again, to trust in His
ways. I continue seeking God in a structured way, in prayer,
Mass, the sacraments, retreats, rosary, reading scripture and
spiritual books, Bible study, discussion (but not all on the same
day!) and I am sharing my spiritual life as a Minister of Care to
the homebound in my parish. My spiritual growth at Ursuline
has been a great asset to my life. Without it, I would be a different woman. Spirituality is the ultimate eternal realm and I
am ever drawn to enter it more deeply.
Meg Sweeney Cox '82
Some months after graduating from Ursuline, I paid a visit to
Sr. Mary Ann Jansen. I told her that I needed a break from
school, that I was ready to spend some time on my own away
from home, and that I most wanted to serve the community
somehow. She gave me a booklet that listed full-time voluntary service opportunities. I applied to all of them that looked
interesting and would accept volunteers under 21, and soon I
received a call from Mennonite Voluntary Service: they needed
teaching assistants for a day care in Hutchinson, Kansas.
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Over a decade later, when my husband and two small daughters
moved to the Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago, we visited
a little Mennonite church at the recommendation of a friend.
My husband took one look at the congregation and knew I
would fit right in. My new friends and I came to jokingly call
the church the Island of Misfit Toys.
It is indeed home for me: worshiping among people from all
walks of life and all corners of the globe who are serious about
their spirituality, live simply, work for peace, and care about
their neighbors. The aging hippie thing is kind of cool too.
I now realize that Sr. Mary Ann did more to point me in this
direction than just hand me a booklet one day back in 1983.
Someday I need to pay her a visit and thank her.
Betsey Beckman '75
There were so many aspects of my Ursuline education that met
my heart’s yearning for connecting to Spirit. Some of these
were the TEC Retreats (Teens Encounter Christ) where we
sang such favorites as “Today While the Blossoms Still Cling to
the Vine,” the TAP series (Total Approach Program) where I
experienced the poignancy of addressing meaningful spiritual
questions with my parents; and retreats with (the now renowned) Fr. Richard Rohr who invited us to spend a whole
hour by ourselves in prayer!
Equally as profound were the classes that played a significant
role in nudging me towards my life-long path. Mr. Brown
taught us the power of myth and story to convey deep spiritual
truths - now, storytelling is a pivotal aspect of my professional
ministry! Sr. Cecilia led us in spirit-filled song as an expression of our soul … now I often lead song to accompany my
embodied prayer workshops. And Sr. Joan Roach fostered
numerous leadership experiences for me, including inviting
me to offer “homily” at one of our Lenten prayer gatherings.
Even more significant was the time that she asked me to dance
at our Thanksgiving Mass. I had studied ballet for quite some
time but had never had the permission to bring my artistry to
liturgy. Voilà! Dance is now the cornerstone of my professional
ministry as liturgical artist, storyteller and spiritual director.
Not only that, but Sr. Joan Roach also taught a religion class
called Film Arts. At the time, I didn’t know what film had to
do with religion. However, this past year, I have just produced
and published my second liturgical film entitled: The DancingWord: Mary Magdalene. I have also recently co-authored a
book entitled: Awakening the Creative Spirit: Bringing the Arts to
Spiritual Direction. I give thanks to Ursuline for fostering the
creative Spirit in my life!
These and other resources are on my website,
www.thedancingword.com.
the yummy donuts for breakfast after fasting from midnight?
I thanked God for that too! The praying of the rosary was a
frequent activity in the lovely and inviting chapel, God’s house.
Another fond memory I recall is the outdoor rosary and May
crowning of the Blessed Mother by the senior class president.
I thank God that the rosary has become a family tradition in
our family starting with my grandmother McCann who prayed
the rosary each and every evening after dinner. If you ask my
husband or any one of my three sons about praying the rosary
they would say, “Yes, in the car whenever we left on vacations.”
Perhaps my most important and sincere “Thank you God”
occurred on my graduation day in June of 1950. UA was a
second home with lasting friendships, imparted knowledge and
a love of Christ.
Margaret Burleigh Brecount
with son John
Elaine Kunkel Bourgraf '50
Margaret Burleigh Brecount '92
How many times in a day do you say, “Thank you, God”?
It may be when you avoided an automobile accident, not
tripping over a cement parking lot divider, or simply recovering from an illness. Why do we offer this pious gratitude and
where did we first hear it?
When we talk about “spirituality,” I think what we really mean
is our hunger for God and our longing to know Him. By
expressing a desire for some type of “spirituality,” I think we
acknowledge two things about ourselves: first, that we have a
soul that needs care and formation—so we’re not just bodies—and, second, that we have hope that our lives actually have
a meaning and a purpose. When I was at Ursuline, I think I was
just beginning to recognize this tremendous hunger I had for
God. And I was definitely awakening to this desire I had for a
purpose and plan for my life. Maybe back then I wouldn’t have
called it “hunger,” but as an adult I do. I was so hungry! Now
as an adult and as a mother, I realize that what I was searching
for all along was not actually an “it” but a “Him”—Christ.
I must admit hearing these words from my parents and grandparents, especially when we returned from a Sunday afternoon
drive they would say, “Thanks be to God we’re home safely.”
God definitely had an important place in my early life and is
why Ursuline Academy was selected for my schooling. I cannot
thank God enough for giving me loving, sincere and guiding
parents who made this decision. Their Catholic religion was
the “backbone” of our family life for several generations.
Thus I thank God for the caring Ursuline nuns who gave me
twelve years of an understanding and knowledge of our Catholic religion. I remember the bible study of the birth of Jesus,
which was beautifully staged and presented by lay teacher
Mrs. Linna. T. Smith. Some years the star of the show was
a real live infant. First Communion and Confirmation were
important steps along with sin and confession in the primary
grades. Each month of the school year first Friday mass for the
grade and high school was offered, preceded by confession on
Thursday. Anyone remember the delicious hot chocolate and
One way in which Ursuline helped me along in my desire for
faith in God is that it provided a disciplined environment that
helped to develop my intellect. At least for me, God has used
the life of my mind as one of the most direct paths to lead me
deeper into my faith; as my knowledge of Him has grown, so
has my faith. While at Ursuline, I was able to foster my love
of books. Outside of the classroom, I talked to my parents a
lot about the things I was reading, which helped to form my
opinions and shape my understanding of God.
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43
One of my greatest influences at Ursuline was Mrs. Pollack,
who was my English and public speaking teacher. She was such
a dignified example of true womanhood and femininity; she
commanded respect and attention for sure. She also taught
me the importance of approaching study with seriousness and
purpose. I knew that when she taught, she meant business and
that she had prepared carefully what she would now impart. I
think a teacher like this can be quite pivotal in a person’s walk
of faith, and she was in mine.
I would also say that in Mrs. Burton’s art classes I came to
understand better how studying what is beautiful can lead a
person to know and love God. As an adult I have considered
how much He must love us that He allows us to find Him in
what is beautiful!
This “spiritual pilgrimage” continues. I count myself as very
blessed that each day contains a fresh opportunity for me to satiate this continued hunger I have for Christ and that now I am
able to see Him in a brand new way in the faces of my children.
I thank God for the Church and the sacraments that have been
so vital to my growth in faith, for Scripture, and for good books
and good friendships, all of which have shown me new and
wonderful things about the mystery of God.
Marti Anzinger Brown '69
There’s a place in one’s heart that quietly collects the memories
of a lifetime and stores them for safekeeping. With perfect timing, they come out of hiding and present themselves as caution,
direction, a burst of laughter or a wail of tears. The older I get,
the more I embrace them because the good along with the not
so pretty, paint the portrait of who I am and why.
For thirty years, I’ve worked with children; fifteen as a children’s pastor. Tucked in a small Kentucky town, my time is
shared between the children’s prayer place, behind a puppet
stage, listening to broken lives as they expose themselves over
a burger and a coke. My heart has opened its doors to single
moms with no money for heat, the cycle of drugs woven
through three generations under one roof and the joy of accomplishing the GED. There are leadership nights that go until
2:00 a.m. There’s the funeral for the young man found shot
on 9th Street. There are the countless hours encouraging the
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volunteers who, by God’s infinite grace, make it all happen.
How did I get to this place? Not unlike the rest of human
hearts, my stored places collected a myriad of treasures:
summer work in my father’s urban medical office; Roberta
Floyd, the infinitely wise woman who helped keep order in our
house when we were growing up; sewing communion dresses
for Father Marion’s parish; being invited to meet with
Sr. Barbara (Ellen Frankenberg '56), the dynamic spirit
of Sr. Cecilia, the Art Academy years; graduate school in art
education, my first job in Bardstown, KY; a marriage then
doused in alcohol and crippling depression.
Then healing came. The end of “your own understanding” can
be the most comforting of places. It was for me. It was the
choice to invite Christ the Redeemer to travel beyond printed
words in a book and nestle in a heart that so desperately
needed transforming. And it is there that He continues to pick
up the strands of life, kiss them all, and weave them together to
His suiting. It’s full of surprise, joy beyond words and a life that
continues to quietly store new memories that wait for their
perfect timing.
Kay Ferguson Connelly '89
I would not be the person I am today if it was not for my Junior
retreat and then subsequently the Kairos retreat at the end of
my senior year. At that time in my life as a perfectionist, I had
an extreme knack for suppressing feelings and letting everything build-up to an unhealthy level. It was way easier to get
busy in the teenage lifestyle of homework, sports, activities,
etc. and avoid taking the time to address issues than to face
them head-on and be done with it. Junior retreat forced me
to take the time (it was a requirement for graduation to go)
and reflect that I was really unhappy with the direction my life
was going and how I was handling things. I definitely needed
a guide to help me on the journey to bigger and better things!
Fr. Tensi was there at the retreat and he really helped me
through this difficult time in my life. He was a great listener
and really helped me face some hard realities and started me on
the journey to wellness!
When I had the opportunity to attend Kairos my senior year,
I had some apprehension about actually going. There was this
secret pact about what actually happens at the retreat) but the
consistent feedback was that it was life changing and it was an
experience of a lifetime. Since my life changed drastically after
my last retreat, I did not know how much more change my
mind/body could take in a short period of time! I told myself
to have faith and courage and just go. I am so glad I did! I still
feel the power of love from that experience and I have kept all
my notes, letters, songs, etc. from Kairos with me as I continue
my journey through life trying to live the Fourth!
My Kairos experience was so impactful to me that my parents
became huge supporters of introducing the retreat at other
schools so that all their children could have this experience.
(I am the oldest of 5 children and just by chance all 5 of us attended different high schools across the country!) It is amazing
where this whole process has led my family and I am grateful
and blessed to have all my brothers and sisters living the Fourth
with me.
Spiritual space is also being opened to the opportunity that the
practice of forgiveness can lead us to deeper loving and respect
for ourselves and those present in our lives. In this practice we
actively participate in transforming ourselves and our world.
Through all of this I have discovered that spirituality is a part
of myself that is essential and it is intertwined in everything I
do every day. As I go through life, I am finding more and more
ways to keeping this part of me growing and that is what makes
this all worthwhile, right?
Our Western society no longer provides a daily reminder of
our connection to universal Truth like other cultures do. No
outward signs that signify spiritual commitment, or reminders for us to be called to spiritual practice in our daily lives.
Families provide this connection in some ways by striving to
live in connection to their faith, i.e. prayer at meals, church on
Sundays. But we rarely see or hear daily reminders, calling us at
public school, work or life’s pleasure.
Lisa Maechling Debbeler '73
I am in the last quarter of my Master's program, and also
preparing to take my exam for licensure in counseling—not a
lot of time to come up with a concise, accessible description
of my spirituality. My current spiritual life is definitely in the
paradigm of evolving, and it’s in a stage that renders me essentially mute. There is no question that nothing on earth could
ever shake the sacred and the transcendent out of my core,
while at the same time the sacred and the transcendent have
taken many different forms as I have grown and changed as a
person. I cannot overstate the significance of the role Sr. Joan
Roach played in pointing me toward the spiritual deep within
everything and everyone. The culture of Ursuline encouraged
growth and openness as attributes of the holy, and that has
made all the difference for me.
Spiritual space is where we connect with Divine Inspiration
and co-create in physical form the possibilities and potential for
universal Truth to exist in this world.
What calls us to the Sacred space inside ourselves in our daily
lives? I believe environments such as Ursuline’s serve to offer
an alive, physical metaphor for Sacred space that our youth can
use to discover their potential and the God given possibilities
that exist any given moment. Ursuline’s education nurtures
young women in ways their parents no longer can and provides
them a variety of ways to experience learning that lasts a life
time.
Ursuline’s environment serves as a bridge for our young
women to move from family living Faith into finding their own
way of uniquely expressing their Faith. It serves to remind us
to explore, discipline, sculpt ourselves and support others to
commit to the discovery of their personal calling rising from
their inner sacred space. The Ursuline experience serves to
mentor our youth into Self-aware adults who value life learning
and growing as an instrument of Possibility. And as an instrument we have that calling, the sign living inside us, a reminder
to us of our Spiritual nature and the sacred space within us.
Ursuline fosters good spiritual human beings that make a positive difference in the world.
Janine Melink-Hueber '74
Spiritual space for me is sacred space within us. Whether we
recognize it or not, it exists. It is Possibility and active Potential
for Truth, in each one of us waiting to be realized. There is always enough time in each moment to allow Truths’ Potential to
unfold and be seen. We just have to awaken to the opportunity
that Sacred space in our lives creates.
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45
before running was fashionable. How could this happen to
us? My world changed forever at age 14. My mother was left
with six children to raise between the ages of 3 and 14. What
kept us afloat then and throughout the intervening years? Who
picked us up and showed us the way forward?
As adults, all six of us can picture our mom sitting in her rocking chair with her New Jerusalem Bible praying and meditating
with the door to her room slightly ajar. All was right with the
world when Mom prayed. It gave us strength and it gave her
the grace to guide us with the following words:
Molly Murray Petre ‘76
The Pilgrim Journey
I feel like my whole being has been spiritual from the womb.
This is no surprise, if you know my mother, Mary Kay Murray,
a woman of deep, abiding faith. Growing up as an only child,
my mom’s best friend must have been the Lord as far as I can
tell. Comfortable with seeing the divine in all aspects of her
life, hearing the voice of God in Scripture, my brothers, sisters,
and I found tremendous solace in her relationship with her
Creator and it set the stage for each of our journeys with and
to Christ.
Our father, Donald Joseph Murray, was a man of wisdom,
faith, humor, and tremendous charisma born of the confidence
our mother placed in him. He was a leader of our family, the
greater Murray Clan, our parish, his workplace, and a Cursillo
retreat director. Our mother started the women’s Cursillo in
Cincinnati, was a spiritual director and counselor, gave privately-directed retreats, and started the Art of Spiritual Companionship when she worked at the Jesuit Renewal Center. We
remember faith interlaced with deep love and good times. My
memories of Mass surrounded by days-gone-by, large Catholic
families, followed with fellowship and fun for all, were something I looked forward to with joy as a child.
In November of 1972, just when I was starting to feel comfortable as a freshman at Ursuline Academy, my father died without
warning. He died suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack
while on a Boy Scout camping trip with my Irish twin, Michael.
The floor fell away at that moment – for all of us in the Murray
family.
Dad was the beloved best friend of our mother and the most
loving and engaging father of six children that you could imagine. He was in perfect health. Dad ran the Boston Marathon
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Move to the one who created you. You are loved. You are never alone.
God is with you, whether you call on Him or not. Be gone from me,
Satan. Rest in God’s love, which is stronger than evil and death. God
created you for love. He is within you. Sit and be with Him. Goodness and love create an atmosphere for life. Comparison is not in the
Lord. Remember the words of Saint Paul: “Nothing, not death, nor
evil, can separate us from the love of God.”
I became a fifth grade teacher and almost thirty years later,
children make me think, grow, and laugh to this day. I am
privileged to be in contact with Trish Brands Miller '90,
one of my former students from my first-ever fifth grade class
who graduated from UA and is now a beautiful mother of four
children in my parish.
When I met the man I was to marry, he was a widower with
three wonderful sons under the age of ten. Their mother,
Patricia Buckingham Petre, was a member of the UA class
of 1973. I remembered her clearly, even though I was three
years behind her in school. Patricia Buckingham Petre, beloved
wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend lost her valiant fight
against breast cancer. She gave birth to Alex during this fight.
He was and continues to be a miracle as are his identical twin
brothers, Sam and Mark.
I was introduced to Tom, my husband, by an Ursuline graduate,
Angie Hoetker Buechner '71. At the time, I was teaching her eldest daughter, Julie '98 (also a UA graduate), as a
fifth grader at Cincinnati Country Day School, where I am still
privileged to teach and work (with Paula Monahan Brock
'76, an Ursuline classmate). Angie knew Tom and Pat as their
sons played sports together through Saint Mary Parish in Hyde
Park.
Pat was dying and Angie felt helpless and bereft as so many who
adored her did. Angie had a dream that stunned her. She saw
me walking down the aisle in a wedding dress toward Tom and
the boys. Yes, God speaks to us in dreams, too, so pay attention! It is probably a good thing she did not tell me this dream
until after Tom and I were married as I might have run the
other way! Some cannot explain the Paschal Mystery of this
connection, but in my spirit, there is no doubt of the source.
With Tom, I have been privileged to experience the addition
of a daughter and a son to our family – Molly Kathleen and
Quinn. We have also nurtured the boys (Sam, Mark, and Alex),
Tom and Patricia’s children, and now my beloved sons, into
happy and productive young men.
Ursuline women—I feel that God is within you as you walk
through life. He walks before you like a pillar of fire. He is
the spring breeze that smells sweet and tugs at your heart. He
is everywhere. God be the wave that carries you to the shore.
God be the autumn leaf aflame with color. God be a deep
snow that brings the stillness of His very breath to your life.
God be within you. Amen.
Who can I thank for these blessings following hard upon tragedy? Only God could have designed such a journey with so
many clear road signs pointing to His presence. I am privileged
to call Lisa Maechling Debbeler '73, one of Pat’s best
friends, my dear friend. Sometimes, when I see all of the connections in my life, I know God is winking and letting me know
He has always had a plan and a place prepared for me – as He
has for each of you.
I am fifty-one-years-old. Life has weathered me to a patina
that is beautiful in some lights, comical in others, and baffling
at times, even to me. I am human. “OMG!” as our children
might text. This is what I have learned from the saints God has
placed in my life: Mary Kay and Don Murray, my brothers,
Michael and Matthew, my sisters, Maureen, Kate, and Sheila,
my husband, Tom Petre, my sons and daughter, Sam, Mark,
Alex, Molly Kathleen, and the mighty Quinn, and so on and so
forth…
• God wants to be in touch with us, so talk, dance,
walk, sing, and run with Him.
• Look for God speaking to us in our lives. Ask Him to help
you see, hear, and understand.
• Give thanks, at the end of each day, for the gift of life.
• Offer up what you are feeling to God and give it to Him.
He will lead you in the right direction.
• Pray/talk to God from your core and know He ‘gets’ you.
• Look to tomorrow in prayer and praise.
By the way, I am writing this article because of a very special
teacher who watched over me as a freshman at Ursuline and
grew to be a friend and mentor. Her name is Sister Joan
Roach. She is another saint God placed on my path who
taught me the power of our Catholic Faith and the sacredness
of each step – forward, backward, up, down, or sideways.
Sister Cecilia Huber, from my beloved times in Glee Club,
taught me that, “To sing is to pray twice.” Both of these women
lifted my spirit and prepared me for a long journey.
Naomi Kinney '81
Hi, I have been away from Ursuline for a LONG time, but my
spiritual foundation was surely developed while I was there.
It was a little of the influences from Sr. Cecilia and
Sr. Phyllis at camp in Brown County (even before I attended
Ursuline Academy). It was partly Sr. Joan Roach’s World
Religion classes that taught me that Catholics aren’t the only
people in the world (taught me diversity). And it was also Fr.
Jeff Kemper’s counseling when my mother was sick (he took
me to visit my critically ill mother at Drake Hospital from
Ursuline when I needed it ... my only parent at the time, she
died during my Junior year). I have had so many at Ursuline
guide me and tell me that my spirituality is surely developing my OWN personal relationship with God. But it is also
outreach: helping others who are less fortunate than ourselves
in whatever way. My spiritual journey at Ursuline has helped
me handle the challenges of the world outside of Ursuline. I
am ever grateful for all this spiritual guidance and love in such
a wonderful academic environment when I was young. I feel
VERY fortunate to have had the opportunity to be exposed to
that. That’s my two cents! Hope it’s helpful to you (it surely
has been to me!). God bless...
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47
little I could do that would alter the outcome of his existence.
I felt helpless, useless and out of control. I wanted so badly to
let him live. He was nice. He had children and he had a wife
that would be devastated at his loss. I asked him what more I
could do for him and he stated—“I want a bubble bath.” And so
that evening, the entire team of providers arranged for Mr. B to
lay in his bed with his thin white sheets—with candles lighting
the window of his 9th floor intensive care room. While being
sponged down gently with scented soap, lotion and a loofah
sponge, Mr. B slowly closed his eyes and sunk into his last moments of life. But he got his wish and for that I am grateful.
It was this wish and my lesson that allowed him to die with
dignity and grace.
Soumya Pandalai '97
Brenda Kristof ’s World Religions class always encouraged
me to look at faith as a form of spirituality. The course emphasized that regardless of the formal religion in which you were
raised, the universal spirit of God seeks to understand that
which is true and whole. It made me appreciate how people
around the world have a different way of practicing their faith,
but there are more fundamental things we human beings have
in common—our search to understand truth. And this life-long
search is a desire we have regardless of color, race, creed or
upbringing.
Also Sister Lucy’s Death and Christian Hope class emphasized
that death is simply a part of life. It’s like the character “Red”
stated in Shawshank Redemption… “get busy livin’ or get busy
dying.” Life and death are so integrally connected and death is
truly about humility, grace and letting go.
As a physician I just wanted to share one story. Mr B lay naked
on the bed—his shriveled body and large belly protruding out
from under the thin white sheets. I knew he was dying and so
did he. He had been diagnosed with terminal liver failure and
would soon become so confused he would enter into a comatose state. He was bleeding very badly—another sign of liver
failure and it could not be controlled in any dignified fashion
that would allow him a reasonable chance of survival.
I entered into the field of medicine to cure the sick and dying,
to feel better about giving to the world and to somehow fulfill
my own need to be needed. Needless did I know that my own
fear of vulnerability was certainly part of this- after all I hated
feeling this way and strived to take care of people who did.
I was forced to confront my denial, deal with my bias and
perhaps, become emotionally vulnerable. I needed to let it
go, to accept the inevitable and to allow him to return to his
sanctuary. I sat there quiet in his room, knowing there was very
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Sister Ruth Podesta '50
When I was seven years old, I went to the Brown County
Ursulines’ summer camp. I barely made it through a week
and my parents had to come after their homesick child. Sister
Miriam Thompson helped pack my suitcase and brought me
to my mother who promptly suggested that I thank her for all
she did for me. As the story goes, I did so and told Sister that I
was going home now but some day I would come back and stay
forever.
Twelve years at “Oak Street” nourished that prophetic statement. I cannot name one outstanding “what” or a “who” responsible for the spiritual formation that led me to become an
Ursuline. It was a blending of people and place. The Ursuline
sisters, including Mrs. Linna T. Smith, made all of us know
that we mattered. We had an “at home” climate that let us feel
at ease and free to be ourselves. Classmates were friends, mentors, challenging and supportive. We enjoyed a joie de vivre
that gave us energy and enthusiasm. What could be more favorable for a spiritual life to take root?
And there was our chapel, a gathering place where everyone
in grades one through twelve came together for first and third
Friday Masses. Some of us made our First Communion, confession and were confirmed in the chapel. We prayed litanies, had
holy hours and benedictions, retreats, made visits, and in later
years held class ring ceremonies there letting the Lord be a
part of our life. It is still a place of peaceful beauty known as
the Great Room in the American Cancer Society’s Musekamp
Family Hope Lodge.
Today our Ursuline students have a broad and rich Religious
Studies curriculum and a wide selection of Community Service
offerings readying them for life’s journey. They also enjoy that
“Oak Street legacy” of teachers who care, a climate that lets
them be themselves, good friends and the Lord a part of their
life in St. Angela’s chapel.
Marjorie Niehaus '56
with her dear friend
Sr. Jane Stier '44
Marjorie Niehaus '56
My contact with the Ursulines, spanning six decades, began
when I entered seventh grade at Oak and Reading Road,
expanded during glorious high school years, and deepened
through decades of friendships and reunions, including, recently, the “Golden Girl” events each June (more fun than they
sound). From St. Angela to Julia Chatfield to Ursuline Academy
at Blue Ash, the “Ursuline spirit” is passed on.
Sister Joan Roach, OSU '56
As a teenager in the fifties, Ursuline Academy opened doors
and windows and my young soul absorbed the local and global
scenes—thanks to Sisters Jane Stier, Joan Brosnan, Pat
Brockman and others. I then became an Ursuline! The Spirit
was moving!
Next, Vatican II was a wonderful nuclear explosion while I was
doing graduate theology studies. My heart and head delved into
deeper realities. Later, as a UA teacher, the Spirit was lovingly
with us holding all of us carefully through the mountains and
valleys. Such mystery!
Now, in a “flash of years,” I am a retired Ursuline. Family,
volunteer work, healing realities, and prayer are the luxuries
of life. One secret that UA students rarely comprehend is the
fact that the faculty become a faith community. Their own lives
include a few still raising families, some brokenness, and wonderful celebrations.
I feel privileged to belong to several groups composed of alums
and current and retired teachers. Among us there is deep, rich
sharing, critical thinking and a faith which supports, heals, and
nourishes. The spiritual molecules of our lives are alive and
real. The Spirit is still with us! Deo Gracias!
What is it? What does it mean? It means that we each are
called to holiness; we each are called to a unique and personal
relationship with God. And to fully respond to God’s call,
through the grace of Jesus Christ who shares our humanity, we
must use our individual talent and abilities—no matter how
important or meager, popular or unrecognized—in the service
of others. The Ursuline way sees all people as individuals with
unique gifts who are called to seek holiness by contributing
positively to the larger community, our cities, neighborhoods,
and streets. Not just at Christmas or during Lent or once a
month—but every day.
How did the Ursulines pass this on when I was in school? Of
course, we said prayers before each class, even back-stage
before the curtain went up; we had opportunities for Mass,
annual retreats, and social action works. These are the usual
benefits from attending a Catholic school. But there was
something else about the way the “Ursuline spirit” was communicated. It wasn’t by “drum-beat preaching” or heard only now
and then. It was a subtle but permeating teaching dispensed
consistently and quietly, often by personal example. (Sisters
Jane Stier and Joan Brosnan deserve my special nod here.)
The message itself—love of God and neighbor—is central
Catholic teaching, but Ursuline tradition also underscores
that God’s call to holiness is to be sought every day, all day in
a humble manner; it is to influence every aspect of our life.
Don’t misunderstand what I say here. I know it to be true. But
I also know it is very hard. It is difficult not to waste energy on
less worthy endeavors. But I digress . . . maybe another time.
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49
Pam Sweeney Schneider '65
Having attended Ursuline from the time I was five years old
as a kindergartner ’til graduation as a senior, there would be
much to choose from when it comes to religious traditions.
Preparing for first confession and first Holy Communion and
then actually celebrating those sacraments with my classmates
was very special. The sweet scent of peonies that announces
spring has arrived every year instantly takes me back to our
May Crowning ceremony. I remember gathering those flowers
and other spring creations to make my bouquet to present to
Mary every year, and the choosing of the all important pastel dress to wear that day. The processing of all the students
through the UA halls and outside to Mary’s statue while singing
those lovely hymns, is a memory that will always be with me.
Junior ring day celebrated with mass and the blessing of our
rings was a moment shared with my classmates that made me
feel “grownup,” very proud to be an Ursuline student, and
truly gave me a feeling of accomplishment.
Of course daily prayers before class and weekly mass were the
strong thread that was quietly woven into our everyday lives
and held us together and gave us much strength to face whatever challenges we were to meet along our life journeys. But
my most precious memory of religious tradition at Ursuline
was the time spent in the choir loft of the Ursuline chapel
with Sister Cecilia and my fellow songsters as we shared our
voices with the rest of the students in celebration! To this day
my happiest moments are spent in song!!! Thank you, Ursuline,
for the wealth of tradition and memories that you have given
me!!!!
Ruth Ellermann Yacko '56
Like all of my life experiences, my religious education serves as
a basic guide and foundation in my life’s journey and spiritual
quest. It is not the end of my quest but the beginning and base
from which all other spiritual input is considered, and sometimes added. Thank you for asking.
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Valdasia Merrick '78
Baptist Minister Tackles Prejudice
I graduated from Ursuline Academy in 1978 with a vision to
enter politics in order to help the poor. Today I am a seminarytrained, ordained minister with a heart for racial reconciliation
within the church, which involves economic empowerment of
the poor through Christian, international, racially-reconciled
businesses. I suppose we learn in time that it is not the means
that is always inspired by God, but the vision – and He has His
own way of realizing it.
By God’s grace I established Joseph Dream, a threefold racial
reconciliation ministry that reconciles the groups within the
body of Christ that were divided by slavery and segregation.
We unite 1) white and black American Christians, 2) African
and African American Christians, and 3) African American
Christians unto themselves - the latter suffering from selfdestructive patterns of behavior such as excessive homicide
within black communities and a preference for products from
Caucasian-owned stores – behavior that points to the need for
self-integration.
Joseph Dream defines racial prejudice as a spiritual malady,
deeply rooted in the heart and mind. We identify two kinds of
racism: intentional and unintentional. By applying dynamic,
informed prayer, Scripture, dialogue and historical enlightenment we seek to transform minds and hearts. The aforementioned occurs along with redemptive social activity that
restores and heals the injured. Also, we proactively establish interracial friendships wherein persons agree to talk freely about
race, to pray, and to share their lives in order to breakdown
stereotypes and birth loving, honest, healing relationships.
Other redemptive activities include: Joseph Dream Leadership
School, which targets African American males ages 13 to 17,
providing character and leadership development and preparing
them for mission work in Africa. The youth also study African American history, receive training in public speaking and
learn to go deeper in prayer and to engage the contemplative
life. Also, we are currently circulating a petition where laity
acknowledges their wish that American churches desegregate.
After receiving a thousand signatures, we will present them to
pastors to encourage them to desegregate their churches; we
will then provide training in how to make it happen. Conjunctively, aware that African Americans only comprise 2% of the
missionaries living in Africa and the need to deepen relationship and heighten the economic status of both communities,
we established the Joseph Dream Business Center. The center
invites African Christians to partner with African American
Christians in developing businesses that do business with
Africa, forge friendships and mutually economically empower
their communities. Finally, we held the first Joseph Dream
Christian racial reconciliation conference October 2009. Agape
love and breakthroughs in understanding were pervasive. We
strive to hold the second annual conference the last week in
October 2010.
Our most crucial effort this year is to find a home for the
ministry and to acquire funding. We have been operating with
volunteers and without a permanent home. We are nomadic
and it makes our efforts very difficult.
The DREAM: for three years I have been doing something that
has required a lot of faith. I have been contacting owners of
properties in foreclosure and asking if they would graciously
consider donating their buildings to our racial reconciliation
ministry. My telephone calls and letters were rejected week after week. About a month ago Bigelow and Bronzie, a businesssavvy yet community-conscious company, agreed to reduce
the price of their building and take it off the market for three
months to give us time to raise funds to purchase it. The building is in Avondale, where high crime and low employment encourage people to unite, people need to get away to nature to
experience the beauty and restorative qualities of nature where
communion of God is heightened. The edifice is surrounded by
trees, flowers and ponds. We envision use of the first floor and
the grounds for prayer retreats and the second floor for racial
reconciliation seminars and hopeful dialogue. Joseph Dream is
in a whirlwind of fundraising. We are $165,000 away and have
only 2 months.
classmates elected me President of the Senior Class. I was the
first Black American in the long history of Ursuline. It gave me
courage to run for the president of student government when
I attended seminary at Vanderbilt University. I became the first
Black woman in the history of that school to assume the office
and I established the seminary’s Anti-Apartheid Council. The
positive relationships with my Caucasian sisters at Ursuline
gave me the confidence to attend Duke University without
worry of acceptance. There I acquired my Bachelor’s degree in
Religion.
As I face the mountain of $165,000 in 2 months, I am trusting
God to send people my way who will give and who will connect me to people who will give. My spiritual journey has been
led by the Lord for the sake of His people, even to honor the
work that Ursuline Academy did in me when I attended and the
work Ursuline continues to do through all of us today. If anyone is inspired to be a part of the Joseph Dream vision, please
contact me at valdasiamerricklst@gmail.com.
Man has two great spiritual
needs. One is for forgiveness.
The other is for goodness.
Billy Graham
I must thank Ursuline for the vision of the prayer retreat center. I am Baptist. Baptists know very little about the contemplative life. I learned about this important aspect of Christian
living through experiences with the Catholic Church. Ursuline
Academy introduced me to the disciplines of holy men and
women - the nuns, priests and monks, whose communion with
Christ in silence and listening is transformative. I carried these
experiences deep within and now they have resurfaced in my
racial reconciliation ministry and I’m overwhelmed by the potential of the vision. I am also grateful to Ursuline because my
VOICES
SUMMER 2010
51
Congratulations
Class of 2010!
This year, the Class of 2010 succeeded in
achieving 100% class participation in
making their senior pledges. Every senior
pledged to make a gift supporting their
class and the 2009-10 Annual Fund. This
accomplishment could not have been done
without the help and encouragement from
the Senior Class. Thank you, class reps,
and thank you Class of 2010!
Giving Representatives pictured above. Back row, left - Emily Cleary, Sarah Strietmann, Katie
McCuen, Emily Kaes, Jinnie Lacker, Becca Brizzolara, Colleen Huster, Chelsea Rolfes, Caroline Gruber,
Kelsey Bergman; kneeling - Mary Malloy, Charlotte Mock, and Trisha Reddy. Not pictured are: Alex
Abbate, Chelsea Cleary, Laura MacMorland, Anna Prickle, Carly Rohs, and Maria Thomas.
I heard stories from
my mother’s mother who was
an American Indian.
She was spiritual, although
she did not go to church,
but she had the hum.
She used to tell me stories
of the rivers.
Tina Turner
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SUMMER 2010
Senior Mother/Daughter Luncheon
Alumnae mothers and their senior daughters posed for an Ursuline tradition –
a picture together in the outside courtyard at the Manor House
Fourth Row, L to R: Charlotte Mock '10, Sarah Pflum Mock '82, Erica
Bockhorst '10, Cheri Mongenas Bockhorst '85, Jinnie Lacker '10, Polly
Kemme Lacker '75, Sarah Strietmann '10, Gail Lutter Strietmann '74, Beth
Budde Pitner '82, Karen Kinker Miller '78, Ann Marie Kollman Kaes '82,
Elizabeth Gehring Carter '78 and Karen Alf Rolfes '79
Third Row, L to R: Lilly Seddaca '10, Lois Brumleve Sedacca '74, Mary
Frank Norris '81, Barb O'Neill Backscheider '74, Kelly Tabb Bender '86,
Martha Schottelkotte '80, Cari Corbett Vonier '86, Jackie Kegley Lang '79,
Hilary Pitner '10, Claire Miller '10, Emily Kaes '10, Megan Carter '10,
Chelsea Rolfes '10 and Lauren Wenstrup '10
Second Row, L to R: Bailey Norris'10, Ali Backscheider '10, Carolyn
Bender '10, Halie Schottelkotte '10, Carissa Vonier '10, Rebecca Lang
'10, Joanne Winter Rizkallah '78, Paula Asmus '79, Chris Brandstetter
Shaffer '75 and Beth Foy Wenstrup '80
First Row, L to R: Julia Rizkallah '10, Laura MacMorland '10 and
Caitlin Shaffer '10
The following alumnae mothers and daughters are absent from
the picture: Molly Leonard '81 and Bridget Wimberg '10, Kathleen
Whalen Carter '70 and Kelly Carter '10, Jennifer Ireton Ferello '86 and
Alyson Ferello '10
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SUMMER 2010
53
Marriages
Kate Babb '88
Tom Slone 9.19.08
Ali Smith '00
Kevin McCance 5.05.07
Elizabeth Brauer '00
Kelby Haase 11.07.09
Gretchen Dammel '03
Chris Collins 9.12.09
Jeni Peters '03
Joshua Lorenz 10.19.09
Kasey Wilson'04
Stewart Hawkins 5.10.10
Gretchen Dammel '03 married Chris Collins on September 12, 2009.
Pictured are Gretchen and all of her lifelong friends from UA: (Back Row, L to R) Emily
Ellerbrock '10, Elizabeth Ellerbrock '08, Allyson Dammel '00, Jacalu Robson '00, Brittany
Mahoney '03, Emily Howell '03, Lauren James '03 and Bridget Whitehead '05 (Middle
Row, L to R) Tiffany Wilson '03, Susan Henry '03, Courtney McGraw '03 and Caroline
Solimine '03 (Front Row, L to R) Virginia Wilton '03, Gretchen Dammel Collins '03, Emily
Blinn '00 and Kathryn Harlow '03
Jeni Peters '03 married Joshua Lorenz on October 19, 2009.
Pictured are her four Ursuline bridesmaids: Ellen Behling '03,
Wendy Goodwin Ramalingham '03, Jeni Peters Lorenz '03,
Jennifer Bifro '03 and Jennifer Frank '03
Kate Babb '88 married Tom Slone in New York City on September 19, 2008.
Pictured are Kate along with her bridesmaids, two of whom are UA alums: Katie
Stowe '88, Kate Babb Slone '88 and on the far right, Julie Quatman Morrison '88
Kasey Wilson '04 married Stewart Hawkins on May 1, 2010
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SUMMER 2010
Births
Julie Winstel Lazarus '85
Gertrude Eleanor 10.14.09
Jenny Winstel Brandt '91
Henry William 2.26.08
Amy Divo Seibel '92
Anna Lillian 4.29.10
Erica Gunderson Lyons '99
Annabel Marie 3.15.10
Kate Donohoue Horwarth '02
Aubrey Christine 1.20.10
Ali Gruber '04
Jackson David Grace 5.28.10
Kate Schneider George '93
Joshua Boden 9.25.08
Jamie Windsor Held '95
Maren Frances 9.10.09
Katie Horwarth '02 & Aubrey
Jessie LeMasters Fleetwood '96
Eli Mason 1.10.10
Meg Schneider Lynch '96
Adelaide Jane 2.23.09
1955
Emily Flaig Morel '96
Abraham Lambert 1.22.10
Kim Staneck Mead '98 with Addy and proud grandma, Linda Staneck
Joan Sickman '55 (Sr. Lawrence OSU), Ann Giglio Schrimpf & Rick Konkler Dulle '55
Class of 1955
Our Class of '55 met for lunch at the Art Museum in Eden Park, on Saturday,
April 17, where Ann Giglio Schrimpf is a docent. Ann took us to the Cincinnati
wing and explained the wonderful art done by Cinti artists. It was an enjoyable
and educational experience (six of us were present, including Ann): Rick
Konkler Dulle '55, Joan Sickman (Sr. Lawrence, OSU), Ann Newman Saul,
Barbara O'Brien Kramer and Jeanne Hodapp Schmidt. We look forward to
celebrating our 55th anniversary of high school graduation '55!
VOICES
SUMMER 2010
55
ALUMNAE NEWS
Sue Baldwin-O'Dea '61
Godfrey, IL
I am happily married to Danny O’Dea, a professional ballad
singer. I have two daughters and seven grandchildren, as well
as a granddaughter who passed away from leukemia in 2006.
Danny is ill and under Hospice care, so I spend much time
caring for him. We have excellent quality time together and
pray nightly. I’m a retired social worker and enjoy working part
time as a substitute teacher and doing home schooling. I recently created a facebook page for the Class of 1961. Classmates,
please check it out and join at: Facebook/Ursuline Academy
of Cincinnati, Class of 1961!
Msbaldwin43@aol.com
Carrie Frederick Masterson '93
Cincinnati, OH
I just wanted to share an amazing story with the Ursuline
community. Recently, I reconnected on Facebook with Kirsten
Cremons Montgomery '93. In September I posted a plea looking for someone with type O blood to donate a kidney to my
mom. Kirsten responded quickly! To make a long miraculous
story a little shorter, Kirsten and my mom were a match! On
February 9, 2010, Kirsten donated a kidney to my mom. They
are both doing great! Gertrude (as the kidney is referred to),
is getting used to her new home. We are so blessed to have
reconnected. Kirsten has given my mom a new life and I can’t
thank her enough. There was a news spot on Channel 12 in mid
March that focused on kidney/live organ donation. Kirsten and
mom (Phyllis Bach Frederick) were interviewed for the piece!
It is amazing what technology can do to reconnect people…
and even more amazing what an old friend will sacrifice to give
someone new life.
Carrie_masterson@madeirastation.com
Amanda Garry Dorn Faaborg '95
Breckenridge, CO
I married my husband Daniel Faaborg in 2005, in Kauai,
Hawaii. We presently live in Colorado and are enjoying life and
all the wonderful things the Rocky Mountains have to offer.
I’m very happy to report that my mother and brother are living
here and I’m fortunate to enjoy their company daily. However,
trips to Cincinnati are very few and far between. To all my
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SUMMER 2010
Ursuline friends, please know that I would love to see any and
all of you if you ever come to Breckenridge, CO.
Faaborg1@yahoo.com
Jamie Windsor Held '95
TheWoodlands,TX
My husband, John E. Held II and I are enjoying our first daughter, Maren Frances Held. She was born on September 10,
2009. We are currently living near Houston, TX and love it!
windsorjamie@mac.com
Elizabeth Brauer Hause '00
Cincinnati, OH
I was married to Kelby Hause, a Purdue graduate and Indiana
native, on November 7, 2009. I received my Masters in Early
Childhood Education from Xavier in 2007 and now teach First
Grade Spanish in the Mason School District.
HaaseE@mason.k12.us
Gretchen Dammel Collins '03
Chicago, IL
Chris and I were married in Cincinnati on September 12,
2009, at Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church
with a reception that followed at Hyde Park Country Club.
I think it’s really great that six of my bridesmaids were UA
grads! All of the girls in the picture are definitely my friends
for life and I am so grateful to have met them at Ursuline!
Chris and I are enjoying our new lives together in Chicago, as
newlyweds!
gdammel@gmail.com
Jennifer Peters Lorenz '03
Columbus, OH
Life is good! I recently married my high school boyiend,
Joshua Lorenz, in October 2009 (he even made a dance pic
back in the 2002 yearbook). I am a CPA and currently work
for JP Morgan Chase in Columbus, Ohio, but we are going to
be on the move soon to Washington DC as Josh has a great
opportunity with his pharmacy degree.
We hope all the UA girls are doing well and cherish the friendships they make because my Ursuline girls are by far the best
women I know and am honored to have them in my life!
Jeni1lorenz@gmail.com
Kasey Wilson Hawkins '04
Italy
Stewart Hawkins and I were married on May 1, 2010 at
St. Peter in Chains Cathedral, in Cincinnati. Nellie Debbeler
'04 was our maid of honor! Stewart and I met before our senior year of high school at a summer program at the Air Force
Academy and started dating after Ursuline’s winter dance that
year! We dated all through college (at the Air Force Academy)
and were engaged our senior year of college. We’ve been living
apart since we graduated in May of 2008 because I am stationed
in Italy and Stewart is stationed in Boston. We planned our
wedding over those two years long distance and were recently
married in May. I will be leaving Italy in July to start law school
in California, in August (the Air Force is sending me to law
school to become a JAG). Stewart will be in language school in
California, so we will finally get to be together as newlyweds!
We both hold Ursuline very close in our hearts (Stewart went
to both the winter dance and prom with me, senior year)!
Kcw.hawkins@gmail.com
Katie Griffith '05
Cincinnati, OH
I’ve been working in Cincinnati for the past year at Empower
Media Marketing, after graduating from the University of
Missouri with a degree in journalism. I’m moving to Chicago
soon to work for PHD Global, a media and communications
agency. I’m looking forward to living in the windy city but will
definitely miss my Ursuline friends!
Kgriffith12@gmail.com
Stephanie Moeller '05
Los Angeles, CA
After graduating from UA in 2005 I went to school for Broadcast Communications at Elon University in North Carolina.
Having just graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in May of 2009,
I shortly moved out to Los Angeles where I spent my summer
interning before senior year. With big dreams and new contacts, I landed my dream job in International Production at E!
Entertainment. I had previously interned with E! in London,
UK in 2007, and in Los Angeles, in 2008. Now employed at
E! Entertainment, I hope to continue growing within the
company.
Smoeller14@gmail.com
A new command I give you: Love
one another. As I have loved you, so
you must love one another. By this
all men will know that you are my
disciples, if you love one another.
John 13:34-35
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SUMMER 2010
57
In Memoriam
We extend our deepest sympathy to the following
students and alumnae:
Sr. Ursula Hausfeld, OSU, great-aunt of Brianna Hausfeld
'06 & Caprice Hausfeld '11; aunt of Tom (Barb) Hausfeld;
sister of Eugene (Shirley) Hausfeld (5.02.10)
John Hoelscher, grandfather of Allison Frey '10 and Erin
Frey '14; father of Michelle (Brian) Frey (4.12.10)
Sue Marnell Kilbane '45
2.20.10
Jane Jaspers, aunt of Jennifer Jaspers Bauer '96 (2.01.10)
Robert Johannigman, husband of Lois Levy Johannigman '45;
father-in-law of Nancy Robson Johannigman '73 (6.03.10)
Margaret “Peg” McGovern Mersch '52
8.02.09
Sr. Mary Carmen Johnson OSU, sister of Sr. Jeanette
Johnson, OSU (3.03.10)
Patricia Glueck Michel '56
4.30.10
Judy Longo Trendler '65
5.11.10
Theresa Barnett, mother of Lynn Iacono Rolfson '70 & Rose
Mary Iacono Compton '73; grandmother of Liz Compton '07,
Lindsay Rolfson '00 & Suzanne Rolfson '03 (2.03.10)
Marilyn Beiting, mother of Jennifer Beiting Satterfield '89
(4.08.10)
Jane Bens, sister of Betty White McCann '46
Gary Brandstetter, brother of Mickey Brandstetter Ackels
'74 & Jeanne Brandstetter Haas '72 (2.08.10)
Charles Brosey, father of Kathy Brosey '82 & Mary (Bill)
Brosey Rust; grandfather of Katie Rust '11 (5.18.10)
Robert Byrne, father-in-law of Meg Brown Byrne '78 &
Missy Rudd Byrne '84 (3.08.10)
Cynthia Cook, mother of Christine Cook '70 (1.19.10)
Joe Dillhoff, husband of Connie Stenger Dillhoff '75; father
of Katie Dillhoff '04; brother of Barb (Joe) Rohs & Mary Beth
Dillhoff Nielsen '77; brother-in-law of Chris Stenger Turner
'75; uncle of Carly Rohs '10 & Grace Rohs '14 (2.28.10)
John Einspanier, uncle of Anne Einspanier Krehbiel '73;
great uncle of Rohan Krehbiel '05 (2.05.10)
Mary B. Fischer, mother-in-law of Peggi Fukuchi Fischer '91
and Mary Pat Schlueter Fischer '77 (3.18.10)
Jack Fox, grandfather of Lauren George '10, Kristin George
'13 & Erin George '14; father of Susan (Chris) George
(3.22.10)
Jack Frost, grandfather of Molly Frost '12; father of Charles
(Michele) Frost (3.28.10)
Beverly Gerth, mother of Joan Gerth Kelly '79 (4.26.10)
Mea Gieleghem, mother of Alicia Gielegham '93 (2.04.10)
Betty Harbison, grandmother of Jessica Harbison Weaver '01
(1.02.10)
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SUMMER 2010
Altura Juenger, grandmother of Kimberly Juenger '06, Anna
Juenger '10; mother of Steven (Mary Ann) Juenger (3.24.10)
William Kelley, grandfather of Jennifer Jones Federov '93
(3.10)
Sue Marnell Kilbane '45, daughter of the late Loretta
Maddock Marnell '20; sister of Jayne Marnell Helmers Kulle
'50; the late Ellen Baarlaer '53 and Judy Marnell '59 (2.20.10)
Joseph Kistner, brother of Ruth Kistner Sheppard '44
(5.02.10)
Fr. George Klein, brother of Joan Klein Berg '48; uncle of
Karen Berg Whittington '72, Ellen Berg Baden '76; great uncle
of Emily Berg '08, Amy Berg '13, Katie Guilliano '08, Theresa
Whitaker '10, and Elaine Whitaker '05 (3.12.10)
Albert Klekamp, father of Marsha Klekamp Murphy '67
(3.01.10)
Jonas Lagergren, grandfather of Drew Lagergren '05
(2.09.10)
Joseph McGraw, father-in-law of Bridget Gannon McGraw
'96 (4.04.10)
Harvey Meier, father of Debbie Meier Pendl '75 and Rebecca
Meier Fleischmann '76 (4.12.10)
Margaret “Peg” McGovern Mersch '52, mother of
Cynthia Mersch Arrico '79 and Melissa Mersch Beruscha '82
(8.02.09)
Marguerite Montgomery, mother of Ann Montgomery
Steen '68 (2.11.10)
Joan Munnis, mother of Jean Munnis Fox '84 (3.10)
Gerald O'Connell; grandfather of Josie O'Connell '12 & Lydia
O'Connell '14; father of Brian O'Connell (2.01.10)
Eileen Peake, mother of Beth Bergman Henderson '75;
grandmother of Kelsey Bergman '10 & mother of Mike (Jackie)
Bergman (4.11.10)
Jeanne Petkun, mother of Lisa Petkun Klancher '87 &
Deanna Petkun Hapner '94 (2.20.10)
Alice Redden, mother of Mary Alice Redden LaPille '76
(5.20.10)
Francis Ruggerie, father of Gina Ruggerie Hughes '84
(3.31.10)
Mary Rummler, grandmother of Marcie Rummler '01
(6.03.10)
Maria Schaffstein, granddaughter of Carole Antenucci
Schaffstein '46 (4.16.10)
Robert Seay, father of Kimberly Seay '05 (4.28.10)
Bob Scheidler, son of the late Madge Smith '44 (Don)
Scheidler; brother of Anne (Jim) Scheidler McGraw '68, Jan
(John) Scheidler Cremons '72, Donna (Dave) Scheidler Gruber
'75; brother-in-law of Jane (Jim) Schuster Scheidler '74,
Kathy (John) Bofinger Scheidler '85; uncle of Carey McGraw
Kuznar '94, Lauren McGraw Combs '98, Jenny McGraw '00,
Courtney McGraw '03, Kirsten Cremons Montgomery '93,
Jenny Scheidler '05, Ali Gruber '04, Amy Gruber '06 & Holly
Gruber '11; nephew of Ruth Smith Allgeier '40 (5.06.10)
Christine Sensibaugh, grandmother of Chelsea Sensibaugh
'09 (5.07.10)
Jeanne Simminger, mother of Sindy (John) Simminger
Held; grandmother-in-law of Jamie Windsor Held '95
(5.14.10)
Elizabeth Tibbles, mother of the late Judy Tibbles Deimling
'63 (4.06.10)
Judy Longo Trendler '65, sister of Alice Longo Ahrens '55
(5.11.10)
Michael Wesselkamper, brother of Sue Wesselkamper
Reinhardt '75 & Pam Wesselkamper Neago '76 (2.23.10)
John Westerkamp, grandmother of Jennifer Westerkamp '06
(5.26.10)
Mary Westrich, grandmother of Kate Westrich '96, Anna
Westrich '98 & Elyssa Westrich '00
By confronting us with irreducible
mysteries that stretch our daily
vision to include infinity, nature
opens an inviting and guiding path
toward a spiritual life.
Thomas More
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SUMMER 2010
59
Farewell to the Class of 2010!
In a tough economy, their high school tuition was an investment with a great return.
Ursuline Academy congratulates the members of the Class of 2010 for their spirit, service and scholarship.
Eighty-nine per cent of the class received more than $22,000,000 in college scholarships.
Alexandra Marie Abbate
Catherine Marie Abele
Margaret Claire Allard
Caroline Elizabeth Allen
Mary Claire Allen
Molly Louise Allen
Abby Marie Ankenbauer
Christina Rose Arand
Megan Leigh Autry
Alison Rose Backscheider
Desirae Nicole Ball
Lauren Elizabeth Banfield
Molly Christine Basch
Emily Simone Bauer
Kathleen Evelyn Beach
Carolyn Ann Bender
Kelsey Claire Bergman
Rebecca Ann Berus
Hannah Marie Besl
Erica Marie Bockhorst
Priyanka Bodalia
Alexandra Marie Bren
Rebecca Michelle Brizzolara
Lynn Elizabeth Brotherton
Jessica Marie Butherus
Ashley Nichole Campbell
Diana Jennings Campbell
Kelly Alissa Carter
Megan Elizabeth Carter
Melvi Chacko
Chelsea Mae Cleary
Emily Theresa Cleary
Erin Kennedy Coddington
Caitlin Nicole Collord
Lauren Grace Cousineau
Molly Ariel Cowan
60
VOICES
Julia Asad Dalia
Virginia St. Clair Dickens
Cynthia Marie Donovan
Alexandra Lauren Dressman
Kristen Regina Elias
Emily Grace Ellerbrock
Blake Maris Eve
Alyson Nicole Ferello
Grace Corinne Ferguson
Rachel Allison Fogg
Ellen Colleen Fox
Allison Marie Frey
Mary Katherine Frietch
Rebecca Elizabeth Gallagher
Catherine Grace Gaston
Lauren Marie George
Megan Elizabeth Gilligan
Isabel Maria Gonzalez- del- Rey
Melissa Ashley Gottschlich
Lindsay Kathleen Gray
Morgan Taylor Griffiths
Kathleen Brodin Grow
Caroline Joan Gruber
Sloane Aubert Hamilton
Tara Alexandra Hammann
Mackenzie Lynne Harrell
Anne Kincaid Hauser
Jade Maree Henderson
Hannah Messick Hersko
Katherine Ann Hoban
Beatrice Dyer Hobson
Lindsey Alexandra Hogan
Carley Grace Holden
Mary Jasmine Holt
Julia Gabriele Hom
Colleen Shea Huster
SUMMER 2010
Taylor Anne Johannigman
Sofie Ellen Johnson
Anna Elizabeth Juenger
Emily Anne Kaes
Farheen Akthar Kaleem
Anna Olivia Kathman
Kathleen Marie Keitel
Olivia Gabrielle Kempf
Jacklyn Elizabeth Kramer
Kaitlyn Jordan Kreiner
Lindsey Alexandra Kuvin
Virginia Kemme Lacker
Kathleen Faye Lang
Rebecca Marie Lang
Olivia Eustelle Longshore
Kathryn Marie Lucas
Laura Virginia MacMorland
Kathryn Elizabeth Eve Maglocci
Shannon Slone Mahoney
Josephine Sophia Male
Mary Catherine Malloy
Emma Kay Manier
Shannon Nicole Manley
Lauren Marie Marlatt
Katelyn Rene´ Marples
Indre´ Dalia Lenkauskas Matulaitis
Alyssa Nicole McCarthy
Colleen Elizabeth McCroskey
Katherine Collette McCuen
Breann O'Grady McDowell
Monica Anne Melink
Hilary Ann Meyer
Kara Ann Meyer
Claire Michelle Miller
Madeline Marie Miller
Scarlett Emma Minnie
Charlotte Isabel Mock
Christina Frances Mondi
Morgan Nadine Moone
Jenna Elizabeth Naber
Kelsey Anne Naber
Ariel Marie Neumann
Alyssa Katherine Grace Newman
Elizabeth Louise Neyer
Cara Elizabeth Nicolas
Bailey Patricia Norris
Megan Elizabeth Ollier
Murphy Jayne O'Neill
Mollie Marie Paquette
Alyssa Marie Paxson
Christine Thùy-Trang Phan
Hilary Elizabeth Pitner
Jordan Ann Powers
Anna Claire Prickel
Elizabeth Gina Prickel
Marcella Ranieri
Allison Watts Rayome
Kristen Elizabeth Recker
Trisha Puli Reddy
Caroline Mary Reilly
Danielle Elizabeth Reinert
Lauren Theresa Reiniger
Julia Maria Rizkallah
Stephanie Colleen Robb
Mary Lynne Roberts
Jennifer Elizabeth Robertson
Carly Marie Rohs
Chelsea Lynne Rolfes
Elizabeth Cristiana Russo
Monica Jeanne Saccucci
Emily Ann Schlager
Catherine Frances Schomaker
Halie Bernert Schottelkotte
Paige Elizabeth Schroder
Lillian Marie Sedacca
Katherine Sarah Shadley
Caitlin Marie Shaffer
Caroline Marie Shreve
Carly Pomije Shumrick
Brooke Marie Skyllingstad
Courtney Michelle Smalley
Chloe Cassavant Stagaman
Sarah Martha Strietmann
Bridget Kathleen Sullivan
Emily Nicole Sullivan
Julia Lee Tasset
Abigail Leigh Tennant
Maria Rita Thomas
Caroline Joan Tobin
Elise Marie Trachsel
Caitlyn Tess Turner
Briana Nicole Vanstone
Sarah Lynn Volpenhein
Carissa Elizabeth Vonier
Kelsie Elizabeth Walker
Shelby JoAnne Walsh
Emily Jean Warman
Lauren Katherine Wenstrup
LeeAnne Rae Wersel
Teresa Ann Whitaker
Theresa Bernadette White
Sara Audrey Wiener
Erin Michelle Williamson
Brigid Katherine Wimberg
Blair Elizabeth Yeager
Elizabeth Sarah Zerhusen
Rachel Elizabeth Zins
Class of 2010 College Acceptances
Allegheny College
American University
Art Academy of Cincinnati
Baldwin-Wallace College
Ball State University
Bellarmine University
Belmont University
Boston College
Boston University
Bowling Green State
University
Bradley University
Bryn Mawr College
Butler University
Capital University
Carnegie Mellon University
Case Western Reserve University
Centre College
Cincinnati State Technical
and Community College
Claremont McKenna College
Clemson University
Cleveland Institute of Art
Cleveland State University
Colgate University College
of Charleston
College of the Holy Cross
College of Mount Saint Joseph
College of Wooster
Connecticut College
Cornell University
DePaul University
DePauw University
Defiance College
Denison University
Dominican University
Drexel University
Duke University
Duquesne University
Earlham College
Eckerd College
Elon University
Emory University
Fairfield University
Florida Southern College
Florida State University
Fordham University
Furman University
George Washington University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia State University
Grand Valley State University
Hanover College
Hillsdale College
Hiram College
Hofstra University
Hope College
Indiana State University
Indiana University
Indiana University-Purdue University
Indianapolis
John Carroll University
Kansas City Art Institute
Kent State University
Kenyon College
Lehigh University
Lewis and Clark College
Loyola College (MD)
Loyola University (IL)
Macalester College
Marquette University
Marshall University
Miami University
Michigan State University
New York University
Northeastern Ohio Universities
College of Medicine
Northern Kentucky University
Northwestern University
Oberlin College
Ohio Northern University
The Ohio State University
Ohio University
Otterbein College
Pennsylvania State University
Providence College
Purdue University
Queens University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rollins College
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Saint Joseph's University (PA)
Saint Louis University
Saint Mary's College
Santa Clara University
Seton Hall University
Shawnee State University
Smith College
Southern Methodist University
Spring Hill College
Syracuse University
Thomas More College
Transylvania University
Trinity College
Tulane University
University of Akron
University of British Columbia
University at Buffalo–
The State University of New York
University of California
University of Central Florida
University of Chicago
University of Cincinnati
University of Colorado
University of Dayton
University of Delaware
University of Evansville
University of Findlay
University of Georgia
University of Illinois
University of Iowa
University of Kentucky
University of Louisville
University of Miami
University of Michigan
University of New Haven
University of North Carolina
University of Notre Dame
VOICES
University of Pittsburgh
University of Rhode Island
University of Rochester
University of San Diego
University of South Carolina
University of Tampa
University of Tennessee
University of Texas
University of Toledo
University of Tulsa
University of Vermont
University of Virginia
University of Wisconsin
University of the South
Vanderbilt University
Villanova University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
and State University
Wake Forest University
Washington University
Wayne State University
West Virginia University
Western Michigan University
Westminster College
Wilmington College
Winthrop University
Wittenberg University
Wright State University
Xavier University
SUMMER 2010
61
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Cincinnati, Ohio
Permit No. 9614
5535 Pfeiffer Road
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C H A N G E S E RV I C E R E QU E S T E D
Parents:
If you are receiving this magazine at your home instead of at your alumna daughter’s,
please send us her address. Call (513) 791-5794 or email mlapille@ursulineacademy.org
$$$$
Ursuline Academy of Cincinnati $ $ $ $
$ $ Over
has kicked off its Second
Big Green Raffle! The cash raffle
provides an opportunity for you to
WIN BIG while extending financial
support to our students.
2010
$55,000
in cash
prizes!
Raffle tickets are $100 per ticket or 3 for $250,
with only 2500 tickets available. With 50 prizes, that
makes your odds 1 in 48 of winning. Drawing will
be held November 20, 2010
BUY a ticket, SELL a ticket, SHARE a ticket.
To purchase a ticket and learn more about this
$
$
$$$
$$$$$
$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
PRIZES: $ $ $ $ $
TICKETS
1st: $25,000
2nd: $10,000
$100 each or
3 for $250
3rd: $5,000
win/win raffle, go to www.uaraffle.org or call
Ursuline Academy Development Department at
4th-8th: $1000
19th-38th: $200
513-791-5794 (ext. 1218)
9th-18th: $500
39th-50th: $100