Esprit De Coeur Regional Gatherings
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inside Message from our President .........................3 Connecting with Our Schools ......................4 Esprit de Coeur Regional Gatherings.......................................6 Around the Country ...............................8 Past President Profile ............................10 Alum News ..................................................11 Associated Alumnae and Alumni Celebrating Our Spirit & History .......12 ofspirit the Sacred of Heartthe heart Top Shelf ................................................14 Sacred Heart Worldwide ............................16 Summer 2012 News from the RSCJ ............................17 Treasures of the Heart ...............................18 Sacred Heart Network ................................20 175 Year Legacy ...........................................22 Woodlands Window ..............................23 Past President Mary Catherine Mundel Coffey (1961-63), center, led AASH representatives on a tour of the White House in 1963. Jean Kennedy Smith, left, was tour guide for the momentous occasion. Also pictured is then incoming AASH president Mary Isabel McKenna Caestecker. 2 Esprit de Coeur Summer 2012 A New Biennium — Moving Forward to 2013 From AASH President Maureen E. Ryan Barat College 1981 Dear Alums… We our half way thru the biennium and much has transpired. We are pleased to have Maggie Sieger Kaspura, a 1985 alumna of Duchesne Houston, working in the National Of- fice with us. To read more about Maggie please go to our website. And speaking of website! I am pleased to announce that our website has gone thru a major transformation. Kudos goes to Sara Kestner, Corre- sponding Secretary, and Maggie Kaspura, National Office Director, who have been spearheading this project for the past six months. The first phase has been completed! Visit us at: www.aashnet.org. We think you will find the new site bright, fresh and very user friendly. Be sure to login and register to access the directory and optimize the new search engines. This past year I have had the opportunity to attend many Sacred Heart gatherings and meet with alumnae/i across the country. My travels have brought me to Missouri on many occasions, as well as California, Florida, Omaha and Canada. With each new encounter I am in awe as I see first hand how alumnae and alumni continue our mission of “federation, spirit and service” and live out the values of their Sacred Heart educations in their personal and professional lives. I'd like to highlight a few of the very special gatherings that I have attended; • 175th anniversary of the Child of Mary (EdeM) • CASHA conference hosted at our Sacred Heart school in Montreal • Celebrating Philippine’s Feast with the students at the Academy in St. Charles and later at the Shrine with local RSCJ and Associates • Mass and luncheon at the home Sr. Mary Schumacher, RSCJ with alumnae from Palm Desert • Carrollton's golden jubilee celebration • Congé hosted by each of our Sacred Heart schools in Chicago and Lake Forest, IL • Alumni gatherings in Naples, Vero Beach and Palm Beach, Florida. Visit my blog (AASH PRESIDENT MER) for details and lots more photos. Now I need to ask those of you reading this to help us further our mission and consider getting involved. Perhaps you or someone you know would like to become part of the 2013-2015 AASH National Board. We are looking for alumnae/i with good computer skills and a willingness to share their talents. Also we are seeking nominations for the following awards: Cor Unum and Mary Liz DeVito Lincoln. Details can be found in this issue of Esprit and on our website. I do hope you will enjoy reading the wonderful story of our past president Mary Catherine Mundell Coffey as well as current alums who are giving back and sharing their talents. I look forward to seeing familiar faces and meeting many more of you at the upcoming Regional meetings being hosted in Seattle, Cape Cod, Bloomfield Hills, and Houston. And, I hope many of you will join us next April in Omaha at our 39th Biennial Conference where we will celebrate our 80th Anniversary! Details and registration info will be available on our website. Warm regards in the heart, Summer 2012 Esprit de Coeur 3 Connecting with our Schools The Life Lived: Alumnae Share the Spirit of Sacred Heart At Josephinum Academy in Chicago, Minister, explains the difference that Illinois, Sacred Heart Alumnae are shar- Maggie makes, “Her enthusiasm is ing their lives and their love of Sacred contagious! It has been through the Heart education. They are nurturing “When I first stepped inside example of alumnae like Maggie that the spirit of the school in profound and our students have really begun to know meaningful ways. “The Goals and Cri- and love what is unique and consistent teria are an eloquent expression of the the doors of Josephinum, I about Sacred Heart education, whether mission of Sacred Heart education,” says at Josephinum or in any other Sacred Michael Dougherty, the Head of School instantly felt that I was Heart school.” at Josephinum, “but it has been through Indeed, Josephinum is blessed to have the presence of Sacred Heart alumnae in a Sacred Heart school. the support of many alumnae, includ- that our students have begun to truly ing several on their board of trustees, understand what it means to be a child Leading the ʻSacred Heart and Stephanie Hauber (Rosary) whose of the Sacred Heart.” weekly commitment in the Admissions The newest member of the Network of Matters Clubʼis the high- office helped to increase enrollment Sacred Heart Schools, Josephinum is dramatically. truly unique in its commitment to St. light of my week! It is a “It is one thing for our students to Madeleine Sophie’s vision for offer- know the Goals,” says Sr. Cameron, ing Sacred Heart education to young “but the true spirit of Sacred Heart is privilege to be able to share women who otherwise would not have shared through relationship. Josephi- the opportunity to receive a quality edu- num is such a beautiful expression of cation. “I’ve never been to a school like with the students something the Society’s mission, and has been so Josephinum before,” remarks sopho- for many years. I think what is new, more Lupuita Gonzales. “Here I know that— MaggieI love Hyde, so Villadearly.” Duchesne '04 thanks to Maggie, is that our students that I am loved for who I am. I have are becoming more deeply connected to learned that I am blessed with precious the greater Sacred Heart community." gifts that I am called to share with others, especially those Dougherty adds, “We know that we cannot do it alone and most in need. For me, this is what it means to be Sacred we need all the help that we can get!” For more information Heart. I always knew that Josephinum is special, but now I about volunteering at Josephinum Academy, contact Mi- know that what I love about Josephinum is what connects chael Dougherty at (773)220-3335, or michael.dougherty@ us with all of the other Sacred Heart schools, students, and josephinum.org. alumnae around the world.” When asked how she has discovered this connection, Lupuita pointed to her participation in a club led by Ms. Maggie Hyde (Villa Duchesne ’04). Two years ago, when Maggie moved to Chicago to pursue a masters degree in school coun- seling at DePaul University, one of her first stops was to visit Josephinum and offer her support. She began a student club called, “Sacred Heart Matters,” and started a grassroots effort to share with students the traditions of Sacred Heart educa- tion. “When I first stepped inside the doors of Josephinum, I instantly felt that I was in a Sacred Heart school,” explains Maggie, “Leading the ‘Sacred Heart Matters Club’ is the highlight of my week! It is a privilege to be able to share with the students something that I love so dearly.” While many Sacred Heart traditions have been routine at Maggie Hyde (Villa Duchesne '04) and Sr. Muriel Cameron, RSCJ (St. Josephinum, Sr. Muriel Cameron, the school’s Campus Charles Academy '66) 4 Esprit de Coeur Summer 2012 Connecting with our Schools Amber Gmerek, Forest Ridge '09 The Power of the Sacred Heart Network If you have any doubt own school in the same fashion – even instituting free-dress about the power of For- Fridays. Amber credits finding a place to live, and thus her est Ridge and the Net- internship, to the Sacred Heart Network. work of Sacred Heart That internship was with Women Against Violence Europe Schools, just ask Amber (WAVE), a network of Europe’s largest nongovernmental Gmerek, Forest Ridge organizations (NGOs) dedicated to preventing and ending ’09. She credits Forest violence against women and children. Operating in 46 Euro- Ridge with giving her pean countries, WAVE provides support for women through the courage to pursue an women’s shelters, crisis hotlines and organizations that focus internship in Vienna last on abuse prevention. year that focused on women’s issues. But it almost didn’t hap- pen. In the final weeks before the internship began, Amber While at WAVE, Amber prepared and designed a website for was still searching for affordable housing. Time was running 20 countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia that would out. train and inform health care professionals about how to ask patients about domestic violence and how to refer them. She Then her mother suggested that she reach out to the Net- also assisted in planning events and meetings that would work of Sacred Heart Schools. So Amber contacted our support this effort. Through this internship, Amber acquired sister school, Sacre Coeur Wien, which put her in contact a profound understanding of combating violence against with Marcile, an alumna of that women in the European Union school whose daughter was currently countries. enrolled. Marcile offered Amber her extra apartment for the summer.