Saint Mary’s College plans to celebrate its history and the 50th anniversary of the death of Sister Madeleva Wolff, the third president of Saint Mary’s, during next week’s Heritage Week festivities, senior Mollie Valencia said.
Valencia, student director on the Alumnae Association Board of Directors, said many of the Heritage Week events would be centered around Sister Madeleva and the mark she left on the college.
Junior Sarah Prezek, chair of the Mission Committee for Student Government Association said she worked with Valencia to plan the Heritage Week events.
“One of the most important goals of this week is to connect Saint Mary's women to the women that founded and continually support our college, the Sisters of the Holy Cross convent,” Prezek said.
Valencia said Sister Eva Mary Hooker, professor of English, and John Kovach, library archivist, would host a reading Sunday of Wolff’s work at 2 p.m. in the Student Center Lounge.
Riedinger House, the guesthouse on campus, would also host two tea parties Monday, Valencia said. She said students could attend an update on the capital campaign Saint Mary’s launched last year Tuesday in the Vander Vennett Theater.
Valencia said it is important for students to understand how deeply Saint Mary’s was rooted in history and how much of that history could be found all across the campus, even in less-frequented areas.
“There are so many different places on campus that most students do not know about, and these are the places highlighted during Heritage Week,” she said.
To showcase some of this Saint Mary’s history, Sister Veronique Wiedower, vice president for mission, would lead Heritage Room tours Wednesday, Valencia said. She said students could also visit the college archives for tours Wednesday.
Valencia said Saint Mary’s President Carol Ann Mooney would have dinner with juniors and seniors in Stapleton Lounge on Thursday.
“This dinner will allow students to dine family-style, similar to the type of dinner that was traditionally served when Reignbeaux Lounge served as the school's dining hall,” Prezek said.
Prezek said long-sleeved T-shirts would be given out at each event, but she said she hopes that student choose to attend the events to learn more about the history of the college.
“The events are important to attend because each event sheds a light on aspects of Saint Mary's that makes it unique and beloved,” Prezek said. “Students are given an opportunity to learn about and experience Saint Mary's history and traditions.”
