SUMMER 2019 VILLA JOSEPH MARIE ALUMNAE NEWSLETTER Welcome, Class of 2019! We are excited to welcome the Class of 2019 as the newest members of the Villa Joseph Marie Alumnae family! The class of 82 young women celebrated their graduation on June 1, 2019 at The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia. Welcome to the other side, Class of 2019!
A Letter from Villa's President:
Greetings Villa Villans and Jems!
As we approach September each year, there is a palpable change at 1180 Holland Road. The activity level ramps up – surfaces are shined, pallets of new textbooks are uncrated and plenty of new faces come through the door (some of them look more than a little nervous!).
Well, this year it feels like we hit the hyperspace button (forgive the ancient reference!). The school – YOUR Villa Joseph Marie – feels like it is at the edge of a cliff, about to jump into a whole new universe. The campus has simply been transformed. The obvious addition visible from the road is the new state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center and will officially be open for business! The Opening School Mass will be celebrated that first week of school and I can think of no better way to bless the new school year and everyone within the Villa community. The "new" things don't stop at the new building. The front entrance and office areas have been totally redesigned, the student lounge was stripped bare and professionally decorated, and our grounds around the school have a new series of tasteful landscape plantings. I promise you – you wouldn't recognize your Alma Mater!
Just as importantly, I'd like to also highlight some of the exciting developments that happened that you might not notice when you drive onto campus. This year we are offering new classes in Engineering (22 students) and Law (3 sections!). We also continue to invest in the most important part of the Villa experience – our faculty. Villa educators traveled far and wide to hone their craft and learn the latest teaching techniques and best practices. Members of the Social studies Department traveled to Chicago for their national conference, Math faculty were hosted for a week at MIT, our Science Department chair spent two weeks learning the latest engineering curriculum at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and our college counselors attended an admissions conference hosted by the most selective colleges at Harvard. Our faculty is recognized by their peers for their expertise and regularly present at national conferences and read AP exams as graders. Most of all, I am proud to work alongside such a committed, mission driven group who genuinely care for each and every student who walks through our doors.
The tangible results of the incredible investment in our beloved Villa are there for all to see. I hope I have the chance soon to welcome you back to campus. I promise you that you will be in awe of both the facilities and the spirit here on Holland Road.
Always more, always better, always with love,
Performing Arts Center Update Construction on Villa's new Performing Arts Center (PAC) is now complete! The PAC is a sacred space, blessed by the Bishop, sacristy included, in order to meet the spiritual needs of our community. It has a 600-seat capacity, with removable front row seats for a larger orchestra/band pit, and state-of-the-art audio and visual, including acoustic paneling that allows for evenly distributed sound travel. It boasts a theatrical rigging system (fly) for ease in movement of scenery, lighting, and even people. This expansion also included renovations to the school's main offices and front entrance to provide additional security for the school.
Our entire Villa community is welcome to join us for Mass in the new PAC on Sunday, October 6 at 9:00 a.m. Join us after Mass and tour the school during our fall Open House. ALUMNAE UPDATES Alumna and Current Students Cross Paths at PFEW Recently, two current Villa students, Emily Noone '20 and Mackenzie Robertson '20, won scholarships to attend Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week (PFEW) at Lycoming College. PFEW is an intensive program that educates high school students about the American free enterprise system by bringing motivated students together with business people from throughout the state. The girls spent the week building a profitable company as VP of Marketing (Emily) and VP of Communications (Mackenzie). In addition to making new friends, they learned from amazing business leaders, one of which was Villa alumna Patricia Martin '64 (shown with Emily in the photo).
Debra Carol Friedman Walters '73 shares, "moved from Guilford, CT of 19 years with my spouse, Gordon, to Milton, DE on August 8, 2019. We both retired in early February and March. I have two children: Stephen located in Princeton Junction, NJ and Pamela in North Wales, PA. So glad to be back in the area. Goodbye South Central, CT."
Andrea McCarthy Gana '89 was the winner of a Giant Food Stores cake baking contest for the Philly Phanatic's birthday celebration. Her cake was presented to the beloved mascot at a celebration in April at Citizens Bank Field. Congratulations, Andrea!
Melissa Murphy Witner '99 was inducted into Holy Family University's Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2019. Congratulations, Melissa!
Stephanie Schlegel Shortall '01, of Antheil Maslow & MacMinn law firm's Corporate/Business law department was named a Named a Rising Star Attorney for the third consecutive year. Congratulations, Stephanie!
AMM Attorneys Selected for 2019 Super Lawyers/Rising Stars Listing
Nicole DiEnna '02 earns MBA from St. Joseph's University Congratulations, Nicole!
Casey Monaghan '14 attended the NCAA Convention this past winter as a member of the NCAA's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The committee is made up of 27 Student-Athletes from across the U.S. that represent the well-being and best interests of all of the NCAA Student-Athletes at various NCAA meetings throughout the year. As members of the committee, they speak and vote on various association-wide legislation that affects the student-athlete experience. Along with legislation, they focus on pertinent issues student-athletes are facing, such as mental health, sexual violence, etc. In addition, they are responsible for strategic partnerships with both the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Team IMPACT. As a result of these relationships, all NCAA schools are able to work with both organizations on their campuses. Way to go, Casey!
Caroline Stoughton '16 showcased her art during the Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show in June.
Congratulations, Caroline!
Click here for more information on the show.
Francesca Capozzi '17 was elected President of Temple University's Student Government. Francesca ran as part of the first all-female campaign in Temple's history. At the time this article was written, Francesca was still in the midst of her campaign. Congratulations, Fran!
Katherine Schramm '17 anchored a new record for Loyola University Maryland's relay team. Katie helped set a new record as part of Loyola's 4x100-meter relay team. The team finished fourth at the Legacy Meet in April, running 48.59 to break the record of 48.67 set by the Greyhounds at the 2018 Patriot League Championships. Way to go, Katie!
Gianna Newborg '18 competed on So You Think You Can Dance. Gianna made it through the first two rounds of competition. Click here to watch her performance from her judges' audition. Congratulations on your SYTYCD journey!
WEDDING ANNOUNCEMENTS
pictured left to right: Erin Dillon Thurston '01, Renee Kitchenman McGovern '02, Michelle VanWert Scanlon '01, Danielle Roy Bowyer '01, Kendall Sweeney Fleisch '01, Janet Tarpey Trinh '01, Michelle McLaren VanWert '01, and Kate Dorland Caceres '01
BABY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Share your Good News with us! When you opened the most recent edition of The Profiler, where was the first place you looked? Probably the Class Notes section, right? We all love to see what our classmates have been up to. Now you don't have to wait for the next edition of The Profiler to share your news. We can share it right here in the Alumnae Newsletter! Click here and tell us what's new in your life. We'd love to hear from you and share it with our Alumnae family! ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION UPDATES Executive Board Elections The Alumnae Association is planning to hold elections in Spring 2020, to fill the positions of the Executive Board. Currently, these positions are filled by the interim Leadership Team as follows:
The Alumnae Association is planning to hold a general meeting in January 2020, ahead of the Executive Board elections. All Alumnae are welcome and encouraged to attend. More details to come. For more information or if you would like to get involved in the Alumnae Association, click here.
Class Agents A Class Agent is a liaison between the Villa Joseph Marie Alumnae Association, in conjunction with the Alumnae Office, and her classmates. The role of a Class Agent is two-fold: to share information provided by the Alumnae Association and/or the Alumnae Office with her classmates via email, social media, and word of mouth and to encourage participation, support, idea sharing, and feedback from her classmates with the Alumnae Association and/or the Alumnae Office. A Class Agent plays an essential role in helping the school connect and reconnect with the Alumnae.
If you're interested in acting as a Class Agent, please sign up here.
Congratulations to the Class of 2019 Class Agents: Mackenzie Seewagen '19 and Alley Caro '19
Stay tuned for information on an upcoming Class Agent meeting, tentatively scheduled for this fall, in preparation for the Alumnae Association Executive Board Elections in Spring 2020.
Alumnae Social in Washington, D.C. The Alumnae Association held another fun social event in May. The event was held in Washington, D.C. Anna Marie DiMascia Malloy '09 graciously hosted the event and welcomed our Alumnae into her home. It was a wonderful night filled with laughter, reminiscing, reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones. Thank you to Anna Marie for hosting this memorable event and to those Alumnae who joined us!
Jems at the Shore- La Costa Sea Isle Many Alumnae joined us down the shore for a casual, fun event at La Costa Lounge and Deck Bar in Sea Isle City, NJ on July 27. Thanks to everyone who joined us. We hope to continue this tradition next year!
Alumnae Social Events in Your Area We're looking to host more Alumnae Social Events in a variety of locations, but we need your help. We would like to gather our Alumnae from the following areas
If you live in one of these areas and would like to get your local Villa friends together for a night of socializing and catching up, please email alumnae@vjmhs.org. Is there another location you'd like us to visit? Please let us know. We'd love to hear from you! ALUMNAE OFFICE UPDATES Alumnae Traditions Continue at Graduation Alumnae Legacy Graduates Villa has a special tradition during the graduation ceremony of inviting mothers who are Alumnae and have graduating daughters to read the Alumnae Pledge and welcome our newest Alumnae into the Villa sisterhood. This year, we were honored to have two Alumnae mothers, Mary Nagle Wade '81 (mother of Margaret Wade '19) and Christine Heys Armetta '84 (mother of Jacqueline Armetta '19) share in this tradition. Thank you to our Alumnae mothers for participating in this special moment. Mary Nagle Wade '81 Christine Heys Armetta '84 Alumna Graduation Speaker Villa was proud to welcome Sophia Singh '12 as the graduation speaker for the Class of 2019. She offered inspiring advice about life and shared her unique experience as an intern for NASA. Sophia expects to graduate from the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering in December 2019. In addition to her coursework, she is currently researching pulsar timing arrays as a method of gravitational wave detection at Caltech. Thank you, Sophia, for offering your words of advice to the Class of 2019! Sophia Singh '12 with Villa president Tom Kardish.
Wall of Fame 2019 The Villa Joseph Marie Wall of Fame Selection Committee is pleased to announce this year's inductees: Sister Johanna Marie Shainauskas, SSC
-Junior Class Moderator, 1977-1988 -Assistant Principal, 1977-1979 -Spanish and Music Teacher -Moderator of Student Council, Glee Club, and Spanish Club
Maureen Cleary
-College Admissions, 2000-2002 -Admissions Director, 2003-2010 -Director of Institutional Advancement, 2007-2015 -Parent of two Villa Alumnae -Member of Villa's Board of Directors Congratulations to these two most deserving inductees! They will be celebrated at a ceremony on September 7.
Calling all VJM Dramatic Society Alumnae Join the VJM Dramatic Society on the stage of the new Performing Arts Center this fall! This inaugural production will feature BOTH current students and Alumnae in a musical cabaret performance! Please email Mrs. Melissa Holdren, Performing Arts Administrator, at mholdren@vjmhs.org for more information. We can't wait to see you shine on the new Villa stage of your dreams!
Mentor Program Villa began our Mentor Program with the introduction of "Take a Jem to Work Days" in which a student shadows an Alumna in her office for a day, usually during Christmas or Easter break. We understand that providing a shadow day is not always an option for some people. We also understand that not everyone's schedule will coordinate with our school calendar. If you are interested in mentoring a student, but cannot offer a shadow day in your office or commit to a specific date, that's fine! You can still be a mentor. A mentor relationship with a student can be whatever you choose to make it. It can be a shadow day at your workplace, but it can also be a lunchtime meeting, or even a remote connection through an email exchange. Don't feel limited! If you are interested in acting as a mentor, in any capacity, please click here to learn more about our Mentor Program. Join us! All Alumnae are invited cheer on the soccer team at their home game against Archbishop Ryan on Friday, September 27. Come back on Saturday, September 28 and celebrate with your classmates at our annual Alumnae Reunion. All Alumnae are welcome! We'll be celebrating class years ending in '4' and '9'. Register here.
Do you have news or information you want to submit for publication in the Villa Joseph Marie Alumnae Newsletter? We want to hear from you! All submissions can be sent to alumnae@vjmhs.org. Submissions may be edited or omitted for space, clarity, or content at the sole discretion of the editor. We also welcome your questions, feedback, and suggestions. Thanks for reading the Villa Joseph Marie Alumnae Newsletter! |