The Center for Faith, Action and Ministry at Saint Mary’s College recognized seniors who worked in the organization for their accomplishments during the annual Sister Rose Anne Schultz, C.S.C., Mission Awards and Appreciation Dinner, held on the evening of April 27 at Rice Commons.
The Mission Awards ceremony has existed as a way to honor women of the Holy Cross charism, beginning under Schultz with her establishment of the formerly named Office for Civic and Social Engagement, in an effort to celebrate the sisters’ ministry with service awards. Her work eventually led to the creation of the ministry assistant program, where students could work in both Campus Ministry and the Office of Residence Life to support young women in their spiritual growth. The service awards evolved to honor the work of students in ministry.
In 2018, the ceremony was inaugurated under Schultz‘s name to honor her accomplishments and work at Saint Mary‘s. Now, students gather to celebrate those who continue to live out her legacy, with support from the Division for Mission. The continued celebration recalls the sisters of the past and the history of the Holy Cross tradition in remembrance.
“It just connects our students to the community, like the Holy Cross family community, the Sisters of the Holy Cross community and the College community in a way that means so, that is just so true and seems so good,” vice president for mission Margaret Gower said.
The ceremony and dinner opened with a welcome speech from Gower and a prayer by Nicole Labadie, the director of CFAM.
The awards that were provided by Gower celebrated all those who have touched Saint Mary‘s, with five named after the lives and legacies of the Sisters of the Holy Cross and their impact in various domains. Two additional celebrated Saint Mary‘s alumnae, while the others honored the direct work of students in mission.
The Sister Kathleen Anne Nelligan, C.S.C. Award for Ministry was presented to senior Sara Caniglia and senior Francesca Munaretto received the Sister Olivia Marie Hutcheson Award for Service in the Health Field. The Sister Maria Concepta McDermott Award for Service in Education was awarded to junior Kimi Ortiz-Morales. The Sister Christine Healy Award for Service with Women was presented to senior Kyndal Christy.
Senior Kaitlynn Novak was awarded the Sister Olivette Whalen Award for General Service and senior Giselle Martinez received the Patricia Arch Green Award. Senior Lucy Hall was presented with the Jane O'Rourke Bender Award, senior Mary O'Connell was celebrated as the Mission Student Worker of the Year and the Mission Impact Award was given to junior Mikaila Esteban.
Students attended the Sister Rose Anne Schultz C.S.C. Mission Awards and Appreciation Dinner in Rice Commons of the Student Center to celebrate the accomplishments of seniors and juniors.
Thirty-two seniors were honored at the ceremony with the distribution of leadership cords handed to each by Labadie, with additional comments on their work given by Gower. All seniors were also handed a copy of Sister Madeleva‘s book of poetry, “The Four Last Things.” College president Katie Conboy personally handed each senior a copy of Sister Madeleva's book of poetry.
The award portion closed with a blessing by Labadie and a dinner to celebrate.
Gower reflected on the award ceremony, sharing her excitement about the awards, the students who received them and what they have instilled in her.
“Joy and inspiration. That‘s what I'm feeling. And maybe, if I could add one more thing? I also feel hope. These awards are a source of hope,” Gower said.
According to Novak, being a part of CFAM has helped in her understanding of social justice, with her role as a site leader in Beyond the Belle, a semester-based community engagement program.
“We talk a lot about the different ways that you can create social change and how they're all necessary and needed. So I think that I always feel empowered after I listen to that. Like, everybody has their part to play. And if we all do it together, we can make positive change, it‘s wonderful,” Novak shared.
Senior Grace Reyda, a volunteer at the Sustainable Farm, sees the dinner as a necessary celebration of what people in CFAM do every day.
“I think it‘s just important to recognize people for their hard work, and all the time, the commitment that they put in. It‘s something that they want to do and that‘s what they‘re passionate about. So you‘re rewarding them for really caring and trying to make this place always a little bit better than how they had when they came,” Reyda said.
Jessica Williams, the executive administrative assistant to the vice president for mission, works in the Division for Mission, where their work is split between CFAM and the Center for the Study of Spirituality. While these two organizations are distinct, Williams shared that both of the programs intend to help guide students in their formation of faith that they are able to carry into their daily lives.
“But both programs, both centers, are really focused on helping students stay connected to missions or stay connected to faith, which is really nice. You don’t really get that at a lot of different colleges and we don’t get that experience a lot, so the hope is that people can take that and use it in their day-to-day life, and then also build confidence in their faith,” Williams explained.
