Manor Voices

THE HEART AND SOUL OF MANOR COLLEGE

FOR MANY, ANNE KICZULA ‘71 IS THE FIRST PERSON THEY MEET AT MANOR COLLEGE. HER BASILIAN SPIRIT REFLECTS THE CORE OF WHAT THE INSTITUTION IS ALL ABOUT.

It’s seven o’clock in the morning and the aroma of freshly percolated coffee drifts through the hallways of Basileiad Manor. Anne Kiczula’s coffee at the Manor College front desk is the work of a legend.

For decades, Kiczula has started her morning taking out the large percolator, making her perfect - and secret - mixture of flavors and clicking on the pot. She lays sweet treats on the front desk along with any Manor College pens or stickers she has available and greets students, faculty and staff alike with the same, friendly, “Good morning! How are you?”

“What it is about the coffee,” said Mike Landis, a Manor College Professor and lover of Anne’s brew since 1994. “It’s parallel to understanding Anne’s magic.”

A LEGACY ON FOX CHASE ROAD

Kiczula grew up in the Nicetown neighborhood of Philadelphia, located in North Philadelphia just west of Hunting Park. Her parents, both Ukrainian immigrants, spoke only Ukrainian at home. When she went to school, she had to learn English, “because my parents said you had no other choice.”

Keeping to their Ukrainian roots, her parents sent Kiczula to St. Basil’s Academy in Jenkintown - a school started by the Ukrainian Sisters of Saint Basil the Great. After graduating from there in 1955, she began working at a photography studio on Broad Street.

Several years later, she read an ad in the paper for a secretary position at Manor Junior College.

“I came up here and made an appointment at the yellow house (the original Manor College building located near the horse barn where the college held its first classes),” Kiczula said. “I was interviewed, waited, and a week later I was hired.”

Kiczula began her work as a secretary, but when Mother of Perpetual Help Hall opened in 1961, Kiczula ran the bookstore. She attended classes at Manor Junior College, eventually graduating with her Associate’s Degree in Secretarial in 1971.

“My parents were happy about that,” Kiczula said. “They were great parents. They helped us and gave me the opportunity to go to college.”

YOU BELONG HERE, ALWAYS

Kiczula began working at the front desk on the first floor of Basileiad Manor in 1982, making Manor College’s 75th year her 40th year at the desk.

In that time, she’s seen major changes at the institution. Among the changes are the inclusion of men into the student body in 1988, the awarding of Bachelor degrees in 2018 and numerous renovations to all three buildings.

Kiczula was hired under

Manor College President Sister Euphrosyne Gewetchka. She’d work under five additional presidents - Sister Jerome Roman, Sister Olga Kisch, Sister Miriam Claire Kowal, the longest tenured president Sister Mary Cecilia Jurasinski, and the institution’s first lay and male president, Dr. Jonathan Peri.

What didn’t change was the You Belong Here culture - an environment cultivated long before the saying became the institution’s catchphrase.

“Manor was always this happygo-lucky place,” Kiczula said. “The students were wonderful. The faculty, the staff, the sisters - they were always so personable and helpful to anyone who needed it. Even if the sisters needed to go pray, they’d go and come back to help a student who needed it.”

A CARING LEGACY

Kizcula’s legacy at the desk stretches beyond a cup of coffee and a conversation.

“She’s the embodiment of the Basilian ethos - that community spiritedness,” Landis said. “You see it with the way she treats everybody. No one is higher than another. Even the delivery people who come in, she makes them feel comfortable and loved.”

Stasia Mento-Moloney ‘86, who worked at Manor College for two years after graduating, remembered when she returned as a member of the Board of Trustees in 2013.

“I was shocked that she remembered me,” Mento-Moloney said. “It’s hard to remember people from 1987 to 2013, that’s a long time.”

Mento-Moloney recalled while she was employed at Manor College, she’d talk to Kiczula and vent about whatever frustrations life threw her way. Kiczula listened - and offered wise advice.

“When we reconnected, Anne remembered all the details, not just who I was,” Mento-Moloney said. “You can tell that she really took the time to listen.”

Ruben Charmelus ‘16 began his friendship with Kiczula after working in the Marketing Communications Office at Manor. Every time he’d walk by her desk to go to the office, she’d strike up a conversation. The topic didn’t matter, but talking with Kiczula was a safe haven.

“Anne has a very specific personality where anybody from any background can come in and have a relationship with Anne,” Charmelus said. “If it wasn’t a Haitian born in New York like me, it could be someone from Ukraine. It could be someone from anywhere. Anne has this ability to create and cultivate relationships because she cares about you.”

Top, Anne Kiczula helps Father Horner fill his plate with traditional Easter dinner - Svyachene in 1971. The event was sponsored by the Ukrainian Club and was an annual affair at Manor College.

Right, Anne Kiczula answers the phone at her desk in 1980. She’s been the welcoming face at the front desk of the college for decades.

Far Right, Anne Kiczula dressed for dancing in traditional Ukrainian garb in 1956 as part of an event at Manor Junior College. Continued on next page >>

‘I KNOW I CAN GO TO HER’

Someone who knows Kiczula’s caring side better than most is Chrystyna Prokopovych, the Curator of the Ukrainian Heritage Studies Center at Manor College.

Prokopovych first remembers Kiczula being in her life in the late 1950s, as Kiczula and Prokopovych’s parents were close friends. When Prokopovych was in 7th grade, the dress she wore to the dance that year was from Anne. The families were close enough that they went fishing or to the mountains together.

“If I had to use a word to describe Anne, it would be kind,” Prokopovych said. “She’s a Mama Bear. She’d do anything to protect her family and help out anyone who needed it.”

One time stands out more than most. When Prokopovych’s mother died in 1983, her children stayed with her mother-in-law while Prokopovych went to the viewing. When she returned, Prokopovych entered the house to find Kiczula in the kitchen cooking Borshch - a traditional Ukrainian beet soup.

“She just made me feel like everything was going to be OK,” Prokopovych said. “She’s everybody’s mother. That’s the way I feel about it. No matter what I need, I know I can go to her.”

BUT WHAT MAKES THE COFFEE SO GOOD?

It’s the existential question that everybody asks when standing near Kiczula’s desk - what makes that coffee so great?

“I can’t tell you all the secrets, but everyone will ask,” Kiczula laughed. “The half and half is the secret to a good cup of coffee. That’s one.”

Prokopovych believes Anne’s recipe might have a touch of cinnamon. “I’ve tried to duplicate it, but I still haven’t figured it out,” she said.

Landis thinks it has something to do with the way it’s made - percolated, not dripped into a pot. But the real answer lies deeper - the physical coffee is great, but the fact that someone cares enough to make you a pot of joe every-singleday means so much more.

“It’s the way that she goes above and beyond to make sure you’re happy,” Mento-Moloney said. “She asks, ‘can I get you some water?’ or ‘ would you like a snack?’ and you know it’s coming from a place of love.”

Charmelus adds, “If you ever had an issue, she will go out of her way to solve that problem.”

That coffee, and Kiczula’s desk, are the heart of the institution. It’s not just that the coffee is good, but the decades of relationships developed at that desk with Kiczula at the center of it all.

“Her compassion makes people gravitate towards her,” Charmelus said. “She’s the cornerstone of this campus.”

Landis added, “She’s the embodiment of what makes Manor the place that it is. It’s something magical - it’s the feeling that you get with her. A true sense that you belong here.”

MANOR MEMORIES

“For my first year at Manor College, I lived in the dorms. That was a fabulous experience. We had curfews and if you were up too late, you were “grounded’ by having to stay on campus. Once a week, we had to go to 6:30 Mass - in the morning! Mother Julia would come in and wake us up.” − ANNE ‘BAMBI’ DEAROLF ‘67 (far left)

“Singapore is this small dot on the map. At Manor, I met people from Chicago, Alabama, all over the country. I’m going to miss how close everyone was.” − RAPHAEL AYENI ‘22

ALUM LIVES “A LIFE OF HELPING OTHERS” ACROSS THE WORLD

OLYA YARYCHKIVSKA, PH D ‘07 ATTRIBUTES MANOR COLLEGE WITH GIVING HER THE START AND DIRECTION NEEDED TO HAVE A CAREER IN BIOLOGY AND FUELING HER DESIRE TO HELP OTHERS.

The last line in Manor College’s mission statement reads, “Manor graduates are prepared to serve society effectively and compassionately.” Olya Yarychkivska, Ph D ‘07 embodies those words to perfection.

“I’m just trying to do my best and live a life of helping others,” Yarychkivska said. “I want to give back to others. That inspires me. These are the ways that I found to realize the talents that I have and what I can do.”

In her 15 years since graduating from Manor College, Yarychkivska started a pair of nonprofits – Razom, a group that serves to create, build towards a more prosperous Ukraine, and Save SMA Children, a subgroup of Razom aimed to provide treatment to children with spinal muscular atrophy.

Yarychkivska first heard about Manor College through the Ukrainian community. She enrolled in the institution not long after immigrating to the United States.

“It’s really quite known in that community as a perfect place to start your education,” Yarychkivska said. “It gave me the ability to get a jump start on my career.”

Manor College stood out immediately as a place where, if Yarychkivska needed help, she was able to find it quickly. Whether it was advice on financial aid, guidance from a beloved Chemistry teacher, or a friendly check in from Manor’s long standing receptionist, Anne Kiczula, she received personal assistance from just about everyone at the college.

Without Manor College, Yarychkivska believes she wouldn’t have had as much direction in her educational and professional career.

“I remember being a freshman when my chemistry teacher began talking to me about grad school,” she said. “I didn’t think

about graduate school as a freshman, but he pushed me in that direction early and showed me the experiences I needed to gain before then, and that really changed my trajectory.”

While at Manor College, Yarychkivska won the national and prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. After being nominated by Manor College faculty, the scholarship is awarded to students seeking to complete their education at four-year colleges. The scholarship opened her eyes to an entire network of scholars nationwide.

“They do this summer weekend where you go to Johns Hopkins, and I was extremely inspired,” Yarychkivska said. “The scholarship also gave me the financial security to continue my education and focus entirely on learning without needing a job. A true blessing.”

After graduating from Manor, she received her Bachelor’s degree in Biology/Biological Sciences from Drexel and a Doctorate of Philosophy from Columbia University in New York City.

Currently, she’s working at The Rockefeller University in New York City as a Postdoctoral Fellow, studying apoptotic linker cell death in C. elegans and mammals.

Had it not been for Manor College’s small class sizes and personalized attention, Yarychkivska believes her career may have been different.

“It was such a good thing for me to be in a small environment when I was getting accustomed to the future,” Yarychkivska said. “I got the support I needed from everyone in the Manor community and that really changed my trajectory.”

I remember being a freshman when my chemistry teacher began talking to me about grad school. I didn’t think about graduate school as a freshman, but he pushed me in that direction early and showed me the experiences I needed to gain before then, and that really changed my trajectory.

SPURRED BY BOYFRIEND’S DEATH, MANOR COLLEGE GRAD SEEKS LIFE IN LAW

SHERESA PALMER ‘22 BELIEVES MANOR COLLEGE GAVE HER THE CHANCE TO MAKE AN IMPACT, BOTH AT THE COLLEGE AND IN LIFE.

Sheresa Palmer ‘22 lives by the saying, “God only gives his battles to his toughest soldiers.”

“People look at me and say that you smile so much, you wouldn’t know you went through anything,” Palmer said. “But I’m not afraid to tell my story. There’s somebody else out there that has their own story and wants to get help, but just doesn’t know how to say it.”

While she was a student at Simon Gratz High School in North Philadelphia, Palmer wasn’t interested in dating and focused on her schoolwork. That was until she met Jeffrey Jarvis.

“There was something about him where I could just be his friend,” Palmer said. “We ended up becoming best friends.”

The pair became high school sweethearts. Jarvis loved her determination and being “a whole woman” that focused on her goals. Palmer gave birth to the couple’s son, Jay’len Jarvis, in 2014.

“When we got together, he told me, ‘I’m ready to treat you right,’” Palmer said. “God brought us together.”

Palmer knew Jarvis lived a dangerous life growing up around drugs. She knew his upbringing and would ask why he sold drugs, but never knew how deep things were.

“He never brought it around me,” Palmer said. “But that was his environment. He was around people that only sold drugs.”

Palmer knew the harsh reality of the streets. In her words, there’s only two ways out – jail or death – but she often prayed for a third way out for Jarvis.

In November 2015, she had a dream that he was murdered. A few days later, she received a text from him saying, “Sheresa, I’m sorry. I love you and I’m happy I had my child with you.”

“You knew something was happening,” Palmer said. “He was letting bygones be bygones with me.”

On the evening of December 22, 2015, Palmer returned home from Christmas shopping with Jay’len when she got a call from her friend.

Jarvis was shot ten times, including four times in the chest, on North Carlisle Street. An ambulance rushed Jarvis to the hospital before Palmer arrived on scene. He died that evening.

Growing up and seeing Jarvis’ lifestyle – knowing that it came out of his surroundings – inspired Palmer to pursue a career in criminal justice.

“I want to make an impact on drugs, sexual assault and more,” Palmer said. “There’s more factors that go into a ruling than whether someone is guilty or innocent.”

She transferred into Manor College after another institution shut down.

“When the school shut down, I questioned what I should do,”

Palmer said. “I didn’t want to be on my deathbed thinking I should’ve done something. I had to get up and find a school. Then I found Manor.”

At Manor College, she found an environment with professors that supported her.

“Manor College was welcoming and I prayed on it,” Palmer said. “I knew I could make an impact. Professor Mary Sims made sure I got where I needed to. I could call her any time of night. She helped me with papers and looked out for me.”

Palmer made her Manor College career count. She was nominated in 2020 for the Mother Josaphat Award – the institution’s highest student award. She received the Unsung Hero award from Manor’s Student Affairs team for “putting her heart and soul into everything she does, even when the work goes unrecognized.” Palmer also served as a member of Rotaract, Social Justice Club and the Women’s Soccer team.

Professor Sims remembered a time where, after a Rotaract meeting, Palmer left and returned with a gigantic bag of clothes for Manor’s Career Closet.

“She always does her best, even when she has so much to do as a full-time Mom and employee,” Professor Sims said. “She’s very caring, involved and has done so much for the causes at Manor College.”

Palmer earned her Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Manor College in 2020. She graduated with her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice Administration in May 2022. During

her college career, she interned with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.

She continues to work with the office to this day. A week before graduation, she received a promotion and became a training coordinator. Her job guides the training team in preparing legal internship programs and training for the newest class of lawyers studying the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Palmer is currently taking Masters Courses in Forensic Psychology at Neumann University and is studying for the LSAT. She hopes to pursue a doctorate degree. Her ultimate goal, however, is to become a voice for the voiceless and an advocate for those needing help.

“I didn’t have that role model when I was growing up,” Palmer said. “My family raised me well, but sometimes you need a little extra push when you think you’re going to give up. I tell my son, ‘I don’t care about how anybody else feels, you have a voice. You are who you are. Stick up for yourself and keep going until you achieve what you want.’”

Manor College was welcoming. I knew I could make an impact. Professor Mary Sims made sure I got where I needed to.

Left, Palmer always tells her son, Jay’len, to have a voice and to stick up for himself. “Keep going until you achieve what you want.”

Right, Sheresa Palmer after she received a nomination for the Mother Josaphat Medal in 2020.

Manor College allowed me to mature and grow. Being at Manor allowed me to have time to myself, which was important to make my family proud after all that they have done to get me here. − RIMMON GREENIDGE ‘03

INSPIRED BY EXPERIENCE, MANOR COLLEGE ALUM SERVING AS ICU NURSE

ALDRIN REGINALD ‘20 SAID HE STILL USES SKILLS HE LEARNED AT MANOR COLLEGE IN HIS NURSING CAREER.

As a child, Aldrin Reginald ‘20 spent a large chunk of time in and out of hospitals with chronic respiratory issues. His respiratory system was very sensitive to the environment and dust. Just getting through days without sneezing and throwing up was rough.

“There’s dust everywhere,” Reginald said. “We tried a bunch of different medications, but nobody knew what to do with it.”

Over time, Reginald grew out of his respiratory issues, but the condition left a more positive mark in his life – a love for health care.

“Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to work in a hospital,” Reginald said. “I wanted to make an impact in the recovery of patients and, because I spent so much time in hospitals as a kid, I wanted to find a way to give back. Knowing that people made a difference in my life and knowing I can do that for someone else helped me build my own experiences.”

Today, Reginald lives his childhood dream, serving as a nurse in the Neurological Intensive Care Unit at Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience in Philadelphia.

“It all just fell into place,” Reginald said. “I didn’t know what unit I was applying for until I met the manager.

The ICU isn’t normally given to young nurses. It’s not uncommon to see patients hooked up to numerous machines to keep them alive. Patients can fail or pass away in an instant, Reginald said.

“The first day I showed up, my heart sank,” Reginald said. “Walking in, I looked into one room and the first emotion I saw in the patient’s eyes was fear. That was rough.”

He started the unit in an externship program last year, but was hired in July to work in the unit full time. Along the way, others on the staff eased him into the pressures of the unit. They started by introducing him to the different machines and processes first before letting him work with patients.

“I’ve gotten used to it now, the flows and unpredictableness of the environment,” Reginald said. “It’s normal to be uncomfortable. It’s what allows you to do your job well. No one working in an ICU should be comfortable, it’s what allows you to act quickly if a patient fails.”

Reginald credits his career in nursing to the guidance he received while attending Manor College. He first found the institution after several high school friends attended classes here.

“It was a place where I wouldn’t feel as intimidated,” Reginald said. “Bigger schools can be a lot mentally. I knew coming to Manor would mean smaller class sizes and a tight community to support me.”

That support paid off later in college when he decided to change his major to pursue a nursing path.

“I kept trying to figure out what to do with my degree and I ended up speaking with Dr. Julie Senecoff and she helped me figure out the path I should take,” Reginald said. “When I said I wanted to pursue nursing, she helped me find a path and search for nursing schools after I received my degree.”

Reginald says coming to Manor College was vital to his nursing career.

“I don’t have the words to describe how Manor helped me, but they helped me through everything I needed,” Reginald said. “Whether it was Dr. Senecoff, Coach John Dempster helping me as an international student or Dr. Jonathan Peri providing me insight, everyone did what they could to see me succeed.

“Even at work, I still use things that I learned at Manor,” Reginald said. “Even if it’s not a health care class, there’s something you can use in your everyday life. Absorb everything you can.”

Aldrin Reginald ’20 poses with Dr. Jonathan Peri during a recent visit to Manor College.

Davion Chaney (left) poses for a photo with Manor College Professor Kim Farmer at the 2022 Commencement Ceremony in May.

CAREGIVER TURNS LEGACY OF HELPFULNESS INTO CAREER PATH

DAVION CHANEY ’22 JUMPED AT THE CHANCE TO HELP HIS GRANDMOTHER AFTER YEARS OF WATCHING HER CARE FOR OTHERS.

Everyone is safe and at home with Gloria Parkin. “Ms. G” or “Ms. Gloria”, as most of the Mount Airy neighborhood knows her, takes pride in being the bubbly face that helps people get on their feet.

As the oldest of 13 children, she arrived first from Jamaica, and once she got situated in Philadelphia with her own children, opened the door for her own siblings and friends to make it here.

“She’s the kindest person you’ve ever met,” her grandson, Davion Chaney ‘22, said. “When people fall flat on their face and need a place to stay, she’s the one they go to.”

When Ms. Gloria needed help after having a stroke and being diagnosed with dementia, Chaney sprung into action.

“I didn’t want to see her go into a nursing home,” Chaney said. “I wanted to take care of her rather than asking a stranger to do it.”

Before Ms. Gloria’s diagnosis, Chaney (Northeast High School) had been pursuing a degree in computer science at Manor College. When working at the Northeast Family YMCA and attending classes became too much, he withdrew.

During his first years at the YMCA, Chaney discovered a love for working with children. He already had experience working with children since his mother served as a foster parent.

“I witnessed a lot of things that happened to children before they came to my mom,” Chaney said. “I saw how she helped people and that’s also what I wanted to do.”

After speaking to the childcare director at the YMCA, Chaney returned to Manor College. He continued to take care of his grandmother while he took classes but knew he needed that push to cross the finish line.

“There were plenty of times I almost gave up,” Chaney said. “Dr. Cherie Crosby-Weeks and Ms. Elinore Leonards, they were on top of me. They kept saying, ‘This is your year to graduate’ and helped me get through.”

On May 12, 2022, Ms. Gloria watched through Facetime as Chaney walked across the graduation stage to receive his degree. He returned that afternoon and gave the degree to her to take a photo. Through the challenge of working through classes, growing his career and life as a caretaker, Chaney achieved his dream – an achievement he credits to Manor College.

“Manor is a place where they want to see you succeed,” Chaney said. “Manor makes you feel like you’re at home and you never have to worry about getting the help you need.”

Chaney plans to take a semester off and return to Manor College to begin work on his Bachelor’s degree. He hopes to open a group home for teen boys, helping the same children that his mom helped years ago.

“I don’t want it to be a group home, I want it to be a home home,” Chaney said, “the kind of home where Christmas comes and the living room is full of gifts. This is a home where they can be loved.”

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Everyone who has walked the halls at Manor College has made an indelible mark on the institution, but some have left an even greater, lasting impact. These movers and shakers are the ones who helped make the college what it is today.

We’ve interviewed a few of them who are part of the college to celebrate our 75th Anniversary. You can find their interviews by searching for Manor College on Spotify, or by scanning the QR codes.

DR. CHERIE CROSBY-WEEKS has been part of the Manor College community for the past 11 years. She’s the Director of Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes, Program Director of Teacher Education and Professor of Early Childhood Education. During this chat, Dr. Crosby-Weeks talks about her career, why she thinks Manor is such an important place, and her favorite books - both for adults and children.

PROFESSOR MIKE LANDIS is the Chair of Humanities and Social Sciences Division of Arts and Sciences at Manor College. He’s been with the institution since Spring 1994. During this conversation, he talks about the differences between the early 1990s and today, what Manor College students have taught him and his prior life in Alaska.

CHRYSTYNA PROKOPOVYCH has been the Curator of the Ukrainian Heritage Studies Center at Manor College for 29 years. She talks about the center’s importance, her ties to the Ukrainian community, and the “embroidery factory” her family had growing up.

GINA BURKE ‘82 EMBODIES “ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT”

AS A CO-OWNER OF TREVI ITALIAN RESTAURANT IN GLENSIDE AND A FARMERS INSURANCE AGENT, GINA DISALVO BURKE ‘82 KNOWS WHAT IT MEANS TO START SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS VENTURES FROM THE GROUND UP.

The entrepreneurial spirit is a quality embedded in a person’s DNA. It’s a constant desire that drives someone to go out on their own and work towards something they’re passionate about.

Gina DiSalvo Burke ‘82 would know that better than anyone. It’s why the Manor College graduate owns two local businesses, including TreVi, a delicious Italian Restaurant and Winery in Glenside.

Burke believes Manor College sparked that entrepreneurial spirit. One of her business professors owned his own restaurant in addition to teaching. That, combined with her job at a pretzel bakery, influenced her career as an entrepreneur.

Burke grew up in Philadelphia and came to Manor College from Melrose Academy. She was looking for a small, local campus and Manor fit that description. While at Manor, she became part of the founding members of a business club and served as its treasurer.

“I just wanted to be engaged with Manor,” Burke said. “The students and community were important to me, and the things I learned there at Manor and with the club still apply to my current life.”

She utilized those skills during her biggest challenge as an entrepreneur. In January 2020, Burke’s son suggested that TreVi should set up an online ordering system. Two months later, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the system became a vital cog of the business’s survival.

“Thank God we did that, because our online orders started rolling in and it just took off,” Burke said. “We had the tools in place to accept the demand, although it could be overwhelming at some points.”

As Burke navigated her businesses through the pandemic, she continued to lean on her education from Manor College.

“Manor College provided me the education to know how to manage and market myself,” Burke said. “It’s amazing to think about what you’re learning in the classroom and how it’s going to be applied to your life.”