7
COVER STORY
Making a Difference – with President Ronald Reagan in the Cabinet Room, The White House, 1982.
being able to see the blackboard,” she said. “She was right. I got glasses and sat on my front porch that summer and read and read and read. I was a straight A student in eighth grade. I credit her for saving me.” Duggin continued to excel when she went on to a Catholic high school. Her drive and smart wit made her stand out. She was selected to receive scholarships to attend Edgewood College. She followed in the footsteps of at least four others from her high school who had also attended Edgewood College. Duggin wanted to become a teacher, like her mother.
There are many, many memories. “I made such great friends and made some pretty amazing memories. One spring break, for example, we drove a VW beetle from Madison to Fort Lauderdale. We hit a cow in Kentucky, but that did not deter us from reaching Florida,” she said. “I also have fond memories of going to Wisconsin Dells and Janesville
In her junior year, she served as a student teacher at Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic School in Mobile - the same school she attended in seventh and eighth grade. After graduating in June of 1971, she took her degree back to Mobile, where she taught for two years at Holy Family Elementary School. However, her story is proof one can’t predict where the next fork in the road will lead. She left Mobile for Atlanta in 1973, to look for other opportunities. She met with a recruiting firm focused on helping women secure management positions. The firm was owned by two women who not only went to the same high school as Duggin, they also attended Edgewood College: Alexis Herman (who later in her career would serve as President Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Labor), and Paulette (Norvel) Lewis ’70. That connection led her down a new path. Alexis and Paulette helped Duggin secure a spot in the J.C. Penney’s management program. She relocated to Columbus, Georgia where she moved up the ranks as a manager. Yet another fork in the road led her to
FALL.16//EDGEWOOD COLLEGE MAGAZINE
“When I came to Edgewood College I was very shy and lacked confidence in myself,” she said. “The Sinsinawa Dominican sisters at Edgewood College nurtured me and helped me come out of my shell.”
with classmates over holidays because I could not afford to fly home for Thanksgiving.”