Regis Today Spring 2016

Spring 2016

MISSION DRIVEN Samantha Dutily ’97 charts her course in the U.S. Navy

45795cvr1.indd 1

5/2/16 10:29 PM

True to Our Roots Regis remains rooted in the values and charism set forth by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston in 1927. A Catholic university that is big enough to lead and small enough to care, Regis serves its students, its neighbors, its country, and the world.

Miriam Finn Sherman ’98 Vice President, Institutional Advancement miriam.sherman@regiscollege.edu Alexis Baum Director of Advancement Communications Editor | alexis.baum@regiscollege.edu

Board of Trustees 2016 Chair Joan C. Shea, MBA

Sabina T. Herlihy ’81, JD Kathleen S. Jose ’87, ’94, MSN, RN Lee Hogan, CSJ, ’61, PhD (Secretary)

Members

Ruth Sanderson Kingsbury ’57

Carole F. Barrett ’63, JD

Kate Korzendorfer

Kristen L. Walsh Managing Editor | kristen.write@comcast.net

Ernest Bartell, CSC, PhD (Emeritus)

Peter Langenus, JD

Lilly Pereira Designer | lillypereira.com

Marian Batho, CSJ, ’70

Regis Today is published twice a year. © 2016, Regis College, Weston, Massachusetts. All rights reserved.

The opinions expressed in Regis Today are those of the authors and not necessarily of Regis College.

Rosemary Brennan, CSJ, ’70, MEd, MDiv

Please send address changes to: Office of Institutional Advancement and Alumni Relations, Regis College, 235 Wellesley Street, Weston, MA 02493-1571 or call 781.768.7220 or online at regiscollege.edu.

Kathleen Dawley ’79

Anita Brennan-Sarmiento ’77

Meyer Chambers, MLM Hans Christensen, MBA Maureen Doherty, CSJ, ’68, MEd Mary Anne Doyle, CSJ, ’67, PhD Camille Ferazzi ’69 Michael J. Halloran, MBA (Treasurer) Antoinette M. Hays, PhD, RN

45795cvr2-p01.indd 2

Mary Ann Walsh Lewis ’74 Jacquelyn McCarthy, CSJ, MA, RN, LNHA Kathy McCluskey, CSJ, ’71, PhD Peter Minihane, MS, CPA Glenn Morris, AIA, IIDA Kathleen O’Hare ’69 Thomas P. O’Neill III, MPA Joseph H. Petrowski Jane Cronin Tedder ’66, EdD John Tegan Jr., MEd (Chair-Elect) Richard W. Young, PhD (Emeritus)

5/2/16 10:34 PM

regıs g inside

Features

12 Bridging Cultures

Nathalie Davidson ’13, ’14, reflects on how the Haiti Project helped her learn the importance of communication and respect when serving others, and how it informs her career today.

16 Mission Responsible

A journey into life and service as a Regis Lay Apostle, and how Sister John Sullivan, CSJ, started it all.

22 New Directions

How Regis North is guiding the community, the healthcare industry, and students in new directions.

26 Navigating a True Course U.S. Navy Commander Samantha Dutily ’97 leads her crew with dignity and compassion as they serve their country and the world.

Departments

02 03

Dear Neighbor The Sisters of St. Joseph continue to guide the Regis legacy.

Tower Views Commencement 2016; new master’s degree in occupational therapy; women’s basketball champions.

08 10

In My Own Words Junior Yasmin Aguilar gains new perspectives on the Peru service trip.

32

Looking Ahead

35

Find out how Lorraine Schoen ’06, ’07, took her nursing career to the next level.

36

Alumni Together Gatherings and events keep alumni connected.

In Memoriam Remembering alumni who have passed away.

Hearts & Minds The Special Olympics is a win-win for all.

On the cover U.S. Navy Commander Samantha Dutily ’97. Photo by Kathleen Dooher.

45795cvr2-p01.indd 3

5/2/16 10:34 PM

dear

2 REGIS TODAY

American Catholic higher education has often been in the news since the U.S. bishops, the Vatican, and Catholic college and university presidents worked out an understanding of the diversity of charisms and unity of Catholic intellectual and social justice vision inspiring our campuses at the time of Ex Corde Ecclesiae.

The discussion has heated up lately, however, as Don Briel, Kenneth Goodpaster, and Michael Naughton, all from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, challenge what they call “teleopathy,” or the focus on limited goals as if they were ultimate aims; the rationalization of those aims or goals as if they were the purpose of the institution; and the eventual detachment of the institution from its fundamental purpose or “reason for being” (“Our Reason for Being,” America, Feb. 1, 2016, pp. 14–17).

Our neighbor, David O’Brien, Professor Emeritus of History at the College of the Holy Cross, wrote in to America to say simply that Briel, Goodpaster, and Naughton were wrong (Feb. 22, 2016). The “reason for being” argument is fine “for a confessional college” or for a “set-apart Catholic studies program,” O’Brien wrote, but “For a Catholic university, as for any serious and responsible American Catholic, a sense of shared responsibility for the common life, not a counter-cultural critique of everybody but us, is the best starting point for the intellectual life, as it is for citizenship and, indeed, for discipleship. The practice of genuine dialogue about fundamental human questions, and the pursuit with others for the unity of the human family, are central and enormously important elements of contemporary intellectual and cultural life. Catholics have much to contribute to this work. But they will best do so when they take up that work from inside, in genuine solidarity, with all others.”

As well, Matthew N. Schmalz, associate professor of religious studies at Holy Cross, has noted the variety of issues (from branding to identity to applicant pools to economics to tradition) that must go into current board and administrative decision-making today in the “tapestry-like” evolution of Catholic higher education in the U.S. (cruxnow.com, Feb. 25, 2016).

What we decide at any given moment in history about knowledge as theory and knowledge as practice and open or closed intellectual pursuits will inevitably be different from prior historical decisions because Catholic higher education does insert itself into a changing educational environment and an increasingly divided world. However, the charism, heritage, and values of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston, who founded and sponsor Regis, help us have a broad, both-and perspective rather than a narrow one of either-or.

The Sisters’s combined Salesian emphasis on gentleness and Jesuit vision of pursuing excellence and finding God in all things means that in its academic and its social position, Regis today must continue to be both true and thoughtful regarding its heritage and also mobile and flexible in its response to the needs of the dear neighbor. The world in which we live is rapidly shifting how we shall implement our legacy at Regis, and we must consciously discuss all these matters as an aspect of our current strategic planning.

Antoinette M. Hays, PhD, RN PRESIDENT

45795p02-07.indd 2

Photo (left) Brian Smith (right) Holly Redmond

neighbor

5/2/16 10:40 PM

DEDICATION

The beautiful patio in front of St. Joseph Hall is now known as The Luben Plaza, named in honor of Joseph and Mary Luben, parents of alumna Patricia Luben O'Hearn ’64. Several classmates, Luben-O’Hearn family members, and President Hays attended the dedication on December 6, 2015, which was blessed by Father Paul Kilroy.

45795p02-07.indd 3

5/2/16 10:40 PM

“Excellence Tempered By Gentleness” and “Welcoming All Without Distinction”—two core values of the CSJs—are engraved on the side of the Maria Hall Extension, which opened in September 2015 as part of the first phase of the campus Master Plan.

4

Nearly nine decades after founding Regis, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston continue to be the driving force behind the educational values of the institution, instilling a sense of service and leadership in all who live, study, and work at the university. The Congregation has also continued to provide financial support, giving generously to the Regis Fund every year.

The Congregation recently committed $1 million to Regis—its largest-ever contribution—which will be given over the next five years.

“We are pleased to make a significant donation to Regis at this time,” says Rosemary Brennan, CSJ, ’70, president of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston. “We are committed to helping Regis continue to be an outstanding educational institution that is rooted in the charism and values of the Sisters of St. Joseph. By designating our gift as unrestricted, we allow the leadership and trustees of Regis to decide how best to use the funds.”

Unrestricted funds support a myriad of programs and initiatives that ensure an exceptional student experience—community service projects, financial

45795p02-07.indd 4

aid, athletics, technology acquisitions, student government, study abroad opportunities, and more.

The Congregation’s gift will strengthen the university’s operating budget and overall flexibility.

“This is a remarkable and impactful gift from the Sisters of St. Joseph,” says Miriam Finn Sherman ’98, vice president of institutional advancement. “Their steadfast support throughout the years—and now this five-year pledge at a time of such incredible growth for Regis—is inspiring and transformative. Their generosity will enable future generations to reap the rewards of a CSJrooted education.”

Regis has certainly evolved to meet the needs of current students, but the CSJs know that at its core, the school is very much the same.

Says Sister Rosemary: “We are proud that Regis is leading the way in educating global citizens in the 21st century while following in the footsteps of our founding Sisters. As the sponsor, we will continue to support Regis’s innovative programs and partnerships as a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston.”

Photo: Anton Grassl

REGIS TODAY

CSJs Pledge $1 Million to Regis

5/9/16 1:35 PM

MAGAZINE SURVEY

We want to hear from you!

Regis Today is published twice a year for the Regis community and we want you to love it. Take a few moments to complete a survey about the magazine.

We appreciate and look forward to your invaluable feedback. tinyurl.com/RegisTodayMag

BE SOCIAL facebook.com/ regiscollegealumni facebook.com/ regiscollegema

instagram.com/ regis_ma

twitter.com/ regiscollege_ma

youtube.com/user/ regiscollegeweston

CLASS NOTES Class Notes is published in fall issues of Regis Today. Notes for the Fall 2016 issue will be due on August 12, 2016. Each class is limited to 750 words.

News may be submitted to your class reporter or directly to Institutional Advancement and Alumni Relations.

Email classnotes@regiscollege.edu Mail 235 Wellesley St., Box 30 Weston, MA 02493

45795p02-07.indd 5

Weddings @ REGIS

IF WEDDING PLANS ARE ON THE AGENDA, THINK ABOUT REGIS!

The historical Morrison House can be used for bridal showers or as space for the bridal party before the festivities begin. Indoor ceremonies can be held in the chapel. Or, plan an outdoor ceremony in the Tower Garden; the grounds and gardens will help capture the romance of the day. The Grand Foyer and Parterre provide an elegant reception setting for up to 125 guests. The foyer is adorned with beautiful artwork, classic antiques, and a marble dance floor. The Parterre—with its magnificent columns—is rich with distinctive architecture and an ideal setting for a cocktail reception overlooking the grounds. Bonus: Regis faculty, alumni, and current staff receive a discount. For more information, please contact Elizabeth Eross, director of conference services and special events, at elizabeth.eross@regiscollege.edu or 781.768.7322.

New Trustees Jacquelyn McCarthy, CSJ, RN, LNHA, is CEO and administrator at Bethany Health Care Center. Under her leadership, the center was named to the list of top 100 women-led businesses in Massachusetts in 2014. The following year, she received the Eli Pick Facility Leadership Award from the American College of Health Care Administrators. McCarthy previously served as administrator at Wingate at Brighton, assistant administrator at Sancta Maria Nursing Facility, and director of nursing at Bethany Health Care Center. She is a member of the American College of Health Care Administrators, healthcare consultant for the National Religious Retirement Office, member of the Department of Public Health Informal Dispute Resolution Board, and board member of Elizabeth Seton/Marillac Residence. She received a master’s degree in healthcare administration from Framingham State University.

Kathleen S. Jose ’87, ’94, RN, is former chief nursing officer and senior vice president of Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, Massachusetts. As a senior leader, she oversaw the highest quality of patient care and created operational programs that ensured quality and improved patient satisfaction.

She managed an $80-million budget with approximately 1,200 full-time positions, and led the cross-functional team that successfully took Lahey to Magnet Status in 2009—an award given by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), an affiliate of the American Nurses Association.

Jose is a member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society, among others. She received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in nursing from Regis.

5/9/16 1:35 PM

Commencement May 7, 2016

REGIS TODAY 45795p02-07.indd 6

Religious and political leader Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, presented the address at the 86th Commencement ceremony and received an honorary Doctorate of Law from Regis. Executive director of NETWORK, she leads cross-country “Nuns on the Bus” trips to focus attention on public policy issues, advocates for systemic change, and speaks to social justice by addressing economic justice, comprehensive immigration reform, and voter turnout.

Her work also elevates attention to Pope Francis’s message of creating a more inclusive world economy.

At the ceremony, world-renowned scientist and humanitarian Paul Farmer, MD, received an honorary Doctorate of Science degree. Dr. Farmer is chair of the Harvard Medical School Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, founding director of Partners In Health, and professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He has collaborated on the Regis College Haiti Project, and now serves as the United Nations Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on CommunityBased Medicine and Lessons from Haiti and on the PIH Board that aims to help the world realize healthcare as a fundamental human right.

Photo: Matthew Cerullo

6 ATH L E TI C S

On the Court After winning its fourth consecutive New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Tournament, the Regis women’s basketball team headed to the NCAA first round championship for the fourthstraight year—ending a historic season with a No. 10 NCAA regional ranking and an 18-0 NECC regular season record, finishing 24-4 overall.

Head Coach Angela Santa Fe was named NECC Coach of the Year for the third-straight season. Junior forward Amanda Hawkesworth (Abington, Massachusetts) was named NECC Player of the Year. She was also named to the All-NECC First Team for the second straight season, joined by frontcourt partner Brittany Stone ’18 (West Bridgewater, Massachusetts).

Four-time conference champion Taylor Bunkley ’16 (Carmel, New York) was selected to the NECC All-Sportsmanship Team.

5/2/16 10:41 PM

+ Focus on Health

Achieving Excellence

MASTER’S PROGRAM BLENDS

REGIS RECEIVES NURSING EDUCATION AWARD FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE TIME

The Master of Science in Occupational Therapy at Regis—a new program as of January 2016—uses evidence-based practice and a functional, hands-on approach to teach students how to evaluate, integrate, and apply the principles of occupational therapy. This includes the skills to analyze individual needs, problem-solve, create appropriate interventions, and communicate effectively with clients, families, and other professionals.

“We do an excellent job of taking the history and philosophy of the profession of occupational therapy and blending it with a real-world perspective and an appreciation for service and altruism,” says Michael Roberts, program director and associate professor.

Faculty field experience enhances the connection between the classroom and the clinic. Small class sizes and ties to Regis’s School of Nursing and School of Health Sciences help ensure that, in addition to academic preparation, students walk away with the communication and professional skills necessary for today’s healthcare industry.

The program has attracted students from New England, California, New York, New Jersey, and the Midwest. Students will complete a total of 74 credit hours, which includes didactic classes and labs, initial fieldwork and observation, and two 12-week field experiences. Graduates will be prepared to take the certification exam administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy.

“Our focus is not just on generating successful practitioners, but also on developing leaders who understand the value of service for others; occupational therapists who seek a better world for our dear neighbor.”

45795p02-07.indd 7

7 SPRING 2016

The National League for Nursing (NLN) named Regis a “Center of Excellence in Nursing Education” for the third consecutive time (2008–2011; 2011–2015; 2015–2019). Regis is one of three schools in New England and of 40 across the country chosen as NLN Centers of Excellence™ that demonstrate sustained, evidence-based, and substantive innovation in nursing education. The award was presented at the NLN Education Summit in Las Vegas on October 2, 2015.

“This third continuous recognition comes with an acknowledgment again of how we at Regis have created environments that enhance student learning and professional development, a characteristic that many of the centers of excellence named in 2015 also share,” said Diane Welsh, DNP, associate professor and associate dean of nursing at Regis, as she accepted the award at the Las Vegas summit.

Regis was the first school of nursing in New England to earn the designation in 2008, noted for its commitment to cultural diversity, lifelong learning, empowerment, caring, and promoting the health of communities. In both 2011 and 2015, NLN acknowledged Regis for student-centered environments enhancing learning and professional development.

“I am extremely proud of the work of the faculty and staff to make ours a true program of excellence,” says Nancy Bittner, PhD, vice president for education and professor of nursing for the Lawrence Memorial/Regis College Nursing Program. “These recognitions do not happen by accident. They happen because we are truly focused on the student and on providing an excellent education that will provide our graduates with the skills to become the finest and best-prepared nursing professionals.”

SKILLS + SERVICE

5/2/16 10:41 PM

words

in my own

Yes We Can B Y YA S MIN A GU IL A R ’1 7

8 REGIS TODAY Aguilar with her grandmother in 2015.

45795p08-09.indd 8

Psychology major Yasmin Aguilar recently took part in the 11th-annual spring break service-learning trip to Villa El Salvador, Peru, where Regis students serve in solidarity with Peruvians of all ages to contribute to the community and make a difference. Aguilar opens up and reflects on the life-changing experience.

It was Orientation Day at Regis on a hot summer afternoon in July 2013. As I walked into the College Hall Chapel, several orientation leaders were sitting on benches anxiously waiting to tell their stories to new students like me. The student who stood out to me spoke about her service experience in Peru. The more I heard about her trip, the more I was interested in applying. But I felt something holding me back; I was nervous that visiting Peru would remind me of El Salvador, the country I fled from 15 years earlier. The opportunity piqued my interest, but I wasn’t emotionally prepared. I needed to wait.

I moved to Everett, Massachusetts, from El Salvador at the tender age of six. Back home I was raised by my grandmother—the strongest woman I know. She is more than just my grandmother; she is my hero. I remember her volunteering at church and always loving to help others. Looking back, I’m grateful that she instilled her positive values in me at such a young age—because of her I grew up learning

to serve others and appreciate life. We did not have much, but we were happy and appreciated everything that we did have.

Two years after hearing about the Peru service trip, it was still in the back of my mind. Entering my junior year, I found the courage to step out of my comfort zone and apply to travel this spring.

And the rest is history.

My first day in Villa El Salvador started off with facing another fear of mine—a fear of heights. On our way to visit a clinic, we walked alongside a cliff looking down over the caserio (a group of houses built right next to each other). My heart was beating quickly and my hands were shaking as we walked just two feet from the cliff. Tim Stamoulis, resident director of Domitilla Hall and trip mentor, encouraged me to take a deep breath and face my fear.

With the support of my Regis classmates and mentors, I made it.

The week that followed was filled with inspiring and rewarding experiences. Throughout it all, I was struck by how humble the Peruvians were. They did not have much, but they were always smiling and asking us if we were comfortable. As we cleaned a

5/2/16 10:42 PM

“Their energy and love for life was refreshing: We were there to help them, but they wanted to help us too.”

9 SPRING 2016

public park, a little boy came up to me and asked if he could help. He walked with me around the whole park and never complained. When we visited some elderly folks in a nursing home, they were eager to put on a fashion show for us—all made with recycled supplies.

Their energy and love for life was refreshing: We were there to help them, but they wanted to help us too.

I was reminded of my uncles and cousins who disappeared in the Civil War of El Salvador when we visited El Ojo que Llora (the “Crying Eye” Monument), a memorial to commemorate people who were killed or disappeared during the time of the Shining Path terrorism in Peru. As I walked through the labyrinth, I read the names of hundreds of victims—children, teenagers, elders. It pained me that these people never had a chance to say goodbye. I thought of my own family when I noticed a group of stones with “Aguilar,” my last name, engraved on them.

45795p08-09.indd 9

My grandmother is right: Service is a way to feed your soul by giving back. Regis gave me an amazing opportunity that opened my eyes to new perspectives, and I hope to return to Villa El Salvador to do a week-long internship. After I graduate I want to continue to serve, one day doing a solidarity trip to the country where I was born—El Salvador.

That week I grew immensely as a volunteer, a student, and a person. I went to Peru not knowing what to expect, and it was more rewarding than I could have imagined. Every conversation, smile, tear, hug, and experience will always be in my heart.

Si se puede! (Yes we can!)

5/9/16 1:37 PM

ahead looking

Pursuing Her Passion IN T E RV IE W B Y A L E XIS B A U M

10 REGIS TODAY

Lorraine Schoen ’06, ’07, is one to follow her passions. After beginning her nursing career at New England Rehabilitation Hospital in Woburn, Massachusetts, she transitioned to pediatric home care and the Franciscan Hospital for Children, where management roles sparked an interest in nursing administration. That’s where Regis comes in. A bachelor’s degree in nursing, then a master’s degree, helped her secure directorship positions in a long-term care facility, then a home care agency.

Today, she is director of clinical affairs at the Massachusetts Hospital Association (MHA). And she is once again enrolled at Regis—now in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program with an expected graduation in 2019. Here, Schoen talks about her journey as a practitioner, leader, and Regis student and alumna.

When you decided to enroll at Regis, what was your ultimate goal? When I wanted to explore new

employment opportunities, I felt as though I needed to further my education to obtain the jobs I wanted; so I decided to go back to school. I was nervous I wouldn’t have time, but I found Regis’s six-course certificate program in nursing administration. After receiving my certificate, I was hooked.

You earned your Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2006, your Master of Science in Nursing in 2007, and now you’re working on your Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. What keeps you coming back to Regis to continue your nursing education? Regis

is like home. The professors are the backbone of the school—they inspire me, challenge me to think beyond the status quo, and push me to be my best.

45795p10-11.indd 10

In addition to the great faculty, the peer-to-peer learning approach has been such an asset to my education here. Sharing expertise and learning from other students is invaluable, and now I have a strong network of Regis colleagues in many different sectors of healthcare around New England.

Do you have a mentor or professor who has made your academic journey particularly great? Two

professors have made my experience at Regis lifechanging. My first professor, Fran Klempner, pulled me aside after the first class because I think I had the deer-in-headlights look. She encouraged me to pursue my educational goals and she was there every step of the way if I needed help. Unfortunately she passed away before I graduated and I never thanked her for being the one who lit an educational flame within me.

Penny Glynn [dean of the School of Nursing] picked up right where Fran left off. She was a professor, mentor, coach, therapist, and friend who always pushed me outside of my comfort zone to explore complex concepts and theories.

How has Regis changed the course of your career and your life? At Regis I found that I have

a passion for healthcare legislation, and I traveled to Washington to take part in the Nurses in Washington Internship to speak with legislators about important healthcare issues. The experience has helped me in my current position as director of clinical affairs at MHA. I want to make a greater difference in healthcare—not just within an organization, but across the continuum of care at the state and national levels to enact global change.

5/9/16 1:38 PM

“Regis is like home home. The professors are the backbone of the school— they inspire me, challenge me to think beyond the status quo, and push me to be my best.”

What has been your favorite experience or memory from your time at Regis? I’ll never forget the feeling

of accomplishment when I walked across that commencement stage to receive my master’s degree. When I started at Regis, I thought I just wanted the sixcourse certificate. Now, 12 years later, I am a Doctor of Nursing Practice student and I could not be happier that I’m back at Regis expanding my mind once again.

You’re a member of two Regis boards: the Nursing Advisory Board and the Alumni Board of Directors.

Why is volunteering important to you? I volunteer

to give back to the school that continues to give to me.

It’s rewarding to serve as a mentor to current students by allowing them to do internships with me at MHA. On the Alumni Board, I hope to bring a voice to the graduate alumni population and encourage them to get involved in mentorship opportunities and the lecture series, as well as financially support the school as it continues to evolve and expand.

You give generously to the Regis Fund.

What’s your philosophy when it comes to giving back? My philosophy about

giving back to Regis is simple: It’s important to invest not only in your own educational advancement but in the future of the younger generations as well. Regis will have a positive impact on the lives of those who choose to call Regis home in the future, and I want to help make that possible.

Photo: Kathleen Dooher

How do you think Regis stands out?

45795p10-11.indd 11

President [Antoinette M.] Hays is a fearless leader who is not afraid of taking chances to expand the Regis footprint nationally and globally. Regis stands out because it continues to implement new programs that will shape the workforce of the future.

If you had to choose one word to describe Regis, what would it be?

Transformative.

5/2/16 10:44 PM

45795p12-15.indd 12

5/2/16 10:46 PM

Brid�� Cultures

SPRING 2016

HOW ONE ALUMNA’S PASSION FOR SERVICE BUILT CROSS-CULTURAL CONNECTIONS

13

Some might call the day Nathalie Davidson ’13, ’14, walked into Nancy Street’s office simple luck. Others might see the meeting as more than just mere good fortune—it was meant to be.

On that day in May 2011, Street, an associate professor, was searching for the first graduate assistant for the Haiti Project. The Regis initiative, launched in 2007, aims to improve access to quality healthcare in Haiti through an advanced master’s program for Haitian nursing faculty chosen from nursing schools across Haiti.

Street serves as program director of the project, which counts the global health nonprofit Partners In Health and the Haitian Ministry of Health among its partners.

“Within the first five minutes, I knew Nathalie would be our graduate assistant,” says Street. “She is a very warm, compassionate person, and that became clear so quickly. She really wanted to do this work.”

B Y T H E R E S E S I S O N / P O R T R A I T S B Y A LY S S A S C H U K A R

45795p12-15.indd 13

5/2/16 10:46 PM

14 REGIS TODAY 45795p12-15.indd 14

hile Davidson’s passion and enthusiasm alone were enough to qualify her for the job, she had one more attribute that sealed the deal: fluency in French. She learned the language from her grandmother, a native of France.

For Davidson—whose ties to Regis include her aunt, Ellen Kearns ’67, a former member of the Board of Trustees, and grandparents Larry (also a former trustee) and Mary Kearns, longtime supporters for whom the Kearns Conference Room is named—landing the position was the fulfillment of what started her journey to Regis in the first place.

“The Haiti Project is one of the main reasons I chose Regis,” she says. “One of my biggest motivations for choosing a career in nursing is a desire to help those in need. Because of the Haiti Project, Regis stood out to me as an institution dedicated to social service and human rights—and that’s the kind of school I wanted to go to.”

With her French-language background, one of Davidson’s most important responsibilities was serving as a translator between the Haitian nurses and the Regis faculty during the Haitian cohort’s visits to the Regis campus, as well as during two international trips by the Regis team to Haiti.

As the link between two cultures, Davidson developed deep relationships with the Haitian nurses that extended beyond the classroom, translating an on-campus Mass for them and even hosting them for dinner at her family’s home. Other times, she simply translated for them as they shared their experiences with and frustrations about healthcare in Haiti.

“Nathalie’s incredible insight and temperament allowed her to develop genuine connections with

Communicating Toward Change A story shared by one of the Haitian nurses had a particular impact on Davidson. “One day, an NGO arrived at her village, unannounced, and started building latrines,” recalls Davidson. “But the village already had latrines; what they really needed was supplies for their school. It was another village not far away that actually needed the latrines. This taught me just how important it is to communicate with those in need before trying to implement any changes or ‘improvements.’”

Davidson took that lesson to heart for her third trip to Haiti, this time traveling as a volunteer for the St. Therese Hospital in Hinche through the Regis nurse practitioner practicum. She had toured the hospital during one of her previous visits to Haiti, where she was stricken by the conditions—IVs hung from rusty nails and there weren’t enough gloves available for all of the healthcare providers. She and fellow nurse practitioner student Emmanuel Bouloute ’13, ’14, who also made the trip, decided to fundraise for

Photo: Holly Redmond

W

the Haitian nurses,” says Street.

“She truly became a family member to them.”

Even with her close ties to the Haitian nurses, Davidson’s experience as a translator, at times, could be challenging.

“The intensive nursing courses required me to translate complex medical terminology and material that I hadn’t yet learned in my own classes,” says Davidson.

“It required that I be both a good listener and communicator.

“I learned a lot as a translator, especially the complexities of being a nurse in a developing country,” she continues. “One of the biggest lessons for me was the importance of communication and respect when providing care to those in need.”

Top: Davidson with the first cohort of Haitian nursing faculty, Regis volunteer faculty, project staff, and PIH nurses in Hinche, Haiti, in 2012.

Bottom: Davidson is presented a nursing award during the Graduate Hooding Ceremony in 2014.

Days later at Commencement, she was elected to “Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges” in recognition of her high academic standing and significant contributions to Regis.

the hospital, raising $1,000. But when it came time to decide how to best use those donations, Davidson knew from what she had learned from the Haitian nurses that the Regis students needed to take a step back.

“Rather than use the money to donate what we thought they needed, we decided that the hospital staff should determine how to use the donations,” explains Davidson.

And what did the nursing staff request? New textbooks to create a library, replacing the outdated and worn-down versions from the 1960s and 1970s that they already had.

5/2/16 10:46 PM

“I found it so inspiring that the hospital had so much need, and yet they wanted textbooks,” says Davidson. “The Haitian people really value education—it’s the way out of poverty and the one thing that can’t be taken away from them.”

For Davidson, her own Regis education continues to serve her today in her role as a nurse practitioner at Access Community Health Network on the west side of Chicago, providing family and women’s healthcare to an underserved community.

“I love the work I do,” says Davidson. “My experiences at Regis and in Haiti helped me become a more open-minded, culturally sensitive nurse practitioner. I couldn’t imagine my career any other way.”

Honoring Haiti

My experiences at Regis and in Haiti helped me become a more open-minded, culturally sensitive nurse practitioner. I couldn’t imagine my career any other way.”

45795p12-15.indd 15

December 4, 2015, was a night to remember for students in the Regis Honors Program as they hosted a black-tie gala to benefit the Be Like Brit Foundation, a nonprofit that provides care to more than 60 children living in a Haitian orphanage in Grand Goave. The organization’s namesake, Britney Gengel, was a 19-year-old Lynn University student from Massachusetts who died during the 2010 Haiti earthquake while on a service trip with her school.

Held on the Regis campus in Morrison House, the gala, which raised $3,500 for the Be Like Brit Foundation, was planned from the ground up by honors students. The group organized everything from a red carpet to professional photography to a silent auction for the enjoyment of the 100 guests in attendance. Guests of honor Cherylann Gengel, Britney’s mother, and Jonathan LaMare, the foundation’s country director, even flew in from Haiti to attend.

“Planning the gala gave students the opportunity to come up with out-of-the-box ideas that they could connect with their learning,” says Michelle Cromwell, Honors Program director and associate professor of politics and social justice. “It also gave them new skills they can add to their résumés, and most importantly, allowed them to work collaboratively with one another.”

The gala was the culmination of a semester’s worth of Honors Program activities focused on Haiti, including a global curriculum experience on Skype taught by Regis students for young children in both the Grand Goave orphanage and the Regis Children’s Center; grant-writing efforts for HIV/AIDS programs in Haiti; and the creation of care packages for children in the care of the Be Like Brit Foundation.

5/2/16 10:46 PM

45795p16-21.indd 16

5/2/16 10:49 PM

SPRING 2016

Mission Responsible

17

T H E R EGI S LAY A POSTO LAT E L E AV E S A L EGACY O F S E RV I C E B Y N A O MI K O O K E R

45795p16-21.indd 17

5/2/16 10:49 PM

18 REGIS TODAY

n 1969, “Natalie”—a Regis graduate— wrote a letter to her classmates from Wahiawa, a “somewhat rural place” not far from Honolulu on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. She was there because of her work as a volunteer teacher under the Regis Lay Apostolate program.

Even with 45 students in one classroom, Our Lady of Sorrows School in Wahiawa was a place you could “survive, even flourish,” Natalie wrote.

And the weather and landscape? “New England is great. I love it dearly and shall someday return. … [But] …Hawaii is—well, come see for yourself.”

The four young women she addressed were about to do that—travel 5,000-plus miles by plane to see for themselves not only the exotic land, but the life of a missionary as part of the Regis Lay Apostolate.

Nancy Greene Barry ’66

45795p16-21.indd 18

The post-graduation program sent women from Regis and other colleges to underserved Catholic mission schools to teach in the United States and abroad from 1950 until 1972. These were not Sisters; they were wide-eyed undergrads assigned volunteer teaching positions left vacant from the dearth of Sisters who usually filled them. Some areas were so impoverished they not only taught without textbooks, but had to help build the very schools they would serve.

“There was no going back,” says Nancy Greene Barry ’66, who was a Regis Lay Apostle in Hawaii from 1966 to 1967, before Natalie and the other girls went. “We had to make it happen.”

In its 22-year existence, about 225 Regis graduates participated in the program as well as upwards of 200 young women from other colleges. Some felt a calling to serve; others went

because “there was nothing better to do.”

No matter their reasons for going, and no matter their stories upon return, participants would share a common bond: Doing mission work was about humility and hard work, about building relationships and lifelong friendships, and about being open to challenges and change, whether you felt prepared or not.

Above all, it was about showing up for the people who needed you—even when you had no idea what you were doing.

They even had fun.

In their mission days they hunted caribou in Alaska. They dodged bullets in Bolivia. Most of all, they were singularly fulfilling a promise the Sisters of St. Joseph—Regis’s founding mothers—made to the community: “Love and service of the Dear Neighbor without distinction.”

Only this time, the dear neighbor was thousands of miles away on other continents or as close as the state of Virginia.

“Without distinction” came with the territory of being plopped in the middle of a different culture, teaching students of different ethnicities, and speaking foreign languages.

ON A MISSION Just as today’s Regis students hear about service trips to Peru or the Haiti Project, you couldn’t be at Regis back in the day and not hear about the lay apostolate. The program’s founder, Sister John Sullivan, CSJ, made sure of it.

Sister John was a Sister of St. Joseph and a beloved professor of English who came to Regis in 1942. That same year she helped the students start The Mission

5/2/16 10:49 PM

Unit, a club devoted to raising money for Catholic missions. It was one of the most popular clubs at the time. Then, in 1949, Sister John received a letter that would inspire her to start the Regis Lay Apostolate program, making the small Catholic college a model for sending lay missionaries where they were needed. (See Sister John sidebar page 21.)

“It was part of the scene at Regis,” recalls Barry. “I thought I was going to be a teacher, and here was an opportunity to serve.”

The program came of age during a movement known as Catholic Action, which was largely centered around the Catholic church bringing lay people or “lay apostles” together to do day-to-day missionary work in needy communities

45795p16-21.indd 19

Left to right: Lay apostles Ann Bernson ’66, Nancy Greene Barry ’66 with younger sister Maryann Greene Hughes ’70, and Mary McAuliffe ’66.

Most of all, they were singularly fulfilling a promise the Sisters of St. Joseph—Regis’s founding mothers—made to the community:

“

Love and service of the Dear Neighbor without distinction.”

5/2/16 10:49 PM

“

It took you totally out of yourself and into another experience.

Gail Ryan Benson ’69

20 REGIS TODAY Anne Marie Fontaine Healey ’65

45795p16-21.indd 20

To me, that’s education—traveling, learning other cultures.”

and among, as one lay apostle wrote, the “non-Catholic.”

The Regis Lay Apostolate was definitively a pioneering program of Catholic postgraduate service programs, according to Chris Staysniak, author of the article “‘We are definitely the pioneers of this movement:’ The Regis Lay Apostolate and the Origins of Postgraduate Volunteerism, 1949–1972” and a PhD candidate at Boston College.

“Groups that exist today, like the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, owe their existence to Regis, without a doubt,” Staysniak says.

MAKING DO The request for lay apostles came from all over the world to teach children who ranged in ages as young as three and into high school.

They taught English. Math.

Writing. American History. Anne Marie Fontaine Healey ’65 taught home economics to high-schoolers in Jamaica. She cooked on propane stoves and lugged groceries from town to the boarding school perched on a hill overlooking the turquoise sea. The hot tropical climate was a challenge; and the school did not have a refrigerator—that would come later from the government after she and her colleague proved the program was a success.

“The flour had to be sifted twice,” Healey recalls. “The first

time to sift out mealworms and weevils. The second time was to prep it for baking.”

Many of the volunteers had to teach subjects foreign to them, keeping two to three paces ahead of their students. Some didn’t have textbooks, relying on creativity and quick thinking.

Elizabeth “Betsy” Burns Griffin ’66 taught Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” to children in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, who had never seen snow.

With names like Sullivan, O’Sullivan, Foley, Murphy, and Kearns, many of the young women had never experienced other ethnicities or cultures outside their Irish Catholic roots.

“It took you totally out of yourself and into another experience,” says Gail Ryan Benson ’69, who served in Santa Fe from 1969 to 1970. “To me, that’s education— traveling, learning other cultures.

“That open-mindedness and that attitude is part of what Sister John taught, too,” Ryan Benson adds. “We gave to them, but they gave back to us and more—just by the experience.”

The women went with few belongings and little money.

Since these were volunteer positions, they were given room and board, but they weren’t paid.

Some received stipends, which could vary from $20 to $100 a month.

But the experiences were rich, often changing the women’s lives and shaping their careers.

Mary Courtney ’59 went with her roommate, the late Mary Lou Bettencourt ’59, to La Paz, Bolivia, to teach English to young teens at the English Catholic College.

“I had to get to know Spanish,” says Courtney, who speaks it to this day. The kids had pencils, pads, and books. “They made do with whatever they had.”

So did Courtney and Bettencourt have to learn to make do. The country was in the middle of a national revolution, and the school where they lived—a building of Spanish architecture that was all glass on the outside with a private quadrangle in the inside—could be a target of gunfire at any time.

“We had to crawl on the floor to get to the center part of the school so we would be safe and away from the possible shootings,” recalls Courtney. No one was ever hurt.

“It was an incredible experience.”

THE MISSION SPIRIT CONTINUES After the “Aloha” salutation, Natalie offers her opinion on the lay apostolate job description. She writes: “Necessary qualifications: enthusiasm, love of kids, tryanything-once-philosophy, some previous classroom experience, 300 red vitamins, and a good deal of self-confidence, love-of-self, and a desire for a complete change of pace.” [sic] Barry ended up living in Hawaii and being the head of a private school. “If the lay apostolate had been in existence, I would have hired those girls,” she says.

Courtney, ironically, makes mission trips with her parish in Easthampton, Massachusetts, to Villa El Salvador in Peru, the same impoverished area the Regis students and staff mentors travel to as service trips.

5/2/16 10:49 PM

SI ST E R J O H N S U L L I VAN , CS J

Mary Courtney ’59

45795p16-21.indd 21

In October 1949, Sister John received a letter from “a very dear friend and former classmate,” Sister Inez Underwood, RSM, pleading with her to come to Guam. Sister Inez had plans to open a Catholic mission high school there, and she was short on Sisters and priests to staff the school.

Sister John had a long-harbored desire to be a missionary, but she was committed to Regis. So, she sought to find another who could help with the mission: In May 1950, Marie McCormack O’Driscoll ’50, chair of The Mission Unit, a popular Regis club that supported Catholic missions, went to Guam to help Sister Inez.

She was the first Regis Lay Apostle.

Sister John was born Margaret Agnes Sullivan in 1907 and grew up in Merrimac, Massachusetts, in a family of all boys. Along with being an intellectual (she obtained a PhD in English from Catholic University), former students remember her as charismatic, positive, and cheerful—these traits were infectious.

“She was just so caught up in the program, its purpose and believing in it, that you almost felt like you didn’t have any choice—you had to go,” says Gail Ryan Benson ’69, who was a lay apostle in Santa Fe from 1969 to 1970.

In Christopher Staysniak’s article on the Regis Lay Apostolate program, which was published in the journal American Catholic Studies in Winter 2012, he notes the president of Regis at the time, Sister Honora, recognized Sister John’s “keen ability to connect with the students.”

In 1963, Eunice Kennedy Shriver received an honorary degree from Regis, and wrote Sister John a letter. In it she called the work of the Regis Lay Teaching Apostolate [sic] “inspiring:” “I believe that Catholic girls working in this movement will influence not only the spiritual, but the social and economic life which is of great importance.”

In 2006, the Class of 1956 established the Sister John Sullivan, CSJ Class of 1956 Memorial Scholarship Fund. Scholarship recipients are female, and are chosen based on grades and their commitment to service and the Regis community.

According to the scholarship material, Sister John stressed “the need for the church laity to identify not only with the problems of Catholic education, but also the problems of society.”

The Regis Lay Apostolate program operated until 1972 when Sister John was appointed to a position within the Sisters of St. Joseph, according to Staysniak’s article.

Sister John passed away January 12, 2006. But for the surviving Regis Lay Apostles and those in the Regis community who serve on mission trips, her spirit is steadfast.

21 SPRING 2016

“I do look back and say, ‘Oh my God, to think 60 years ago I was doing the same sort of thing,’” Courtney says. “It’s very rewarding.”

Healey continues to volunteer and attributes her time in the Regis Lay Apostolate for inspiring two of her six children for doing their own bit: One son served in the Peace Corps in Samoa, another son was a Fulbright exchange teacher in South Africa. And she still holds on to her experience: “Sometimes the poorest people can have the most generous spirits.”

On a winter’s evening in 2016, Ryan Benson takes a break from Alumni Chorus practice to share her stories when she was a Regis Lay Apostle. Her Spanish minor came in handy when she had to teach pueblo children. Because of her lay apostolate experience, she ended up a bilingual teacher in Lawrence, Massachusetts, for 35 years.

As Regis President Antoinette M. Hays, PhD, RN, addressed the graduates of 2014, she reminded them, “You are going forth, and we are sending you out, with a great ancestry of leadership and service behind you and ahead of you.”

Two years ago Ryan Benson connected with the Regis Center for Ministry and Service and went along on the service trip to Villa El Salvador.

Before she returns to chorus practice, she unfurls a T-shirt with the Regalos emblem as part of the fundraising effort for Regis’s service trips this year. Regalos means “gifts” in Spanish. The trips are planned for Peru, Jamaica, North Dakota, and New Orleans.

Without missing a beat, she smiles with girlish enthusiasm: “See, the spirit is still alive and well!”

Unwavering, Can-Do Spirit

5/2/16 10:49 PM

SATELLITE CAMPU S I N LAWRENC E B O OSTS HEA LT HCARE ED UCATION, CAREERS , AND D ELIVERY

New Directions 45795p22-25.indd 22

5/2/16 10:51 PM

B Y M A U R A K I N G S C U L LY / P H O T O S B Y K AT H L E E N D O O H E R

45795p22-25.indd 23

5/2/16 10:51 PM

Left to right: Professor Vanessa Boulanger with students Christopher Guard and Yanina Vasquez.

24 REGIS TODAY

hen Christopher Guard was laid off from his job in banking, he decided it was time for a career change. In his 40s, the Methuen, Massachusetts, resident enrolled in the nursing program at Northern Essex Community College (NECC) with hopes of working in a hospital. To do that, however, he knew he’d need to continue on for a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree.

“Most hospitals are only hiring nurses with BSNs,” says Guard. There was only one problem. “Most nursing bachelor’s completion programs are online, and I like learning with someone in front of me rather than on a computer screen.”

Yanina Vasquez is a single mother with her eye on a full-time position in community health at Lowell General Hospital, where she currently holds two part-time jobs.

“I had my associate’s degree from NECC and started courses elsewhere for my bachelor’s,” she explains. The switch was anything but smooth. “They didn’t take all of my credits, the classes weren’t at convenient times, and even the parking was difficult.”

45795p22-25.indd 24

Both Guard and Vasquez found exactly what they needed at a new Regis North satellite on NECC’s Lawrence, Massachusetts, campus: flexible and convenient bachelor’s degree completion programs that bring them one step closer to their career goals.

The partnership advances the Regis mission to serve the “dear neighbor,” explains Penny Glynn, dean of the School of Nursing. “This allows us to bring opportunities to a

whole new group of students—easy access to well-respected, accredited bachelor degree programs.”

Beyond answering a need in the Greater Lawrence area for educational and economic opportunities, the program aims to improve the quality of healthcare delivery in the area.

EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES

Regis North is an initiative of Regis’s Institute for Advancing Studies in partnership with Northern Essex Community College. Launched in September 2015, the new campus currently offers bachelor’s degree completion programs in nursing and public health with more planned.

According to David Gilmore, associate dean of partnerships and strategic initiatives, planning for Regis North began two years ago, the result of what he calls “the perfect storm.”

“I had been working on articulation agreements with community colleges and got a call out of the blue from a consultant who was working with Lane Glenn, PhD, president of NECC, who was looking for a four-year institution to partner with them to offer four-year degrees on the Lawrence campus.”

5/2/16 10:51 PM

MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL

Kaitlynn Arvidson, manager of the Institute for Advancing Studies, says that students appreciate the seamless transfer from NECC to the Regis bachelor’s completion program as classes are onsite in Lawrence. “Faculty members have a wealth of experience in the industry and understand the needs

45795p22-25.indd 25

Taking Root Regis’s commitment to Lawrence reaches beyond Regis North to pre-K to grade 8 students at Lawrence Catholic Academy (LCA). Through Regis, a nurse practitioner is onsite at LCA five days a week throughout the year providing health services, including triage and treatment of daily ailments as well as ongoing screening services.

The partnership is a product of luck and timing. In the process of launching Regis North, staff learned that the six-year-old parochial elementary school had lost funding for its school nurse. More than 80 percent of LCA families are from Lawrence and over 60 percent qualify for the free and reduced-fee lunch program.

Collaborating with LCA Principal Jorge Hernandez, husband of Kate Lennon Hernandez ’98, Regis stepped in to fill the gap, thanks to support from a local foundation.

Similar to Regis North, the arrangement benefits both partners, says Penny Glynn, dean of the School of Nursing. “In addition to delivering healthcare services for children in school, LCA also provides an experiential learning opportunity for Regis students studying in the nursing and nurse practitioner degree programs.”

of adult students—appreciating that they’re juggling work and family life.”

And, true to Regis’s culture, “The professors care,” says Guard.

“They’re available to us at any time and they make sure we feel part of the Regis community.”

It’s this kind of cooperative spirit that adds to the program’s dynamic.

“We have a vibrant mix of students from a variety of backgrounds,” says Associate Professor of Public Health Tim Ciesielski, who teaches in both Weston and Lawrence. “There is also a wide distribution of student ages, which provides a nice combination of maturity, real-world experience, and perseverance that truly adds value to the classroom setting. All of this helps the students—and the faculty—to see that preparation and grit are often the most important determinants of success.”

Vanessa Boulanger, who teaches public health at Regis North, appreciates the lively classroom discussions. “Students are so engaged.

They have incredible first-hand practical experience and knowledge that they bring to the classroom.

Most students are working part time, if not full time. They come prepared with pointed questions because they want to understand the broader context of the care they provide each day.”

There’s also something exciting about being part of a new venture.

“IT GIVES LAWRENCE THE TRUE PRESENCE OF A FOURYEAR COLLEGE AND ALLOWS REGIS TO SPREAD ITS WINGS AND REACH STUDENTS.” “It’s such a wonderful experience, being able to teach this first cohort of students,” says Boulanger. “The administration has been so supportive. The faculty and students are both so dedicated. Regis North is filling an important gap in the education and training opportunities available to students in the area.”

“I’m glad to be part of this first group,” adds Vasquez. “They make us feel special, inviting us to talk about our experiences at different events to encourage other people.

I’m excited to finish my degree as the first class at Regis North.”

Vasquez also has big plans. “I’m going right on for my master’s at Regis. That will put me in a very good position.”

Ciesielski sees Regis’s new satellite campus as yet another innovative example of how academic institutions and cities can help each other. “There is great potential for synergy. Regis is helping Lawrence, but Lawrence is helping Regis as well.”

25 SPRING 2016

That call came at the same time Regis President Antoinette M. Hays, PhD, RN, was meeting with Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera about expanding educational opportunities in the Gateway City.

“Strategically, the partnership made sense,” Gilmore explains.

“It gives Lawrence the true presence of a four-year college and allows Regis to spread its wings and reach students in northeastern Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire, and southern Maine.”

The Regis North satellite is fully accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), and the Regis nursing program is designated a “Center of Excellence in Nursing Education” by the National League of Nursing.

(Read more on page 7.) Additionally, all graduates receiving a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Regis North will have an option for a minor in public health, reflecting Regis’s strong commitment to education in healthcare not just for the individual, but for the entire community.

In staking a claim in Lawrence, Gilmore says that Regis is excited about the city’s future. “We’re planning to expand degree offerings beyond nursing and public health to include a variety of health professions degrees and to grow as student demand increases.”

Glynn notes that Regis North’s baccalaureate degree completion programs come as leading nursing professional organizations are calling for more diversity.

“The American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services point to the need for the nursing workforce to better reflect the changing demographics of the country.”

5/9/16 2:03 PM

26 REGIS TODAY

Navıgating a True Course HOW U.S. NAVY COMMANDER

SAMANTHA DUTILY ’97 PURSUES HER MISSIONS

When Samantha Dutily ’97 set eyes on her first U.S. Navy destroyer in 2000, she was in awe. The 500-foot vessel travels at 32 knots, houses two SH-60 helicopters, and is armed with various gun, missile, and torpedo launching systems. Little did the junior officer know that the ship would set her on a course for a high-ranking military career and a life of service: to her country, her crew, and people around the world.

B Y K R I S T E N L . WA L S H / P H O T O S B Y K AT H L E E N D O O H E R

45795p26-31.indd 26

5/2/16 10:54 PM

45795p26-31.indd 27

5/2/16 10:54 PM

“E 28

very time I set sail to go on deployment, and I know that I’m not going to see my country for seven or eight months, it’s surreal,” says Dutily, who is now a commander and in her 16th year of service.

“But knowing that I’m going on a mission to keep our country safe is pretty incredible.”

What’s also pretty incredible is Dutily’s naval career. After receiving her commission through Officer Candidate School, she completed her initial division officer tour and earned her Surface Warfare Officer qualification, serving two years as gunnery officer and strike officer. Among the deployments was Operation Enduring Freedom, following Sept. 11 terror attacks on the U.S. “It was intimidating not knowing what to expect as we sailed into foreign waters,” she admits, “but I enjoyed the responsibility of being a strike officer in charge of the Tomahawk missile system.”

REGIS TODAY

Her increasing rank has included duties as training officer on a newly-commissioned guided-missile destroyer, surface operations staff officer at U.S. Fleet Forces Command, and operations officer on both a destroyer and guided-missile cruiser. The latter included counter-piracy operations off the coast of Africa and Yemen, complete with rocket-propelled grenades being fired at her ship.

GROUNDED CONNECTIONS

When she was on shore duty with Maritime Civil Affairs and Security Training Command, it was the “people connections” that stayed with Dutily. In 2011, she served in Kenyan villages and schools in Mombasa and Malindi in East Africa to help maintain water wells and reinforce buildings. She remembers how the children gathered around to get a closer look at her camouflage uniform.

“They were also curious because I was a “girl” (the only female in my group), and they showed me how they could count and the words they knew in

45795p26-31.indd 28

English. It made me tear up when we left because the kids chased our van down the dirt road waving goodbye. I hope our work made their lives a little nicer.”

On her homeland, she was on relief duty to support people on the Virginia coast who were devastated by Hurricane Irene in 2011. It was there that Dutily met her husband, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Timothy Andros, who is serving as a U.S. Navy diver.

“It’s nice to come home and be able to talk to somebody who understands me and speaks my language,” she says of her 2014 marriage to a fellow navy officer.

ABOVE-BOARD LEADER

Dutily’s transition into leadership was natural. At Regis, she served as captain of the women’s basketball, field hockey, and softball teams.

“I can look back now and see how being a captain and having camaraderie with Regis teammates prepared me to be an officer,” she recalls. “I learned how to lead early in life.”

As a team captain at Regis, she enjoyed having a group of people to point in the right direction. “I liked that kind of teamwork—coming up with ideas, setting goals, and working together to get there.”

The philosophy still holds true today. Dutily makes it a priority to ensure that her crew is not only trained for combat, but is happy and feels a sense of pride in what they do. On her part, it calls for both talking and listening. She recalls one homesick junior officer on her ship.

“She needed help getting through the tour, so I gave her positive talks,” Dutily explains.

5/2/16 10:54 PM

I can look back now and see how being a captain and having

camaraderie with Regis teammates prepared me to be an officer.� �

45795p26-31.indd 29

5/2/16 10:54 PM

“

It’s important to do something that betters

someone else, whether it’s

30 REGIS TODAY

“I reminded her about port visits and asked what kinds of things she enjoyed doing.

I encouraged her to be the best person she could be. I like helping a sailor [many are between the ages of 18 and 24] grow into a confident person and ultimately a leader.”

Though the ship’s crew often has 300-plus members, Dutily finds ways like these to foster relationships. She likens it to the Regis campus, where small classes allowed her to get deeply involved in her studies and work closely with classmates and professors.

“I really enjoyed that the professors knew me by name, and some would even attend my athletic games,” she says. “Those connections—in the classroom, on the athletic field, or in the dorm room—contributed to my successful naval career. On a ship like a destroyer, you get to know everyone and they all know you.”

COMMANDING MISSIONS

Dutily joined the Navy after a brief career in finance. While the Management major loved numbers, she was ready to get out from behind a desk and explore what the world had to offer. Service was in her blood: Dutily’s father served in the U.S. Air Force; and although her career was about to take flight, it wouldn’t be by air, but by sea. Born and raised in

45795p26-31.indd 30

the Boston area, she spent summers on her father’s 30-foot cabin cruiser. Though a far cry from a 500-foot steel destroyer, it inspired a love of the water.

At first, male-dominated Navy life was somewhat of a culture shock; Dutily attended Regis before it was co-ed, and was used to being surrounded by strong female bonds. In fact, her Regis group of friends, lovingly referred to as “The Blob,” is as close today as they were in school. They make it a point to get together a few times a year for dinners and in summer 2015, went on a “field trip” to Costa Rica.

“They are so supportive of me and help me get through all my deployments with their letters and care packages,” she says. “We are definitely lifelong friends.”

It’s this kind of comradeship that Dutily practices in the military. She embraces her role as a senior female on the ship, and is committed to mentoring women who need guidance and support. And no matter the gender, she has an open-door policy for all of her crew.

“You make it in the Navy by being a team player,” Dutily says with conviction. “I want my department to be the best

the United States, another country, or my crew. Wherever I go, whatever I touch, I want to make it better.” department on the ship, the one people want to work for.

As a leader, I strive to be approachable, down to earth, and a people person.”

Those values are clearly on point. Her personal military decorations include the Surface Forces Atlantic Leadership Award, Navy Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal (four awards), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (two awards), and various unit and campaign awards.

In spring 2016, Dutily is serving as executive officer on a guidedmissile destroyer and will deploy for a tour overseas, charged with managing the training of the crew and maintenance of the ship. The following year, she will be first in command as the ship’s commanding officer. All the while, she will stay on course with service.

“I like helping others,” she says. “It’s important to do something that betters someone else, whether it’s the United States, another country, or my crew.

Wherever I go, whatever I touch, I want to make it better.”

5/2/16 10:54 PM

Giving is Believing Valerie Hunt, PhD, RN, assistant dean and associate professor of nursing, and program director of nursing leadership and health administration at Regis, recently joined the Catherine Burke Society, a special group of donors who make planned gifts to Regis.

Valerie Hunt gives because she believes—in her students and in the value of a Regis education. After five years of teaching and supporting the Regis Fund, she decided it was time to make a more substantial gift, so she and her husband set up a charitable gift annuity (CGA) with the university.

“It’s wonderful to contribute to the growth and future of an institution you believe in,” says Hunt. “I set up a CGA to benefit the School of Nursing to support the development of future nurses. The annuity allows me to invest in what’s important to me, while also providing great tax benefits and annual income.”

It’s the multicultural student community and personalized approach of the faculty that Hunt credits in creating an enriching classroom experience. “Regis faculty provide one-on-one support for their students, and they are committed to preparing nurses who will provide excellent patient care. That, in conjunction with strong clinical, lab, and field work, prepares Regis graduates to excel in the ‘real world.’”

She considers her investment in Regis as an investment in her life’s work as a nurse. “Giving back to the school through a CGA is my way of assuring that future students reap the benefits of our award-winning nursing programs. Ultimately, my gift helps to ensure that Regis graduates will go on to be exceptional healthcare providers.”

Photo: Justin Saglio

Planned gifts include charitable gift annuities, charitable bequests, life insurance, charitable trusts, and more. Contact us to learn more about giving opportunities and membership in the Catherine Burke Society.

registowertalk.net/ plannedgiving 781.768.7220 advancement@regiscollege.edu

45795p26-31.indd 31

5/9/16 2:05 PM

together alumni

1

2

32 REGIS TODAY

1 Alumni and current students came together at the Liberal Arts networking reception in March.

2 The California Yacht Club in Marina Del Rey was a beautiful spot for alumnae to catch up over brunch in January.

3 4

3 Alumnae on the island of Oahu enjoyed meeting with President Antoinette M. Hays and Vice President Miriam Finn Sherman ’98 in January. From left to right: Ann Bernson ’66, Nancy Greene Barry ’66, Dolors Filip Judd ’54, President Hays, Rosemary Shannon Robbins ’62, Roberta Smith Sullivan ’59, Miriam Finn Sherman ’98.

4 In December, alumni, friends, and their children enjoyed sweet treats at the Merry Mingle in the new Maria Hall Extension—a great spot for events and meetings in the center of campus.

5 Class of 2002 alumnae celebrated Christmas together at the Merry Mingle. Left to right: Leigh Ann Zarkauskas, Lisa Lemoine Mavilia, Kathleen Cronin Harrison, and Danielle Bazinet.

6 Alumnae, trustees, and friends gathered in Washington, D.C., in April.

45795p32-33.indd 32

7 Trustee Anita BrennanSarmiento ’77 hosted several alumnae in her home in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, in November. Left to right: Agnes MalaretCollazo ’84, Margie Morris DaPena ’83, Carmen Davila ’83, Diana Gonzalez ’82, Anita Brennan-Sarmiento ’77, Sandra Pujals Ramirez ’78, Zita Fleming, CSJ, ’59, Leany Godas de Martinez ’78, Mayra Garcia ’84, Amanda Valcarcel ’05, and Agnes Badrena Malaret ’55.

8 Alumnae and friends struck a pose next to the Regis trolley in Naples, Fla., before cheering their way through the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

9 Alumnae enjoyed a Mass with Father Paul Kilroy followed by brunch in Naples, Fla., in March.

Clockwise from top left: Carroll Beegan Follas ’61, Ellen Donahue Foley ’61, Ro Sacco Vederico ’66, Jane Cronin Tedder ’66, Barbara Hoyle Healy ’61, Judith Powers ’61, Mary Doane Cassidy ’61.

10 Nearly 50 alumni and friends attended the annual Christmas reception in the Big Apple, hosted by alumna Eileen McCormick Langenus ’78 and trustee Peter Langenus at the Union League Club.

5/2/16 10:56 PM

6

Upcoming Alumni Events 2016 Regis at the Red Sox July 21, 2016 Fenway Park Boston, Mass.

Alumni trip to Tuscany July 22 to 30, 2016

5

Cape Cod Luncheon August 3, 2016 Willowbend Country Club Mashpee, Mass.

7

Golden Tower Luncheon September 23, 2016 Regis campus Alumnae Hall

Memorial Liturgy and Brunch

Merry Mingle

December 4, 2016 Regis campus Maria Hall Extension

SPRING 2016

November 13, 2016 Regis campus College Hall Chapel

33

Hollyfest Luncheon December 7, 2016 Dan’l Webster Inn Sandwich, Mass.

8 9

REGISTER online at: registowertalk.net/events

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2016 ALUMNI AWARD RECIPIENTS Service to Regis: Janice McBride Power ’51 Service to Profession: Carol Donovan ’59 Service to Community: Elizabeth Burns Griffin ’66 Learn more: registowertalk.net/alumaward

10

45795p32-33.indd 33

5/2/16 10:56 PM

notes class

Class Notes is published in fall issues of Regis Today. Notes for the Fall 2016 issue will be due on August 12, 2016.

Each class is limited to 750 words.

News may be submitted to your class reporter or directly to Institutional Advancement and Alumni Relations.

Email classnotes@regiscollege.edu Mail 235 Wellesley St., Box 30 Weston, MA 02493

45795p34-35.indd 34

5/2/16 10:58 PM

In Memory

Regis has been notified of the following alumni who passed away. Those listed are notifications received between October 1, 2015, and April 27, 2016.

May they rest in God’s eternal peace.

1939 Sally Bosketti Lehane October 8, 2015

1948 Mary Parent Goffart October 5, 2015

1941 Mary Joyce Donahue February 22, 2016

Mary McGoldrick Malloy December 25, 2015 1949 Elizabeth McGrath Bowler April 25, 2016

Anita Ennis April 15, 2014

Barbara Bailey Pfau December 31, 2015

1942 Mary Hurley Good April 8, 2016

1950 Mary Buckley Glennon February 10, 2016

1943 Phyllis Daly Morrison February 6, 2016

1951 Maureen Walsh McEvoy November 11, 2015

1944 Alice O’Donnell Pracher October 21, 2015

Elizabeth Dewes Mullally August 29, 2013

Mary Maley Ronayne September 2, 2014 1945 Edna Pariseau Cacciapaglia July 9, 2011 Irene Pendolari McCarthy September 14, 2015 Mary Daly McKeon March 12, 2015 1947 Eileen Prebensen October 5, 2015 Patricia Harrigan Sullivan September 11, 2015

Nancy Orth Smith March 1, 2016 1952 Mary Walsh Chetham February 24, 2016 M. Patricia Costello Malone March 23, 2016 Theresa O’Leary, RGS February 16, 2016 1953 Mary Lynch O’Brien December 1, 2015 Mary Elizabeth Farley Power December 2, 2015 Barbara Galpin Wade April 17, 2015

45795p34-35.indd 35

Katherine Joan O’Connor February 3, 2016 Mary Jean McCarthy Willis November 8, 2015 1956 Mary Daly Curtin October 18, 2015 1957 Alice Scanlon Cogliano December 25, 2015 Marie Cicchese, CSJ March 4, 2016 Eileen Kelly Moynihan December 24, 2015 Elizabeth Wilbur April 15, 2015 1960 Mary Early Gallagher August 13, 2015 1961 Mary O’Flanagan Brady December 15, 2015

1972 Marjorie Sullivan O’Brien December 12, 2015 1973 Elizabeth Lavoie March 11, 2015 1974 Kathleen Murray January 10, 2016 1981 Lisa Anne Milso December 24, 2015 1982 Doreen Giardi Stair August 28, 2015 1987 Margaret Monk McLean November 21, 2013

35 SPRING 2016

Rose Marie Brouillette Tougas August 5, 2015

1954

1990 Eileen Barrett Slevin March 29, 2016 1996 Anita Huse September 13, 2015

Colleen Flanagan Love October 7, 2015

Masters Robert Naughton February 18, 2016

Carol Young February 7, 2016

Rosamond Swain September 16, 2015

1963 Patricia Browne Weiler December 20, 2015 1968 Corinne Tobin September 7, 2015 1971 Sally Anne McColgan October 21, 2015

5/2/16 10:58 PM

mınds hearts &

Going for the Gold

36 REGIS TODAY 45795p36-cvr3.indd 36

It comes as no surprise that Regis developed a partnership with the Massachusetts chapter of the world’s largest sports organization for those with intellectual disabilities—the Special Olympics.

For the past five years, Regis nurse practitioner students have volunteered year-round for the non-profit—representing a core value of service instilled by the Sisters of St. Joseph. And because community is so central to the mission of the Special Olympics, it is a perfect match.

Karen Crowley, DNP, associate professor and director of the nurse practitioner program at Regis, beams as she details the symbiotic nature of the relationship: Special Olympics Massachusetts had the challenge of recruiting volunteers to work in medical tents because of the specific training and background needed; Regis was looking to educate students in both healthcare and service.

“Education around the needs of developmentally disabled individuals is an area of practice that is generally lacking in medicine and nurse practitioner education,” says Crowley. “Volunteering at the Special Olympics is a great opportunity for our students to get firsthand experience working with this population.”

A Healthy Athletes training program was created where athletes could visit different stations at Special Olympics events to receive assessments of their flexibility, endurance, strength, and nutrition. Regis nurses helped them put together a diet and exercise regimen, and pick the best sports to play based on their strengths.

“Regis students really go above and beyond to ensure everyone is safe, healthy, and well-cared for,” says Jennifer Dowdy, volunteer engagement manager for Special Olympics Massachusetts.

Regis volunteers can also be found cheering on athletes and presenting awards.

“The mood at these events is unbelievable,” says Joy Aldrich ’16, who recently completed the NP program. “There’s such a positive energy and we are surrounded by people who want to help and encourage others. That is what wows me about these events and makes me want to continue being involved.”

Stephen Vanderels ’16—whose volunteer work with the Special Olympics spans more than 20 years and three states—agrees. “There are so many stories I could tell about different players.”

A young male player at a March basketball event, for example, was delighted to meet Vanderels, and introduced him to his coach and father. One female athlete would do two pushups every time she scored.

Brenna Brink ’16, who also completed the Family NP program this spring, relishes in the personalized connections. “In nursing, it’s that one patient who expresses gratitude that makes it so worth it. That same rewarding feeling and gratitude from the athletes keeps me coming back to the Special Olympics.”

Brink remembers a female athlete at an equestrian event last fall who didn’t hear her name announced during the event. “I let her know it was her turn, and sheer excitement spread across her face. It’s something they’ve been looking forward to for a long time so I want to do whatever I can to help make it special.”

Patricia O’Connor ’16 simply feels like it’s “God’s work.” She believes it’s a privilege to work with the athletes and “to see their capabilities and their enthusiasm for the sport and in playing against each other.”

Opportunity, for Regis students and athletes at the Special Olympics, abounds for all—without distinction.

Photo: Justin Saglio

B Y LIN DS E Y H ONIG

5/2/16 11:00 PM

Karen Crowley, DNP (center), associate professor and director of the nurse practitioner program at Regis, volunteers at a Special Olympics event with 2016 Regis NP graduates Stephen Vanderels and Patricia O’Connor in March.

“There’s such a positive energy and we are surrounded by people who want to help and encourage others.

That is what wows me about these events and makes me want to continue being involved.”

—JOY ALDRICH ’16

45795p36-cvr3.indd 37

5/2/16 11:00 PM

Regis College 235 Wellesley Street Weston, MA 02493-1571

Photo: Anton Grassl

Change Service Requested G I VI N G I S EASY. Ways to give

by June 30: ONLINE registowertalk.net/ regisfund PHONE 781.768.7240 MAIL 235 Wellesley St. Box 30 Weston, MA 02493

Regis students go on to become leaders with a passion for serving others.

Your gift to the Regis Fund brings our students one step closer to realizing their dreams and making a difference in their chosen career paths.

You may now designate your gift to the area that means the most to you. Learn more about the options at registowertalk.net/regisfund.

45795cvr4.indd 1

5/2/16 10:36 PM