Therese Sherlock, CSJ, ’62 delivered the homily at the Opening Celebration Mass, sharing her St. Kate's experience and several words of wisdom for incoming students.
Photo by Rebecca Slater ’10 / By Rebecca Studios.
Students from the Graduate College gather before the processional to Convocation at The O'Shaughnessy.
Photo by Rebecca Slater ’10 / By Rebecca Studios.
Members from the junior class of 2019–20 wave at staff and faculty members as they process to Convocation at The O'Shaughnessy.
Photo by Rebecca Slater ’10 / By Rebecca Studios.
President Roloff invited the St. Kate's community to reflect on the legacy of the CSJs who founded the University.
Photo by Rebecca Slater ’10 / By Rebecca Studios.
Cast members from the History Theatre play Sisters of Peace performed select scenes for the St. Kate's community.
Photo by Rebecca Slater ’10 / By Rebecca Studios.
Jane, Brigid, Rita, and Kate McDonald (left to right) sang the standard "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive."
Photo by Rebecca Slater ’10 / By Rebecca Studios.
President Roloff presented the McDonald Sisters (Jane, Rita, Brigid, and Kate, from left to right) with ornaments — created by the late art professor Peter Lupori — in thanks for "being our angels of peace."
Photo by Toccara Stark MAOL’09.
Students, faculty, and staff gathered last week for the annual Opening Celebration that included a Mass, class processional, Convocation, and ended with a festive picnic on the Quad.
The Convocation, held in , featured a welcome message from President ReBecca Koenig Roloff ‘76, a brief History Theatre performance, special appearance by the McDonald Sisters, and concluded with inspiring messages from student leaders from each college.
In her welcome, Roloff asked the community to reflect on the example set by the founders of the University.
The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet “are at the heart of everything we do here at St. Kate’s,” said Roloff. “Their example has guided this University to what it is today, and their love, support, and leadership that they still provide is what will take us into our future. … Thank you for all you do for this University.”
Photo courtesy of the History Theatre
A brief history of social justice, CSJ-style
Roloff then introduced the Convocation keynote — select scenes from the Sisters of Peace, performed by cast members from the production. The play follows the lives of four sisters: Brigid, Jane, Rita, and Kate McDonald, four siblings who grew up in a large Irish farm family in Hollywood Township, Minnesota.
All four became Catholic nuns in the 1940s and ’50s and devoted their lives to teaching, peace activism, and social justice protesting, beginning in the ’70s with the Vietnam War. The sibling Sisters never backed down from their beliefs, despite heavy criticism at times.
Speaking onstage following the performance, the McDonald Sisters underscored their enduring commitment to their social justice mission.
“We think back to our history — the Sisters who started [St. Kate’s] were considered radicals, religious renegades. … They were doing something revolutionary. Women in those days could either be a nun or get married,” said Sr. Brigid, a St. Kate's alumna of 1962. “It took a lot of courage to start a university for women, but they overcame all that adversity in order to make this great University. So we thank our foremothers,” she said, adding with a smile, “And men helped too, I’m sure.”
Asked to share their advice with the St. Kate’s community, the four CSJs then joined their voices in harmony as they performed their interpretation of the beloved standard “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive,” a tune perfectly encapsulating their encouragement: “Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, and don’t let the bad news get you down.”
The positivity of their message is characteristic of the larger CSJ mission, which calls for loving the dear neighbor without distinction. In July, the Sisters of St. Joseph and their partners, assembled for their Congregational Chapter, amplified this summons with during this turbulent social climate in the United States.
President Roloff shared portions of the statement to illustrate the link between St. Kate’s values and the CSJs’ recent statement, and added her support for their message.
“We have all just seen how four sister Sisters used their voices, along with others, to speak to a world where every person is treated with respect and dignity,” said Roloff.
Rusty Rose-Dixon ’20
Photo by Rebecca Slater ’10 / By Rebecca Studios
Laura Rand Berger ’18, MAOT’20
Photo by Rebecca Slater ’10 / By Rebecca Studios
Zaynab Abdi ’20
Photo by Rebecca Slater ’10 / By Rebecca Studios
Students celebrate a new generation of community and social justice at St. Kate’s
Three student leaders addressed the community at Convocation: Rusty Rose-Dixon ’20 of the College for Adults, Laura Rand Berger ’18, MAOT’20 of the Graduate School, and Zaynab Abdi ’20 of the College for Women. They each reflected on their St. Kate’s experiences and how the University and CSJ legacy of social justice was woven into those experiences.
“The Sisters of St. Joseph have carefully laid the foundations of social justice in our learning,” Rose-Dixon said, citing The Reflective Woman and Global Search for Justice, classes that bookend every student’s time at St. Kate’s. “This curriculum affords us time to learn how to think critically and to pause to evaluate spaces each one of us occupies in the world.”
Berger then shared,“For me this legacy is at the heart of what I hope to achieve in my future practice as an occupational therapist. If you would have asked me five years ago what I hoped to achieve at St. Kate’s, I would not have known that this tremendous community would empower me to become a person who uses my seat at the table, with privilege and power, to be a positive impact and influence in the lives of others — one who has confidence when facing ethical dilemmas, who has the knowledge, courage, and tact for standing and speaking up as an advocate for others.”
Abdi, student senate president, emphasized the importance of social justice in community-building, reminding each person that St. Kate’s is their community to own.
“We need to remember: what does community mean for us, and … how can we achieve social justice without understanding the value of community?” Abdi said. “St. Kate’s is my home, and when God gives you a home, you take it with love and welcome. I welcome you into my home, your home, and our home — and I wish you a wonderful year.”
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