DATE: August 14, 2006
MEDIA CONTACT: Melanie McDonald, director of media relations
PHONE: 574-284-4579
E-MAIL: mmcdonal@saintmarys.edu

Tall Ship Sets Sail with Saint Mary’s Crew

CHICAGO—One of the majestic tall ships sailing on Lake Michigan last
week had an unusual crew—students, staff and alumnae from Saint Mary’s
College.

Dawn Santamaria, a 1981 Saint Mary’s graduate, co-owns and operates the
Tallship Unicorn, a 118-foot topsail schooner. She offered her Saint
Mary’s sisters opportunities to take the helm of the vessel as it
navigated the Great Lakes in July and August, during the 2006 Tall Ships
Challenge.

The women stepped aboard for dockside receptions, several one-day sails
and a three-day executive development cruise designed to hone their
sailing and leadership skills. Several South Bend alumnae spent Friday,
August 11 on the ship, setting sail from Navy Pier in Chicago.
The group included Kara O’Leary of South Bend, Mary Harding of Granger,
and Carol O’Malley of Mishawaka, who graduated from Saint Mary’s in
1989, 1984, and 1967 respectively.

“My Saint Mary's experience taught me to value women, their friendship,
their intelligence and their supportive nature,” said Santamaria, who
has owned and run the Unicorn with her husband, Jay, since 1999. She
said her education at a women’s college played a major role in the
couple’s desire to offer on-board leadership programs for professional
women and teenage girls.

“Sailing also provides built-in natural metaphors for leadership,” she
added. Participants on the Saint Mary’s cruises practiced steering the
ship, climbing the rigging and raising the sails—experiences that also
teach lessons about risk-taking and teamwork.

###
SMC06- 35

PHOTO CAPTIONS:
#1 Mary Harding of Granger (foreground), a Saint Mary’s College alum, and another crew member haul up a sail on Tallship Unicorn on Lake Michigan.

#2 Carol O’Malley of Mishawaka (lower), a Saint Mary’s College alum, and another crew member “climbing the shroud.”*