Stories from Parents

She's Ready!

Celebrating Commencement 2009, Peggy Bucher Cahill ‘80, a member of the Parents Council, provides the following reflection on her daughter Katie's experiences and growth during her years at Saint Mary's:

My daughter Katie graduated from Saint Mary's College this year. On that special day, as we waited for the graduates to emerge from LeMans Hall, my mind wandered back to when we brought Katie to Saint Mary's. She was nervous, apprehensive, and shy. She knew few souls on campus-not even her roommate. As we left her that August day, she and I both cried as we hugged good-bye. I know she wasn't quite sure she was going to be okay, but I was positive she would be. I had been the beneficiary of a Saint Mary's education myself, as had Katie's older sister, and I knew it was just the place for her.

“Katie absolutely flourished at Saint Mary's! The small class sizes allowed her to find her own voice.”

It turns out that I was right (as mothers sometimes are!). Katie absolutely flourished at Saint Mary's! The small class sizes allowed her to find her own voice. Through the nurturing of her professors, she gained confidence in her opinion and in herself. She took advantage of all Saint Mary's has to offer. She became involved in Student Government, she tutored Spanish in a local high school, and she played the piccolo in the Notre Dame Marching Band. She spent the summer after her sophomore year in Seville, Spain. The friends she has made are many and very dear to her. I know that they will be lifelong friends, having bonded over their shared experiences and mutual love for Saint Mary's.

Are we proud of Katie? You bet we are! Somehow she found time to get two separate bachelor of arts degrees-one in Elementary Education and the other in English Literature-while minoring in Spanish. Her quest for a teaching position began with several interviews where the principals had told her they called her because of the excellent reputation Saint Mary's has in the field of education. We are thrilled that Katie was offered and accepted a position teaching kindergarten in the Archdiocese of Chicago.

As the sun shown on the procession of graduates, our family was on tiptoes looking for Katie. Then I saw her flashing a giant grin, her white tassel bouncing as she walked by, and for an instant I locked eyes with her. In that split second that passed between us, I could see a face full of love and gratitude, a poised young woman, a Saint Mary's woman, ready to take on the world! This time, she knows it, too.