The Enduring Magic of Saint Mary’s

Dear Saint Mary’s Friends,

Each year on the evening before Commencement, I host one of my favorite gatherings of the academic year. Hours before caps are tossed into the air and celebratory photographs fill our Instagram accounts, there is a quieter moment—one that feels almost suspended in time.

We come together for a meal: honorary degree recipients, distinguished guests, trustees, graduating student leaders, and valedictorians. Families and friends sit together at candlelit tables. There is excitement, certainly, but also reflection. Gratitude. A growing awareness that something precious is coming to an end even as something new begins.

During the evening, I introduce each of our dignitaries and invite them to speak briefly about what the honor we are conferring means to them. I then introduce each student and ask them to offer the one word that best embodies their experience here. I always tell them not to worry if someone chooses the same word they had in mind. In fact, repetition only confirms its truth. This year, the words unfolded slowly around the room:

Friendship.
Becoming.
Sisterhood.
Empowering.
Home.
Loving.
Belonging.
Community.
Expansive.
Transformative.
Connection.
Family.
Lively.
Opportunity.
Resilience.

That is probably the deepest story of Saint Mary’s: people arrive hoping for achievement, but what changes them most powerfully is relationship. Because they become truly known within the College community, they become more fully themselves. Community does not diminish individuality: it enlarges it.

What strikes me most is that none of the students chose words like “successful,” “prestigious,” “competitive,” or even “academic,” though they certainly experienced all that those adjectives convey. The words they chose are profoundly human and describe an ecosystem of formation as much as an education.

I’ve learned over the years that there is something almost sacramental about the exercise itself of encapsulating a complex experience into a single word. I ask for one word, expecting perhaps a scatterplot of disconnected impressions. Instead, a kind of collective portrait emerges. The students unknowingly build a communal vocabulary for grace. Each word becomes a tile in the mosaic that is Saint Mary’s: individually incomplete; together unmistakable.

Our students arrive at the College with enormous promise, but also with uncertainty. Over time, through friendships, mentorship, intellectual challenge, prayer, leadership, laughter, setbacks, and encouragement, they begin to see themselves differently. They discover capacities they did not know they possessed. They become more courageous in their thinking, more confident in their voices, more generous in their leadership, and more grounded in who they are called to be.

Perhaps that is why the pre-Commencement evening moves me so profoundly each year. It reminds me that the true measure of an education is not only what students accomplish, but who they become in one another’s presence. Commencement celebrates achievement; this quiet gathering reveals something more lasting.

As the 2026 dinner came to a close, I found myself thinking that no strategic plan, brochure, or institutional statement could articulate Saint Mary’s more honestly than those words offered spontaneously by our students. They are not slogans. They are testimony. They remind us that Saint Mary’s is a place where students feel both rooted and expanded, challenged and loved, independent and connected. It is a place that, for a beautiful chapter of life, becomes home.

As another Commencement passes and a new class of alumnae steps into the world, I carry these words with me and offer them to you. They form a picture of what I believe is the enduring magic of Saint Mary’s.

Warm regards,

Katie Conboy, Ph.D.
President

P.S. Speaking of graduates becoming alumnae, we’re heading toward Reunion. And something big is coming! On June 6, please join us for a historic Saint Mary’s event—the public launch of the Ring Out Ring True comprehensive campaign. A livestream is available so you can learn more about our bold path forward—and see a few surprises along the way! Join the livestream starting at approximately 7:45 p.m. ET.

May 26, 2026