Saint Mary's News & Stories

A Heart for Giving Back: A Journey from Student to Scholarship Benefactor

Denise Donofrio ’73 graduated from Saint Mary's with a business degree, a solid work ethic, and a desire to help others whenever possible. Decades later, she has established a scholarship to help young women earn a degree and maybe some day, continue the tradition of leadership and philanthropy.

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Creating Community

In her monthly letter, President Conboy encourages us to use this moment in time to encounter each other more fully, to listen more generously, and to disagree without contempt. In doing so, she writes, we will model something urgently needed in our polarized world: a way of living together that is about seeking truth and building a common life that serves the common good.

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Saint Mary's Stories Archive

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Rosary Rally Unites Community in Prayer On Sunday, September 7 from 1:30-3:30 a Holy Cross prayer event took place at Bond Quad on the University of Notre Dame campus. The event was the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of a rosary event held at ND in 1950 in which 20,000 people gathered in Notre Dame stadium. Sunday’s event was held to promote family prayer, especially the Rosary.  Guided by Faith: Student Leaders Bring Pastoral Care to Campus Life For more than 10 years, the ministry assistant (MA) program has been offered at Saint Mary’s. Students are trained to serve their fellow students, acting as leaders of faith and role models, on and off campus. Saint Mary’s College has six MAs leading weekly faith formation nights and small groups, prayer experiences, retreats, offer hospitality to students, and connect them to opportunities in the Center for Faith, Action, and Ministry (CFAM). Best-Selling Author Julia Alvarez to Deliver Fall Humanities Lecture Best-selling author Julia Alvarez will deliver the Francis A. McAnaney Humanities Lecture on Thursday, September 25 in the Moreau Center for the Arts O’Laughlin Auditorium at Saint Mary’s College. Her novels How the García Girls Lost Their Accents and In the Time of the Butterflies give voice to those often left out of literature. Alvarez’s experience—with one foot in the world she left behind in the Dominican Republic and the other in a country that was often unaccepting, even hostile, to newcomers— became the rich soil in which her stories took root. “What I learned through story is that we're all the same. The same pains, the same joys that touch base in a human heart that is universal in all of us,” Alvarez said. Isabelle Auch ’26 Named Saint Catherine Medal Recipient Each year Saint Mary’s College awards the Saint Catherine Medal to a rising junior or senior who has demonstrated high standards of personal excellence and scholarship and has contributed to the College community. On August 20, President Katie Conboy announced senior Isabelle Auch ’26 is this year’s Saint Catherine Medal recipient. Learning How to Live As a new academic year begins, President Conboy brings forth several ideas by Michel de Montaigne, a thought leader from the 16th century. In her monthly letter, Conboy explores the act, in Montaigne's words, 'of learning how to live'. From First-Years to Future Leaders This weekend, Saint Mary’s College welcomes a massive first-year class to campus, one of the largest in decades. Planning to welcome this many new students to campus was months in the making, beginning with recruiting this group of talented and diverse women. We welcome our first-year and transfer students to the sisterhood of Saint Mary's College. Summer Research 2025 Thanks to the Office of Academic Research, Grants, & Sponsored Programs, Saint Mary’s students and faculty conducted robust summer research projects across many disciplines. Reunion 2025 Transcends Generations The friendships rekindled and the stories shared transcended generations as 650 alumnae and guests from classes ending in zero and five returned to campus for Reunion 2025 this spring. Commencement 2025 - Deepening Roots, Expanding Branches, and Cultivat... The chilly winds did not stop the smiles and anticipation of the Class of 2025. At the 178th Commencement, the 359 graduates sat among joyful family and friends, full of celebration, as President Katie Conboy presented their diplomas, proof of their hard work and determination. Former President of Ireland Mary McAleese addressed the Class of 2025, speaking on her presidential theme of “Building Bridges,”