May 11, 2026 First Impressions Marelys Valencia is an Associate Professor of Latin American Culture and Literature. She recently presented poems from her book, Sanctuary of Fasting Daffodils, along with unpublished works, at Instituto Cervantes in Frankfurt, Germany, and at Aluna Art Foundation in Miami. Sanctuary of Fasting Daffodils is available at the Saint Mary’s College bookstore. May 11, 2026 Portrait of Possibilities Malea Schulte Richardson ’14 and her husband Aidan Richardson believe that Saint Mary’s has lived up to its promise of promoting rigorous, liberal arts academics, experiential learning, and moral and ethical formation. A decade later, the Richardson’s establishment of the Susan Vanek Experiential Learning Fund affirms and supports this promise. May 8, 2026 Ministry for Social Transformation Program Concludes Second Year In its sophomore year, the Ministry for Social Transformation (MST) program at Saint Mary’s College supports students discerning their vocations as leaders, carrying forth the legacy of the Sisters of the Holy Cross. This year’s cohort consisted of nine students, who recently celebrated their involvement at the Saint Mary’s Symposium on April 30. May 4, 2026 The Power of She: From Saint Mary’s to Medicine and Back Again Mary Morgan Mitchell ’12, at right, never believed the naysayers. If she had, she would never have become the accomplished, generous doctor she is today. Because of the affirming experiences and opportunities afforded to her at the College, Mitchell, a sports medicine physician at Virginia Tech University, has become a loyal donor to the Saint Mary’s Fund. “I give back so others can have the same experience that I had. Never in a million years would I have thought that I would have made it into a position like this. That is what Saint Mary's did for me,” she said. May 1, 2026 Preparing Nurse Leaders: Inside Saint Mary’s DNP with Dr. Scarlet Sp... Her career started in the steel mills along Lake Michigan. Today, Dr. Scarlet Spain is influencing how healthcare is practiced, taught, and improved at Saint Mary’s. As director of Saint Mary’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program, Dr. Spain shows Saint Mary’s students what’s possible with a DNP degree. Through hands-on campus immersions, expert faculty, and meaningful clinical experiences, DNP graduates are prepared to make an immediate difference in healthcare. April 30, 2026 Great Expectations, Great Archives Hidden—but not by design—the Rare Book Room offers students a rare kind of access: the chance to engage directly with centuries-old texts, and history becomes something not just studied, but held. Made possible through the ongoing collaboration between the Cushwa Leighton Library and the Saint Mary’s College community, this carefully kept space is a dynamic site of learning, and the distance between past and present collapses. April 29, 2026 CFAM Migration and the Common Good Service Experience During a recent mission immersion experience in Tucson, nine Saint Mary’s students engaged with migration through learning, reflection, and direct encounters. According to participant Leylany Rivera ’28, the experience revealed the human realities behind migration and the systems that shape it. “More than an academic experience, this trip became a call to continue advocating for compassionate, community-centered change,” Rivera said. April 27, 2026 Building With Disciplined Imagination In her April letter, President Conboy invites readers into a practice of disciplined imagination, one that is bold enough to look beyond the present and attentive enough to consider how the seeds planted today will take root, grow, and shape the future of Saint Mary's. April 22, 2026 Belonging — It’s More Than a Word at Saint Mary’s For Saint Mary’s Professor of Psychology Bettina Spencer, belonging is the foundation of flourishing. To that end, she designed a new course titled Belonging as part of the Signature Course Fellowship Program through the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Ethics and the Common Good. Thirty Saint Mary’s students in the inaugural class created a documentary film around this theme, which premiered April 26.