January 2, 2015 Hecklinski Hits Milestone as Belles Outlast Brits NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Senior outside hitter Katie Hecklinski pounded down a career-high 24 kills on her way to becoming the seventh player in Saint Mary's volleyball history to eclipse 1,000 career kills as the Belles outlasted Albion, 3-2 (27-25, 26-28, 21-25, 25-22, 18-16). January 2, 2015 Pamela Carey Batz ’70 Receives 2015 Distinguished Alumna Award The Distinguished Alumna Award, awarded annually by the Alumnae Association of Saint Mary’s College of Notre Dame, IN, honors a woman who exemplifies the standards, ideals, and mission of this Catholic liberal arts women’s college and who has given outstanding service through ongoing work for the Alumnae Association. The award is the association’s highest recognition. January 2, 2015 College's SPARK Program Sparks Another Business (South Bend Tribune) Last fall, Colleen Spano enrolled in the SPARK program offered through the Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative at Saint Mary’s College. Her goal was to start a behavior consulting business, but during the seminars the idea for Shear Sunshine began to form. The new hair-cutting business is geared toward children with sensory processing disorders. SPARK assists local under-resourced, high-potential female entrepreneurs to “spark” or launch successful businesses. The next session is expected to be offered in the fall of 2015. January 2, 2015 Analyzing "Big Data" With Applications to Marketing Research Learn from Saint Mary's Class of 2007 alumna Erin Condon, Ph.D., about how big data is affecting market and consumer insights. Condon is a consultant for consumer and shopper marketing Research and Development with IRI, a market research company. January 2, 2015 2015 Alumnae Association Award Recipients Announced Saint Mary’s College is pleased to announce the recipients of the annual awards given by the Alumnae Association of Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN. The recognitions were distributed Saturday, June 6, at the Reunion Banquet as part of Reunion Weekend, June 4-7. January 2, 2015 Belles Take Fifteenth at Knight Invitational GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Saint Mary's cross country team claimed 15th place in a field of 25 teams and more than 200 runners at the Calvin Knight Invitational on Saturday. January 2, 2015 30th Annual Madeleva Lecture Series Event Features “Voices of Young ... The Saint Mary’s College Center for Spirituality is proud to announce an event to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Madeleva Lecture Series. The 2015 Madeleva event, which is free and open to the public, will feature discussions about the “Voices of Young Catholic Women” project, an initiative which celebrates the anniversary of the Madeleva Lecture Series. The event will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 16, in Carroll Auditorium of Madeleva Hall. January 2, 2015 Saint Mary's Campaign Raises $105M, $25M over Goal (Observer) Saint Mary’s concluded its comprehensive fundraising campaign, “Faith Always, Action Now,” after surpassing the initial goal and raising $105 million, making it the most successful fundraising campaign in the College’s 171-year history. Vice president for College Relations Shari Rodriguez said the campaign originated from the strategic plan Carol Ann Mooney’s published in 2008, which outlined the goals of the College for the next five years. January 2, 2015 Ash Wednesday Reflection: Public Ashes, Private Anguish The Ash Wednesday liturgy held in Regina Chapel this afternoon included a beautiful reflection from faculty member Susan Baxter. You may relate to her childhood perception of the ashes as a sign of "nobility" as a Roman Catholic, and her adult awakening that it's a symbol that we are all sinners: "Our ashes tell God we understand this, we believe this, we embrace this. Rather than wearing our ashes to proclaim our sanctity - as I did when I was a child - we wear them to acknowledge that we need God's Mercy now, today, as never before."