Agnes Hyungnam Moon, PhD
From the summer edition of 亚色影库 Magazine.
LEAD & INFLUENCE: The Campaign for the Next Level of Excellence: Our Students
An endowed scholarship fund has been established in honor of the late Mary (Kevin) O鈥橦ara, CSJ, 鈥45, PhD. A beloved philosophy professor, Sister Mary graced the St. Catherine campus with a towering intellect, imposing physical stature, and dedication to mentorship that helped advance the careers of many academics and professionals.
The $1.5 million fund was created as a bequest of the estate of Agnes Hyungnam Moon, PhD. The Sister Mary L. O鈥橦ara Scholarship Fund will provide tuition support for students with financial need. The bequest will also create a second endowed scholarship, the Anna Jayoung Chung Endowed Scholarship Fund, named after Moon鈥檚 mother, who was a woman considered to be ahead of her time in early 20th century Korea for her commitment to women鈥檚 education. Both funds will be awarded with a preference for students studying philosophy.
Sister Mary (Kevin) O'Hara 鈥45, PhD
The two scholarships align with the mission of 亚色影库 completely, says President ReBecca Koenig Roloff 鈥76. 鈥淥ur mission, educating women to lead and influence, attracts students who are leaders, grounded in reality and powered by values. The generosity of Dr. Moon鈥檚 bequest is a grand statement of faith in our students.鈥 The funds honor Sr. Mary鈥檚 history of mentorship by preparing women to be changemakers with a grounding in the liberal arts.
Though not a St. Kate鈥檚 alumna, Moon herself flourished thanks to the support of Sr. Mary, whom she met at a professional conference. The two became friends, and eventually Sr. Mary grew to be a personal and professional mentor to her.
Anita Pampusch '60, PhD
Anita Pampusch 鈥60, PhD, 亚色影库 president emerita and a former student of Sr. Mary's, recalls that the professor made a strong impression on just about everyone she met. "Everyone recognized her as one of the most intelligent faculty members on campus," says Pampusch. "She was a very good teacher and made philosophy a tremendously interesting subject."
Other Katies shared this experience. Back in 1991, Mary Ann Healy Kren 鈥66, sociology major, told the campus magazine SCAN: "We almost all graduated with a philosophy minor. Sr. Kevin could teach philosophy to a rock!"
Pampusch says that though students and faculty were sometimes intimidated by Sr. Mary's height and regal bearing, those who knew her well understood that at her core beat a true mentor's heart.
Pampusch spent her young adult years as a CSJ, earning her undergraduate degree in math and chemistry. She'd always assumed her life's work would be in teaching, but after taking Sr. Mary's courses, she developed a deep love of philosophy. Sr. Mary recognized this love in Pampusch, and eventually convinced her fellow sisters to send her on to graduate school.
鈥淪he took me under her wing,鈥 Pampusch recalls. Members of religious communities need approval to attend graduate school, she explained: 鈥淪r. Mary stood up for me in that. She was my mentor. She pushed it with the powers-that-be in the order.鈥
Thanks to this advocacy, Pampusch went on to earn a PhD in philosophy, later becoming St. Kate鈥檚 academic dean 鈥 and then first lay president. She also served on local, regional, and national boards, and served in the prestigious position of president of the Bush Foundation.
Like Moon, Pampusch will always be grateful for Sr. Mary鈥檚 mentorship. Without her, she says, her life would have gone in a completely different direction. 鈥淲hen you were around her, you felt you were in the presence of a great intellect,鈥 she says of Sr. Mary, 鈥渂ut you also felt her kindness 鈥 and her interest in encouraging your ambitions.鈥
The generosity of Moon, and donors like her, enables continued mentorship of students in their academic and professional paths to leadership, supported by the well-paved tradition of Sr. Mary and countless other St. Kate鈥檚 professors