DEEP-ROOTED CONNECTIONS All of the women enjoyed successful careers after graduation. And all of them have maintained relationships with at least some of the others. They’ve attended each other’s weddings, celebrated birthdays together, and helped their friends through childbirth, medical crises and more. “I have to say that Rochelle has been the one who actively worked to keep us connected through the years,” Sharon said. “The group made a point of getting together every few years through the decades since we left Erie. Clearly Mercyhurst created a very special bond among us.”
American artists to gain international acclaim. “Every time you saw me, you knew what my conversation would be about,” she added. “I was in touch with African-American students throughout the United States and constantly bringing news of what was going on and what we could do to members of the ABC.” Alicia said that, while the other black people with whom she has talked over the years said they had enjoyed their college years, her own experience was diferent. “For me it was a battle every day. … My greatest disappointment was because I became so involved with the ABC and trying to make the student body and city of Erie aware of what was going on in America with African-Americans, I kind of let my studies fall and did not graduate with honors which I should have.” Alicia was Mercyhurst’s last Latin major.
Others have stayed in touch on a one-to- one basis. Alicia saw Rochelle because of the sorority they both belong to, and met up with Carol (Mohamed) when she visited Pittsburgh for meetings and conferences. “I love all of them today. Chelle and I are in touch all the time,” Peggy noted. “I’m fortunate to have them in my life. They were always there for me. A real sisterhood.” Rochelle coined another name for that sisterhood. When Beverly Miller died, Rochelle wrote a tribute in the form of a prose poem. She signed it: Carpe Diem! The true Sistahs of Mercy , Rochelle, Sharon Ford Watkins, Carol “Blue,” Carol “White” Mohamed, Peggy Fox Lape, Alicia King Redfern
ROCHELLE GEORGE WOODING ‘71
ALICIA KING REDFERN ‘70
Rochelle, who had been diagnosed with MS before arriving at Mercyhurst, fell ill and was hospitalized during her senior year. She had to complete her English degree during summer school in 1971. Married the following spring, she moved with her husband to Maine’s Loring Air Force Base and began substitute
Alicia worked with Erie’s Urban Coalition for a while after graduation, but soon headed to Philadelphia, where she earned both a master’s and a doctorate in educational psychology from Temple University. She later earned a postdoctoral certifcate in gerontology from the College of St. Scholastica. She’s now retired after teaching at the college level for 28 years, most recently at Bloomsburg
teaching. When they returned to Cleveland, she got another teaching job, where some of her former teachers were now her colleagues. Finally, her husband’s career took them to Chicago, where she had a 29-year career with the Chicago Public Schools. Always a book lover, she had already earned credentials in reading, but she then pursued a master’s degree in library science and worked in an elementary school library. She faced new health challenges in 1989, when she had to go on dialysis and eventually needed a kidney transplant. Almost 30 years later, she still has the kidney her sister donated to her. Her MS now confnes her to a wheelchair, but Rochelle stays as active as she can with her church and with Delta Sigma Theta, a historically black sorority that’s involved in community service including tutoring, voter registration drives, and projects to help families. Mercyhurst honored Rochelle with a Distinguished Alumni Award in 1999.
University, where she’s a professor emerita. During her tenure there, she received the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Outstanding Women of Color Faculty Award, as well as Bloomsburg’s Outstanding Woman Award and Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award. Alicia founded the Circle of Sisters, an African-American women’s service organization, in Bloomsburg; is active with Delta Sigma Theta service organization; and served as eastern regional director, vice president and journal editor of the Pennsylvania Black Conference on Higher Education. She’s currently vice president and will soon assume the state presidency of the Pennsylvania chapter of PEO, a philanthropic education association that helps women achieve their educational goals. Alicia’s husband, Dr. Carroll Redfern, is also a professor emeritus at Bloomsburg. The frst African American faculty member hired by the university, he served as a chair of the special education department for 10 years before retiring. They have three daughters and fve grandchildren.
Rochelle George Wooding
During a visit to Aruba in July, Alicia King Redfern chanced to meet 2018 Mercyhurst graduate Ryan Kronmiller.
12
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online