“ When I was at Mercyhurst, Pope John XXIII opened all the doors and windows of a stufy church and we saw changes all around us, not just at Mercyhurst, but in our local parishes as well. Mass with guitars and folk music.... religious in regular clothes.... - Georgina Cantoni ” “ We were that transition class. It was a good transition. We were growing up, school was changing, all for the better. We were a little more of a change agent class. - Marlene DiTullio Mosco The Vietnam War did bring a kind of expansion of life to the campus. Girls had ” “ ‘ friends and relatives being drafted so awareness became much more intense. Vatican II was concluding and the changes brought by the decisions in Rome afected some of the practices we had been used to. One I remember in particular was that we no longer needed to wear a head covering to go into chapel. Another major change from Vatican II was that some of the nuns chose to wear street clothes, rather than the traditional habit. - Stephanie Lucas Basile ’ ” ’ “Political issues became huge then. I didn t go to march at Selma, but I would go to rallies here in Erie. I remember going to Shiloh Baptist Church in one class for a rally for civil rights. Vietnam was such a big thing, students were involved in protests, and it was very Georgina Cantoni Georgina – who edited the Praeterita yearbook in 1967 and took photos for the Merciad newspaper – began her career as a reporter for the Erie Morning News and did freelance writing and public relations in the Erie area, then moved to Dallas as a writer/editor for the National Center of the American Heart Association. Completely switching felds, she later earned a graduate degree in geology. She put her newly acquired math and science knowledge to work as a technical writer and, after working for several years with a small high-tech startup company, opened her own small consulting frm. She eventually focused on usability analysis and business analysis. Now retired, she lives in Duluth, Minnesota, where she volunteers with the local animal shelter and food bank and is a Bear Educator for the North American Bear Center. She married Jheri McMillan in 2010.
’ decision to admit men to Mercyhurst, several acknowledge they re glad the change didn t come until after they d left. Attending an all-girls school was ’ ’ “ ’ important—I had discovered that the learning environment with other women was very appealing—and, the sisters KNEW that! Their focus on educating women was inspiring! I had no objection to going coed— but, then I didn t have to attend classes with the men. I did feel, though, that it needed to happen for Mercyhurst to survive—I m glad it did happen. - Paula Blood Pitts ’ ” ” - felt it had to be. Maureen Milan Carroll Overall, Sister Carolyn and Dr. Garvey possessed the foresight to repave the direction of Mercyhurst from a prim and proper all-girls college to one that was “ ‘ ’ “I was supremely glad it happened the semester after I graduated. There were approximately 700 women on campus and it was a small and close-knit family. We all knew fnancially that men would have to be admitted to sustain any growth and despite the fact that most of us were against it, we all much a part of our discussions – should we be there?” - Jeanne Keim Phillips Going coed While class members now applaud the
Marlene DiTullio Mosco
Marlene was one of the frst Mercyhurst women to take courses at Gannon. She was interested in a business career, but didn’t want to teach, so she went downtown for courses in economics and business management. After graduation, she became a training director at a hometown bank where she later moved up to director of marketing and public relations. For 30 years she steadily climbed the corporate ladder, survived the merger of two fnancial institutions, and in 1998 was named the frst female regional president of PNC Bank. She had been elected a trustee of her alma mater three years earlier and made board history as the frst graduate of Mercyhurst elected chair of the board. Retired now after 47 years at PNC and 25 years on the Mercyhurst board, she’s enjoying her young grandson. (Both daughter Emily and son-in-law Bob Merski are Mercyhurst graduates.) Her husband, Homer Mosco, runs the travel agency they own.
12
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online