STOP, LOOK and HELP: Connect with us online - share your news, find a job
We want to hear from you! Please share your news with us at www.saaconnect.org for the next issue of Veritas magazine by Monday, June 15. We want to hear the latest updates regarding your family, career and personal interests. Have a job or internship prospect you'd like to share with alumnae? Our alumnae job board at www.saaconnect.org reaches out to thousands of alumnae who are looking for new opportunities. The board provides a great way to network with other SAA graduates in a multitude of career fields. Check out our job board to see what's currently available via our vast alumnae network.
Join Us: RSVP for the Alumnae Reunion Reception next week!
The 2010 Annual Alumnae Reunion Reception is next week! All alumnae are welcome to join us 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 12 for a complimentary event that will honor graduates with class years ending in "0" and "5." Guests are encouraged to stop by this year's reception on the way to their Saturday night, class-specific gatherings to mingle with classmates and alumnae from other class years, enjoy wine and appetizers, and see the SAA campus circa 2010. Campus tours also will be available. Please RSVP at www.saaconnect.org or e-mail alumnae@st-agnes.org with questions.
Congratulations to the Class of 2010!
The St. Agnes Academy Alumnae Association welcomed 209 new SAA alumnae following the school's annual commencement on May 22. Of this year's graduates, 94 will be attending colleges outside of the state of Texas. Louisiana State University leads the way with SAA graduates with 18 students planning on attending there in the fall. One student will be travelling to Spain to attend Saint Louis University-Madrid. Of the 115 students staying in Texas, 24 will be attending Texas A&M University while another 15 will be at the University of Texas at Austin. Sixteen students will be staying here in Houston attending the University of Houston, the University of St. Thomas and Houston Baptist University. In all, the Class of 2010 will be attending 67 different colleges and universities in 23 different states and the District of Columbia. The total scholarship worth of the class is $18,432,018. The class also comprises four National Merit Finalists, one National Merit Semifinalist, 26 National Merit Commended Scholars, three National Achievement Scholarship Outstanding Participants, eight National Hispanic Scholars, and four National Hispanic Honorable Mention awardees. During their time at St. Agnes, the Class of 2010 also performed more than 21,000 hours of social-justice service work in the Houston area and around the world. For the first time in St. Agnes history, the Academy honored three seniors as the school's valedictorians. The tri-valedictorians are Andrea Acosta, Amanda Couch and Erica Smith. We welcome our new alumnae and are excited to see how their futures unfold!
Mary Ann Chambers '57 receives 2010 Alumnae Veritas Award
For Mary Ann Chambers '57 (fourth from left in photo at left), being named the 2010 recipient of the Alumnae Veritas Award at St. Agnes Academy's Madonna Day ceremony was coming full circle.
"As a primary school student at St. Agnes, I carried the crown for the Blessed Mother, just ahead of the valedictorian and salutatorian," she said. "Madonna Day has a special place in my heart and receiving the award at this year's ceremony was a really special moment for me."
Mary Ann was nominated for the award by her classmate and friend, Carolyn Carbajal McCairns '57. "She has definitely been the glue to keep the Class of '57 together," McCairns said in her nomination form. "She is the most devoted person I know to SAA."
For more than 10 years, Mary Ann has been a primary motivator in reconnecting the St. Agnes Class of 1957. Through phone calls, e-mails and meticulous research, she tracked down all but a few of her classmates in time for their 40th reunion. Since then, she's helped organize monthly dinners and luncheons, reunion gatherings, and provided support for classmates who suffer from illness or personal loss. She's also a key alumna in keeping her class apprised of events and volunteer opportunities at the Academy.
"Since I started out at St. Agnes at five and attended there through my senior year of high school, St. Agnes has always been a part of my life," she said. "I honestly don't remember much before that! St. Agnes has given me so much, truly a road map for life. I think the entire Class of 1957 had this same experience and I feel lucky to be a part of bringing us together to celebrate that."
Mary Ann followed her mother's lifelong example in remaining committed to St. Agnes and the Dominican Sisters. "I learned the value of a Dominican education from her," Mary Ann said. "My mother stayed connected with the St. Agnes community and the Sisters even after I graduated. It was easy to follow her lead and I appreciate her special and specific care in teaching me how to honor those who've given me so much."
Today, Mary Ann teaches exercise classes and spends time with her former teachers and retired Sisters at the Dominican Villa. She was especially close to Sister Germaine Trahan, O.P., her first-grade teacher, who died in May. Mary Ann also became part of the Dominican Family, an organization of lay people devoted to continuing the Dominican charism in the Houston community. She also is a board member at The Rose, Houston's leading breast cancer organization providing screening services and support for local women, and a founding member of The Federation of Houston Professional Women.
Mary Ann had a 34-year career with Gulf Oil and Chevron, but retired to take on new opportunities. Today, she's a passionate Pilates instructor and coordinates the active older adult program at the Weekley Family YMCA.
No matter what endeavor she takes on, Mary Ann is a proud St. Agnes alumna with a strong belief in the school's future. "I'm so impressed by the momentum at St. Agnes. Nothing can stop an Academy graduate," she said. "They instilled in us a value system, beyond academics, in the '50s that has seen us through all sorts of life's challenges. That same tradition exists today. We were St. Agnes girls and today they are St. Agnes women! The confidence to meet the challenge is our Veritas heritage."
Did you know? Fun fact about your alma mater
Did you know reunion events started on the St. Agnes Academy campus in 1979? The Classes of 1939, 1949 and 1954 braved intense rainstorms and flooded streets April 21, 1979 to make it to SAA for the first event in the former Albertus Hall (now the Strake Family Cafeteria). Guests enjoyed "Bloody Marys and wine" before a "delicious luncheon of chicken breasts in wine sauce" was served. The success of the event spurred the classes of 1959 and 1969 to organize reunions on campus later that summer. Within the year, the Academy was inviting all classes on campus for events - later morphing into SAA's all-alumnae reunions like this year's event slated for 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 12 on campus. Please RSVP via www.saaconnect.org. (Source: St. Agnes Alumnae Newsletter - Volume 6, Number 3: July 1979)
