New York alumnae event a first

By Margaret LeRoux

When four decades of Holy Cross women alumnae gathered last spring in New York City, the event combined service with socializing and soul searching. The invitations to “Women for Others, Women for Ourselves,” highlighted the balancing act most find themselves in daily.

“We decided that this would be one day when Holy Cross alumnae could have it all,” says Caren Piela ’94, former president of the New York chapter of the General Alumni Association.

The goal of the planning committee was to create an event that would be attractive to four decades of women who graduated from Holy Cross. They also wanted to incorporate the values that were such an important part of their college experience. 

The result was a two-part event; the first half was a service project and the second half took on a more reflective tone with several alumnae leading a discussion on the personal and professional decisions they have made.

“The committee did a lot of brainstorming and came up with an event that was more than career networking,” Piela says. “We wanted the discussion to focus on life paths rather than career paths and the event to recognize the many paths that Holy Cross women have chosen.”

When more than 70 volunteers showed up on the last Saturday afternoon in April, the Holy Cross women were elated.

“We thought we’d probably get 25 responses, and if 50 women came, we’d be thrilled,” Piela says. “It was so exciting to get such an enthusiastic response.”
For the service portion of the event, the Euphrasian Residence of Good Shepherd Services was chosen as the beneficiary. The Euphrasian Residence is a short-term center housing teenage girls with personal and family issues. It’s run by the sisters of the Good Shepherd who provide youth and family-focused programs for more than 10,000  children and families in New York.  The Residence operates an on-site school and provides a full range of health, social and recreational activities for girls between the ages of 12 and 16. The Holy Cross alumnae offered their services leading  or participating in workshops on a variety of topics, from dance and crafts to career planning. 

Even women who couldn’t attend the event sent donations. Good Shepherd Services received $800 in contributions. Holy Cross alumna Amy Wilkins ’84 donated 100 copies of Seventeen Magazine and tee shirts; Julie Halpin ’84 rallied her clients, including Joe Boxer, Pillsbury, Topps (Bazooka bubble gum) and Ferrero USA (Nutella and Tic Tacs) to donate products for goodie bags.

“The combination of service, socializing and reflection is such a great model,” notes Kristyn M. Dyer ’94, associate director of alumni relations. “We’re hoping to do another event like this in Boston next year.”

“The day epitomized the best parts of our Holy Cross experience,” adds Piela, who is a fine example of how Holy Cross graduates are forging new life paths.  She graduated in 1994 with a degree in psychology and spent the next four years in the entertainment industry working for companies including Turner Broadcasting, Sony Corporation and the National Basketball Association. 

“I was going full speed ahead, on a plane four days a week, working around the clock” she says. “But after a while I realized that my lifestyle didn’t reflect the person I was striving to be.”

Piela resigned at the end of the pro basketball season last year and is now working in the public affairs department at New York University Stern School of Business as she pursues her master’s degree in education.

In the process of planning and executing the Holy Cross women’s event, she “heard from other women who had gone through a similar soul searching process,” she says. “We’re all asking the same question: What kind of a person do I want to be?”

In addition to Piela, the planning committee for Women for Others, Women for Ourselves included: Lauren Thomas ’98, Jennifer Burns ’96, Keelin K. Ahern ’95, Elisa Shevlin Rizzo ’93, Jennifer Thompson ’92, Sheila Connolly Healy ’90, Julie Halpin ’84, Amy Wilkins ’84, Sarah Garrity ’82, Liz Sprague ’80, Kathleen Lynch Moynihan ’80, Mary Donohue Quinlan ’76, and Joan Sinopoli ’76.

Speakers included: Julie Halpin, ’84, chief executive officer, The Geppetto Group; Kathleen Maloney, ’78, managing director, Goldman Sachs; Pamela McGovern ’85, special agent, FBI; Kerry Robertson O’Brien ’92, clinical systems coordinator, Lenox Hill Hospital; Beth Bacon Blaber ’81, stay-at-home mom; and Eileen M. White, Esq. ’83, director of charitable giving, Goldman Sachs. 

Margaret LeRoux is a free-lance writer from Worcester.