Winter 2008 - Sacred Heart Schools
Winter 2008 - Sacred Heart Schools Winter 2008 - Sacred Heart Schools
Memories of College of the Sacred Heart Menlo Sister Connie Welch looks back to her college days at Sacred Heart Sister Connie Welch recently passed away at the age of 99, and not only was she the oldest RSCJ living in retirement at Oakwood, she was our last graduate of the College of the Sacred Heart Menlo, a four-year college that was offered on our campus in the early 20th century. Today, most alumni don’t remember or may not even be aware that at one time our campus offered a four year college degree through Stanford University. For many years, Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton (then known as Convent of the Sacred Heart Menlo) was a closed and cloistered campus. The nuns and the students rarely left the gates unless school had ended, and then only the “day” students left. The students and the nuns led a very structured and disciplined life, and one of the only reasons the teaching nuns were allowed to leave campus was to improve their education. Many of the RSCJ left campus to attend Stanford. When Sister Connie Welch attended classes at Stanford, she recalled “my habit created a lot of attention for me on the Stanford campus.” The professors understood that it was difficult for the cloistered nuns to attend Stanford so they began to come to campus to teach the nuns. The relationship between the Stanford professors and the nuns was especially close in the case of Dr. Aurelio M. Espinosa and the RSCJ. Professor Espinosa came to Stanford in 1910 as a linguistics expert, the Chair of the Spanish Department and a Catholic. At this time it was very desirable to extend your Sacred Heart education. For the next several years, young women took several courses on the Sacred Heart campus taught by Stanford professors as part of a fifth year of high school dedicated to study in Today, most alumni don’t remember or may not even be aware that at one time our campus offered a four year college degree through Stanford University. a particular field of interest. It was from this popular and growing program known as the “Superior Class,” that the idea of a women’s college was pursued. By 1920, the RSCJ along with Professor Espinosa, began earnest discussions with Stanford University regarding starting a four year college for women at Sacred Heart. The nuns and the conservative Catholic Professor believed that there wasn’t an appropriate college in the Bay Area for a young educated Catholic woman. When word came back with approval from the president of Stanford, an arrangement was made that women could remain at the Convent of the Sacred Heart for their studies and receive a degree from Stanford. In 1921 the College of the Sacred Heart obtained its official charter and classes began with nine academic departments under the direction of Mother Guerin, offering an AA degree and a four-year degree. Sister Connie Welch was a college student along with Dr. Espinosa’s daughter Marguerita Espinosa, who later became the head of Castilleja School. According to her memoires reflecting on her time in college at Sacred Heart, Margarita said, “In the fall of 1921, I first entered Menlo as a member of the 4th academic class. I was in the first graduating class of the College of the Sacred Heart. There were five of us in the class: Evelyn Fox, Harriet McCormick, Mary Kay Conroy, Adelia Leet and me. All three of my years at Menlo were happy and productive ones, though very different from life today. Some of our activities included playing cricket, cooking in a little cottage in the garden (later this became an art 14 H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8
Sacred Heart college girls relaxing on the Main Building east lawn after a long day of studying. “They knew we were cloistered nuns, so they helped us add college classes to our curriculum.” classroom in the 70s and 80s), splendid congés, gouté in the courtyard, primes, visits from our families on Sunday, café au lait at breakfast, and much study. Bedtime was early, but it was possible to communicate far into the night with next door neighbors with Morse code.” The college girls attended school in the Main Building along with other girls from ages three to eighteen. They created their own social life, but it was difficult since Menlo Park was very isolated at the time. The college girls lived on the third floor and because so many of the girls had friends in sororities at other universities, they decided to form their own which they named the “Theta Thirda Flora’s.” Sister Welch, who attended her first two years of college at Sacred Heart, fondly remembered that “[college] was wonderful. The Stanford professors came over and gave their services to us. They knew we were cloistered nuns and they helped us add college classes to our curriculum.” Sister Mary “Be” Mardel (SHP ’35, SFCW ’39) remembers that the “college was very small because many women did not go to college in those days. It was very isolated and was not much bigger than twenty to thirty students at a time.” After a while it became obvious that the college needed its own home without a primary or secondary school attached, and needed to be in a location that would attract more students. Since San Francisco did not have a Catholic college for women, it was an obvious choice of location. At the time, the beloved Reverend Mother Rosalie Hill was Vicar of the Western Vicariate of the Sacred Heart order, charged with building, designing and/or creating Sacred Heart schools, including finding a new location for College of the Sacred Heart Menlo. Sr. Welch was assigned to be Reverend Mother’s driver for her scouting trips to San Francisco and remembered taking her up and down all of the hills in San Francisco which frightened the Reverend Mother. When she saw the site of Lone Mountain, she knew she had found the right location and she negotiated with the San Francisco Archdiocese and Archbishop Hanna (who was very supportive of the college) to purchase the land. The Right Reverend Monsignor Joseph M. Gleason moved with the college from Menlo Park to San Francisco along with his important library of over 40,000 volumes that formed the cornerstone of the library for the College. From 1930 until 1932 when Lone Mountain construction was completed, the college operated out of 2040 Broadway in San Francisco. In 1932, the campus for the San Francisco College for Women was opened, and in 1978, it became a part of the University of San Francisco. In 1937, Sister Welch returned to live on our campus after taking her final vows. She earned a Masters and PhD from Stanford and later became Mistress of Studies (today known as Academic Dean) serving in this position for the Western Province until 1963. She is also well remembered by her students as the caretaker of the three Great Danes that served as the school’s mascots and security force. Sister Connie Welch passed away shortly after she was interviewed for this article. She entered Sacred Heart as a freshman in 1921 and graduated in 1925. She continued her studies at the College of the Sacred Heart Menlo and graduated in 1929. She later completed a Master’s and PhD at Stanford. She joined the RSCJs in 1929, took her first vows in 1932 and began teaching at Sacred Heart that same year until 1963. She was much loved by her students. In addition, she served as the Vicariate Mistress of Studies for the Western Province. When she left Sacred Heart in 1963, she went to teach at the College for Women in San Francisco, now University of San Francisco (USF) until 1978, at which time she moved back to Atherton to retire at Oakwood. She continued to work after she retired, teaching underprivileged children how to read. In 1987, she celebrated her Golden Jubilee for her 50 years as an RSCJ. In 2007 she was moved briefly to Our Lady of Fatima in Saratoga, CA, a full-care nursing facility, where she died peacefully, on January 1, 2008. Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8 H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r 15
- Page 1 and 2: Published for alumni, families and
- Page 3 and 4: Contents Heart of the Matter Winter
- Page 5 and 6: Seniors Inducted into the Sacred He
- Page 7 and 8: Even in her lifetime, St. Madeleine
- Page 9 and 10: attended a diversity conference wit
- Page 11 and 12: g r a d u a t e s o n l y t w o sen
- Page 13 and 14: Spirit of Mater Awards I n October,
- Page 15: had no idea how to begin. One eveni
- Page 19 and 20: “Because we had many of the same
- Page 21 and 22: Seniors Jade Fields, Shannon Hamilt
- Page 23 and 24: Class of 1977 reunion photo. 1970s
- Page 25 and 26: The Changing Face of the Alumni Boa
- Page 27 and 28: Sean Day (SHP ’97) is currently a
- Page 29 and 30: Karla Gurley (SHP ’00) in South A
- Page 31 and 32: Dan Brady (SHP ’04) will graduate
- Page 33 and 34: 1 2 3 1 4 5 6 Young Alums gather ov
- Page 35 and 36: Stella Dyer is remembered for her l
Memories of College of the<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Menlo<br />
Sister Connie Welch looks back to<br />
her college days at <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong><br />
Sister Connie Welch recently passed away at the age of 99, and not only was she the oldest RSCJ living<br />
in retirement at Oakwood, she was our last graduate of the College of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Menlo, a<br />
four-year college that was offered on our campus in the early 20th century. Today, most alumni don’t<br />
remember or may not even be aware that at one time our campus offered a four year college degree<br />
through Stanford University. For many years, <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong>, Atherton (then known as Convent<br />
of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Menlo) was a closed and cloistered campus. The nuns and the students rarely left<br />
the gates unless school had ended, and then only the “day” students left. The students and the nuns led a<br />
very structured and disciplined life, and one of the only reasons the teaching nuns were allowed to leave<br />
campus was to improve their education. Many of the RSCJ left campus to attend Stanford. When Sister<br />
Connie Welch attended classes at Stanford, she recalled “my habit created a lot of attention for me on<br />
the Stanford campus.” The professors understood that it was difficult for the cloistered nuns to attend<br />
Stanford so they began to come to campus to teach the nuns.<br />
The relationship between the Stanford professors and the nuns was especially close in the case of Dr.<br />
Aurelio M. Espinosa and the RSCJ. Professor Espinosa came to Stanford in 1910 as a linguistics expert,<br />
the Chair of the Spanish Department and a Catholic. At this time it was very desirable to extend your<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> education. For the next several years, young women took several courses on the <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong> campus taught by Stanford professors as part of a fifth year of high school dedicated to study in<br />
Today, most alumni don’t remember or<br />
may not even be aware that at one time<br />
our campus offered a four year college<br />
degree through Stanford University.<br />
a particular field of interest. It was from this<br />
popular and growing program known as the<br />
“Superior Class,” that the idea of a women’s<br />
college was pursued.<br />
By 1920, the RSCJ along with Professor<br />
Espinosa, began earnest discussions with<br />
Stanford University regarding starting a four year<br />
college for women at <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong>. The nuns<br />
and the conservative Catholic Professor believed<br />
that there wasn’t an appropriate college in the Bay Area for a young educated Catholic woman. When<br />
word came back with approval from the president of Stanford, an arrangement was made that women<br />
could remain at the Convent of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> for their studies and receive a degree from Stanford.<br />
In 1921 the College of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> obtained its official charter and classes began with nine<br />
academic departments under the direction of Mother Guerin, offering an AA degree and a four-year<br />
degree. Sister Connie Welch was a college student along with Dr. Espinosa’s daughter Marguerita<br />
Espinosa, who later became the head of Castilleja School. According to her memoires reflecting on her<br />
time in college at <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong>, Margarita said, “In the fall of 1921, I first entered Menlo as a member of<br />
the 4th academic class. I was in the first graduating class of the College of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong>. There were<br />
five of us in the class: Evelyn Fox, Harriet McCormick, Mary Kay Conroy, Adelia Leet and me. All three<br />
of my years at Menlo were happy and productive ones, though very different from life today. Some of<br />
our activities included playing cricket, cooking in a little cottage in the garden (later this became an art<br />
14<br />
H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8
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