Pitt Johnstown Mag Summer 2010 ver4 - Pitt-Johnstown Home Page ...

Education Champion Receives First-Ever President’s Medal
With a passion for helping
others and a commitment to
raising the standards of
education for woman, Mary
Rose of Milwaukee has created
unprecedented opportunities
for young women in Africa.
Her work to build a dormitory
and educational development
center for a school in
Cameroon earned her the firstever
President’s Medal of
Excellence. She was presented
with her award at this year’s
Commencement ceremony.
The President’s Medal of Excellence,
established by President Spectar, is
given to an individual who has
strengthened our communities by
empowering human beings to achieve
their fullest potential, contributing to
the dignity of all, and promoting
social progress.
In recognizing Mary, President
Spectar commented, “Mary Rose
embraces the importance of education
and its capacity to transform
communities, particularly the lives of
the disadvantaged. Through her
commitment to education, she is
creating unprecedented opportunities
for young women in Africa,
specifically in the republic of
Cameroon.”
With a bachelor’s degree in
education from Mount Mary College
in Milwaukee, Mary worked as a
teacher in the Milwaukee public
school system and later served as a
community volunteer, alongside her
husband, while raising four
daughters. In April 2001, following
her husband’s sudden death, Mary
“The genius of a champion for
individual freedom and social
progress like Mary Rose is that by
planting one tree, she really creates
a forest.”
PRESIDENT JEM SPECTAR
began volunteering at the community
center where he had served as a
board member. It was during her time
at the St. Ann’s Center for
Intergenerational Care that she first
learned of the St. Joseph’s Vocational
School for Girls in the missionary
community of Bafut, Cameroon.
In 2004, Mary spent a month
visiting the school in Cameroon. She
recounted her experience by saying,
“From my first visit, I was moved by
the generosity, hospitality and
vitality of the people of Cameroon. I
found the culture rich and inspiring
and the countryside beautiful. When
I returned to Milwaukee, I held in my
memory the beauty of the girls at St.
Joseph’s – their spirit, vitality, thirst
for education, and their potential.”
Upon her return to the United
States, she embarked on a campaign
“Mama Rose” and students from St. Joseph’s
to raise money for the
construction of a dormitory
and educational development
center at St. Joseph’s School.
Her efforts raised more than a
half million dollars, and in
2008 the dormitory and
educational development
center was opened. She
continues her involvement
with St. Joseph’s today and is
known as “Mama Rose” to
the school’s more than 350
students.
President Spectar
commented, “The genius of a
champion for individual freedom and
social progress like Mary Rose is that
by planting one tree, she really
creates a forest.”
Mary’s efforts have earned her
other honors including the 2008
Madonna Medal for Community
Service from Mount Mary College,
and the 2008 Vatican II Award for
Service to the Missions.
In an interview, Mary once said,
“My education helped me to see the
importance of women developing
their voices and exercising their
choices. I witnessed how women can
be an influence in our society and
how they are vitally important in
fostering social change here and in the
world. Give a woman an education
and you educate a community.”
2009-2010 ANNUAL REPORT ISSUE