November 29, 2011 Fall 2011

Donor Profiles

2011 Honor Roll Donor Profiles

Elbee Bynum Farricker ’40

“Trinity was four years full of friendship and learning.”

Farricker is the mother of the Kate Farricker ’70 and the late Mary Farricker ’72, sister of the late Elizabeth Bynum Russell ’45 and aunt of Cathleen Moran Vermylen ’71.

Jeanne O’Donnell Quigley ’48 and husband, Jim

“My husband Jim and I are more than happy to support Trinity. I am so grateful for the strong Catholic education I received and my excellent teachers. I remember all the wonderful experiences and the opportunity to see and learn about Washington, D.C. I made so many great friends and we have stayed close over the years.
I want my gifts to help make sure that the enjoyment I had is kept around for today’s students. I hope that they remember all the good things like I did. I am so grateful for what Trinity gave me.”

Paula Hanrahan Connolly ’51

“My four years at Trinity were a major influence on my life following those years. For me, readings from the Summa and Father Burke’s Sunday homilies were a major part of building a firm faith base for the ensuing years. The friendships we made have been life-long. Whether we see and communicate with friends on a daily or weekly basis, through class letters or at Reunions, the shared bonds remain.

Trinity truly generated within us a love of learning, and today we continue to accept the challenge of new skills and learning (computers and technology, for example). Our involvement with the Christ Child Society, Wekanduit and the like set us on a road of charitable help to others. Now we serve others with needs, whether on a one-to-one basis, through group involvement, on boards or in soup kitchens, through church and community organizations.

Faith, friendship, love of learning and charitable service to others – Trinity has given us these gifts and many more. Our gifts to Trinity, in turn, can and will ensure that future students will also receive and benefit from them. In giving back, we are in some small way continuing that path.”

In 1981, Connolly established the Paul B. And Katherine E. Hanrahan Scholarship Fund to honor her parents and to support new generations of Trinity students.

Anne Higginbotham Nardi ’64

The Nardi family: Mary Beth Micucci, Anne Marie Fitzgerald, Gabe, Anne, Michael, and Gabe.

“I give to Trinity as a way of giving back. The education I received at Trinity has served me well. It was an excellent preparation for graduate work and, most importantly, for life. Supporting Trinity is a way to ‘pay forward’ so that current students may experience the benefits of a Trinity education. As a college faculty member and former college dean, I know firsthand the importance of private giving. Support from alumnae can make a significant difference in the lives of students, in the opportunities they are given, and in the programs a school can offer.”

Nardi is a professor of educational psychology and former dean of the College of Human Resources and Education, West Virginia University.

Robin Spence Costa ’65

Robin Spence Costa ’65 with her grandson and husband, Dominic

“I continue to support Trinity because I believe that the university continues to serve a vital role in the education of women and the furthering of social justice. I am proud that Trinity has expanded opportunities for a more diverse population of students.”

Ann Marie Courtemanche ’76

Ann Marie Courtemanche ’76, standing third from the left.

“My years at Trinity were truly life-changing. Being 500 miles from home was a liberating and eye-opening experience for me. The friends, the faculty and administration, the learning both in and out of the classroom, the growth and the sense of community were inspiring, challenging and supportive. The ’70s were a time when women were just becoming ‘liberated.’ The fact that that concept is now so foreign to generations of female college students is both comforting and motivating. Quality higher education is vital for success in the world and instrumental to self-awareness and personal growth.
Being able to support institutions providing such education is something I’m happy to do and can’t imagine not doing! I can never give back an amount equal to what I received.”

Mary Twomey ’80

Mary Twomey ’80 and her mother.

“Trinity was a great experience for me. In the first few years after graduation, I gave to the Trinity Annual Fund because I wanted to thank the faculty members who had inspired me and mentored me. I also gave then because of the friends I had made at Trinity who I now know (and blithely assumed then) would be my friends for life. As I’ve grown older I’d say I now give for an additional reason: I want to ensure that someone else like me, that is, someone who wouldn’t have been able to go to Trinity but for financial aid, can attend Trinity and learn, grow and excel and eventually because of the foundation they receive at Trinity, can go on to make a difference in her community and society at large.”

Holly Sutherland Kimmitt ’00

“Going back to graduate school at the age of 45 was not easy for me, but getting a master’s degree from Trinity was probably the most intellectually and emotionally rewarding experience of my adult life. Though I was challenged from day one, I knew each professor was committed to leading us to graduation in a disciplined, stimulating, and caring way.
Since graduating in 2000, I have made a habit of donating yearly to Trinity’s Annual Fund. Between annual giving, I make smaller donations to Trinity’s Scholarship Fund. I give in memory of lost friends and in lieu of gifts for graduations and birthdays. I have found those remembered in such a way are touched that something meaningful was offered in their name or that of a loved one.
I encourage my grown children to give regularly, even a small amount, to their alma maters. A degree after one’s name is forever and cannot be taken away. I am proud Trinity has gone back to its roots of educating women who may not otherwise be educated. I know the money will directly benefit Trinity students.”

Margarette Fingers Shovlin ’97

“I graduated from Trinity in 1997, just shy of my 49th birthday. It wasn’t easy. I was working full-time, was a single mom, and volunteered for a myriad of organizations during my studies. Obtaining my undergraduate degree was something I had always wanted to achieve and I would become the first person in my immediate family to graduate from college.
This isn’t the first time I have been asked to write for Trinity. In 1995 I wrote “Lessons from Camp: An Environmental Journal.” The article was written after I was featured in the Washingtonian magazine on the same topic. I wrote about my weeklong adventure in the forest, its impact on me, and most importantly my discovery that, ‘…the young have a strong sense of what is needed from them. My classmates, who were half my age, impressed me very much with their intelligence, their self-assurance, friendly faces, and their openness to new ideas. After having spent time with them, I can say that if they bring those attitudes and qualities into their later lives, they will be wonderful assets to any community. I think America’s going to be in good hands…’.
One of the main reasons I donate to Trinity is to help all women, like my former classmates, achieve their dreams of obtaining an undergraduate degree. Those of us who have passed through Trinity’s hallowed halls should not forget those who are following in our footsteps.”

Mia Oliver ’12 and Jasmine Cosby ’13

Oliver and Cosby

“I was inspired to give back after my experience as a Reunion student worker. I met so many women who still give to Trinity. As a student leader I can understand why it is so important to give, to make contributions for financial help for students. I want to inspire other students to give.”

– Mia Oliver ’12

“I was determined to be the first student to give because I want to be a role model for other students. I learned from alumnae about giving when I was a Reunion student worker. Their donations make sure that we have scholarships and I am grateful to them for my scholarship, so I want to give back.”

– Jasmine Cosby ’13

Marilyn Demorest ’65

“Like many of today’s students, I would not have been able to attend Trinity without the financial support provided by a scholarship. My decision to make a planned gift reflects my current excitement about Trinity’s outstanding successes and bright future and my desire to ‘pay it forward’ in support of the university’s noble mission. The gift also represents a desire to honor my parents, Henry and Marion Demorest, who sacrificed so much to provide me with the college education they could not afford for themselves.”

Maisha Leek ’03

“I give to Trinity because I must give. When I came to college, paying for my education was a scary proposition. My family, four children raised by grandparents, was in no real position to pitch in. It was a Trinity scholarship that closed the funding gap and made my education possible. This money, like most Trinity scholarships, was furnished by Trinity alumnae who never met me but gave to Trinity nonetheless. They made my education possible.
I give because I owe it to current and future Trinity students that are just like me and are likely to be in my same position – needing the help of alumnae that they’ve never met to support their education.
To be clear, I am not rich. My monthly gift is less than what I paid for my iPod. But for our small school what is small at other institutions makes a big impact at Trinity.
It was one of my classmates, a Trinity alumna who was giving regularly, who asked me to consider “If we don’t give, who else will?” It is my hope that you will consider this question and give back, at least what you received, to help a student and her family. They’re counting on us.”

Leek is the Chief of Staff for Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA)