Mercyhurst Preparatory School and the Alumni Board of Governors will host the Laker Legends Scholarship Gala on Friday, from 6 to 10 p.m., at the Marriott's Ambassador Center Crystal Ballroom.

The event recognizes outstanding alumni who have been nominated by their peers. Jessica Horan-Kunco, '89, will receive the Distinguished Alumni Career Award for her success as an Erie City Councilwoman. She is also the co-owner of Kunco Landscape Inc.

Caitlin Welsh, '97, a foreign affairs officer for the United States Department of State, will receive the Young Alumni Award.

The Rev. Donald Baxter Jr. and U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Paradise Baxter, a current board member, will be honored with the Laker Legends Philanthropy Award; and Jovon Johnson, '02, who plays for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers football team, will receive the Laker Legends Sports Award.

In addition, Carla Betti, a Mercyhurst Prep social studies teacher, will receive the Mercy Award.

Alumni Association President Natalie Dwyer Haller said that for the first time the organization is awarding honorary alumni status to individuals who are not alumni of Mercyhurst Seminary or Mercyhurst Prep, in recognition of their proven friendship and service to the school. These individuals are Sister Maura Smith, RSM, and Sister Mary Ann Bader, RSM.

The evening will also feature live, silent and scholarship auctions, including a sunset cruise aboard the Lady Barbara with hors d'oeuvres and beverages for 15, a condo in Montana for a week, an adult Learn to Row and Sunset Happy Hour for 8, just to name a few.

All money raised in the scholarship auctions provides scholarship and financial aid for deserving MPS students.

Contact Tina Piano Espin, '87, for sponsorship, reservations or more information at 824-2161 or tespin@mpslakers.com.

There's always Hope

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Meg Loncharic: Mercyhurst Prep toasts alumni

Overall, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey given to Newtons middle and high school students in last fall show that Newton youths are engaging in less risky behavior than the state averages, though concerns remain.

The risk assessment survey given to students every two years, was given to 6000 students between grades 6-12 last November. After the removal of frivolous and otherwise flawed responses, 3000 responses were analyzed.

Mental Health

Forty seven percent of Newton Middle School students and 74 percent of high school students describe their lives as either somewhat stressful or very stressful.

Students most commonly report school issues are what causes them stress, followed by social issues, appearance issues, and family issues.

Eighteen percent of students report experiencing depression and 8 percent reported seeking medical attention for depression. Twelve percent of students reported hurting themselves on purpose in the previous 12 months.

Four percent of students reported attempting suicide in the previous twelve months. Statewide, 7 percent of students reported attempting suicide.

Several school committee members said that while overall, the trends were positive, but any number of students attempting suicide is alarming. Committee member Jonathan Yeo asked what the administration plans to do to with the information to get the numbers even lower.

Of course you want the numbers to be zero, but you know theyre never going to be, said Committee Chair Claire Sokoloff. This couldnt be more important."

Assistant Superintendent for Student Services Judy Levin-Charns said that she would share the survey results with all principals and continue to refine her efforts to serve students social and emotional needs.

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Newton risk behavior survey shows positive trends

March 26, 1925 Sept. 24, 2013

Mary Frances Schneckenberger, an administrator in the Buffalo Public School System, a world traveler, bowler, gardener, avid golfer and bridge player, died Tuesday in Buffalo General Medical Center after a brief illness. She was 88.

Born in Buffalo, she attended Fosdick-Masten Park High School and became vice president of the newly formed Alumni Association in 1947. She earned her bachelor and masters degrees from Buffalo State Teachers College. She was a doctoral candidate at the University of Buffalo where she earned a degree of specialist in educational administration. A member of Casting Hall at Buffalo State, she played the title role in I Remember Mama, directed by Mina Goosen. She was president of the student government, a member of Alpha Honorary Society and Delta Sigma Epsilon.

Her teaching career began in Kenmore. She also taught at the Harlem Road School in Snyder, and she was among the first faculty of the new Allendale School in Snyder.

While her sons were young, she was a substitute teacher for three years in West Seneca. Returning to full-time teaching in Buffalo, she then became an administrator at Schools 53 and 69, Dr. Martin Luther King and the Poplar Street Academy. She retired after 30 years in education in 1985.

A member of Ebenezer United Church of Christ in West Seneca, she served on the Christian education board, also as trustee, deacon and elder. She served as greeter chairman for more than 40 years. She was an active member of the senior citizens group and also West Seneca Senior Citizens.

She was a member of the Museum of Science and served as a docent after retirement. She was also a docent, in recent years, at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. She was a longtime member of the Elma Meadows Womens Golf League and of the El Rio Golf Club in Fort Myers, Fla., where she had a home.

Her husband of 57 years, Lloyd L., died in 2008. She is survived by two sons, Marc and Steven.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Oct. 12 in Ebenezer United Church of Christ, 630 Main St., West Seneca.

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Mary F. Schneckenberger, Buffalo Public Schools administrator

Thanks to a number of donors, a corridor of the Boston University School of Medicine is now decorated with restored plaques, portraits and pictures commemorating significant figures in the schools history.

BU MED students and officials gathered Tuesday to honor the restoration of several works of art and historical artifacts now decorating the medical campus. MED Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Douglas Hughes and various donors made the renovations possible, said Provost of the BU Medical Campus Karen Antman.

Over the course of about three or four months, Dr. Hughes identified a number of items that were important to the history of the school and arranged to have faculty and staff make donations so that they could be renovated, Antman, who is also MED dean, said.

During a brief reception on the MED campus, Antman thanked faculty, staff and alumni who made the restorations possible with their donations.

Its important to have a culture of philanthropy on the medical campus, she said in her remarks. We certainly have some very supportive alumni who have donated to scholarships and to research support, but weve also got staff and faculty who have stepped up to the plate and each done a part of these projects.

The additions will improve academic life for students as well as promote the schools history, Antman said.

What you see [here] makes an immense difference, she said Having access to history makes for deeper appreciation of the history of the school.

Restored works include a fountain that now sits outside MEDs central building, an antique grandfather clock and a number of photographs and pictures. Many of the pieces commemorate leaders and other significant figures in MEDs history.

Honored historical figures included Samuel Gregory, original dean and founder of Americas first female medical school, which later became BUSM, Israel Talbot, original BUSM dean who created Americas first co-ed medical school, and BUSM graduate Anna Howard Shaw, who chaired the National Womens Suffrage Association.

You all, through your donation, have brought our history back to life, Hughes said.

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Newly decorated BUSM corridor honors its history

Join us for the Duke Divinity School African-American Alumni Day and our annual Gardner C. Taylor Lecture Series with guest lecturer and preacher Rev. Martha Simmons, founder of The African American Lectionary.

This will be a reunion not to miss as we journey with the university-wide 50th anniversary commemoration of the first black students to attend Duke. The Divinity School reunion will be an opportunity for networking, community building, and celebrating the mission and vision of the Office of Black Church Studies under the new directorship of Rev. Dr. Eboni Marshall Turman. There will be a morning plenary session focusing on the historical, present, and future direction of the Office of Black Church Studies and the legacy of African-American church leaders and theologians.

Tuesday evening will feature a dinner for alumni, students, faculty, and staff at the Hilton Durham. Come enjoy food, fellowship, and a joyful time as the Spirit moves us from memory to hope. Rev. Dr. William Barber II, M.Div. 89, president of the NC NAACP and pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church, will offer an inspirational message. During the dinner, we will honor select alumni and memorialize those who have passed from labor to reward.

At the same time as the reunion, well also be hosting the annual Gardner C. Taylor Lecture Series. Since 1975, the Gardner C. Taylor Lecture Series has brought outstanding black preachers to Duke University. The lectures are named in honor of the Rev. Dr. Gardner C. Taylor, pastor emeritus of the Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Registration is required for all events.

Rev. Martha Simmons

Rev. Martha Simmons is an associate minister at Rush Memorial United Church of Christ in Atlanta, Ga. She currently resides in Atlanta and is a native of Tchula, Miss. For more than 25 years, Simmons has preached throughout the U.S. and in Africa and has served in a variety of ministerial capacities. For the past 18 years, she has served as the preaching scribe for the Black Church through the codification, preservation, and elevation of African-American preaching for present and future generations. In this work, she is providing homiletical models and approaches to ministry that promote excellence in African-American preaching and ministry.

Simmons is often called upon to talk about the current state of black preaching and black faith, and was quoted by the religious press on the use of faith in the 2011 and 2012 State of the Union addresses. She can be heard regularly on programs such as the Operation PUSH broadcast. Simmons has also developed a reputation for being a mentor to young clergy (having assisted more than 20 young clergy in becoming pastors), and she is a life coach to numerous senior pastors.

Rev. Dr. William Barber II

Rev. Dr. William Barber is president of the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP. He serves as pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church Disciples of Christ in Goldsboro, N.C., a 120-year-old congregation with more than 400 members and 30 active ministries. He is chairperson of the Rebuilding Broken Places Community Development Corporation, a non-profit organization involved with building affordable single family homes and senior citizen housing and providing job training, affordable child care, and inner city revitalization in Goldsboro.

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Rev. Martha Simmons to Deliver the Gardner Taylor Lectures This Week at Divinity

By the early 1950s, the accreditation requirements for nursing schools had evolved to the point where the Notre Dame de Lourdes (NDL) Hospital School of Nursing in Manchester was no longer able to offer the full range of classroom instruction required. For a short period students traveled to Rivier College in Nashua for some classes and later the school contracted with Saint Anselm College to provide instruction in several subjects.

Graduates of the NDL School went on to live lives of service in a variety of medical settings. Some found their path in the military. During World War II the school participated in the Cadet Nurse Corps, a federal program designed to help meet the wartime shortage of trained nurses. Tuition and other costs were subsidized, and the normal course of study was accelerated. This national effort produced nurses at a fast pace while enabling students to play a bigger role in the hospital setting.

From 1911, when the NDL School was founded, to 1953 at least 40 graduates served in the military in all branches of the service. More would serve during the Vietnam War era. Some of these nurses were sent abroad to provide medical care to the wounded.

After Sarah C. Ramsey graduated from the school in 1918, she signed up with the U. S. Naval Reserve for a four-year stint. Her daughter, Cecile Sirois Sartorelli, graduated from the school in 1943, and served in the army from 1944 to 1946. She completed the Flight Nurse Course at the Army Air Forces School of Aviation Medicine in July 1945. She spent the next year as an air evacuation flight nurse transporting wounded soldiers from France to the United States as part of the 830th Medical Air Evacuation Squadron.

A Derry native, Lillian (Bournival) Stevens graduated from NDL in 1939. She enlisted in the Army Nurses Corps in 1943 as a Second Lieutenant. After serving at military bases in the U.S., she was sent to England to work as a psychiatric nurse. She reflected about this experience in a New Hampshire Union Leader interview in 2012, "I was just a nurse. I felt I could offer whatever I had. It was difficult to see the boys suffer, but it was rewarding to nurse the guys who needed help." She continued her career in the U.S. Army Reserve, and after 34 years retired as Lieutenant Colonel.

First Lieutenant Alice Houle, a 1950 graduate, joined the Army Nurse Corps in 1951. She served with the nursing section of the 171st Evacuation Hospital in Korea, and was presented with a citation for meritorious service. In 1952, NDL graduates Ida Vigue and Rachel Benard both joined the Navy Nurse Corps as Ensigns. In 1968, graduate Pauline Hebert was a captain in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps of the 12th Evacuation Hospital in Cu Chi Vietnam. Also serving during the Vietnam era was Louise Tremblay of Manchester. Louise was an Air Force flight nurse, trained at the School of Aviation Medicine at Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. She became an officer in the N.H. Air National Guard's 157th USAF Dispensary.

The Sisters of Charity of St.-Hyacinthe (the Grey Nuns) founded Notre Dame de Lourdes Hospital on Manchester's West Side in 1894, and ran it with compassion, zeal and professionalism. However, as the decades passed, they were faced with mounting financial challenges. The nursing school was closed in 1965, and in 1971 control of the hospital was turned over to a lay (non-religious) corporation. In 1974 Notre Dame Hospital merged with Sacred Heart Hospital to become Catholic Medical Center. The old Notre Dame Hospital was demolished in 1976, and a modern building was constructed on its site. This facility was enlarged and improved in subsequent years.

The Manchester Historic Association has collected the formal photos of many of the graduating classes of the Notre Dame de Lourdes Hospital School of Nursing. These images may be viewed at http://www.manchesterhistoric.org. Also, the school's alumni association maintains scrapbooks chronicling the school's history. This group is collaborating with the Association to collect stories, documents and photographs relating to the history of the school. If you can help, please call (603) 622-7531 or e-mail history@manchesterhistoric.org.

Next week: Valley Cemetery Stories continue with the tale of Mary Gale.

Aurore Eaton is executive director of Manchester Historic Association; email her at aeaton@manchesterhistoric.org

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Aurore Eaton's Looking Back The Notre Dame de Lourdes School of Nursing 8212 a legacy of service

Edwardsville, Ill. (PRWEB) September 23, 2013

The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Nursing has selected five recipients to receive 2013 School of Nursing Excellence Awards. They will be honored at the Nursing Excellence Gala and 50th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, Oct. 5. The event in the Morris University Centers Meridian Ballroom begins at 5:30 p.m.

Our gala award recipients are prime examples of individuals and organizations who continuously give of themselves for the good of others, said Anne Perry, interim dean of the SIUE School of Nursing. Their service to the School, the nursing profession and their communities is truly admirable.

The awardees include: Outstanding Friend to Nursing: Karen Kelly, Ph.D. The award honors a person, business, foundation, legislator or other entity that has demonstrated a civic responsibility to the profession of nursing and to society by advancing the nursing profession through acts such as funding, supporting legislation or promoting nursing through media outlets.

Kelly graduated with a bachelors in nursing from SIUE in 1972. She has dedicated her life to the betterment of the health care industry and nursing education. A triple SIUE alumna, she earned a masters in 1977 and a doctorate in education in 1983.

Currently serving as an associate professor and director of continuing education in the SIUE School of Nursing, Kelly has worked with many state and national organizations to promote the advancement and success of the profession. She is president of the Illinois American Nurses Association and continues to make strides towards nursing excellence in every aspect of her life.

Outstanding New SIUE School of Nursing Alumna: Carla J. Daniels, FNP-BC, AOCNP The award was created to honor a baccalaureate or masters graduate who has made a significant contribution to the nursing profession and earned a degree within the past 10 years.

Daniels earned a family nurse practitioner masters degree from SIUE in 2004. An oncology nurse practitioner at Springfield (Ill.) Clinic, Daniels has achieved credentials as an Advanced Oncology Certified Nurse Practitioner, a certified Breast Health Specialist and a BRCA testing expert. She is a leading resource for genetics counseling in the Springfield area and is a tireless advocate for breast cancer prevention, detection and treatment. Next year, she will celebrate 25 years at Springfield Clinic.

Outstanding SIUE School of Nursing Alumna: Lenora M. Drees, APN-FNP The award was created to honor a baccalaureate or masters graduate who has made a significant contribution to the nursing profession and who earned a degree more than 10 years ago.

Drees began her nursing career in 1968 after graduating from St. Johns Mercy School of Nursing with a nursing diploma. In 1989, Lenora graduated from SIUE with a bachelors in nursing. Four years later, she earned a family nurse practitioner masters from the University of Illinois Chicago.

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SIUE’s Karen Kelly Among School of Nursing’s 50th Anniversary Awardees

While its not certain Mary Virginia Polson Stapleton is the oldest Jefferson City High School alumni alive today, at 99 years old shes definitely a member of an exclusive club.

On Tuesday, shell be recognized at the Jefferson City Public School Foundations annual gala to be held at the Capitol Plaza Hotel. This year, event organizers are celebrating the school districts 175th anniversary. The gala is held annually to raise funds, but also honor the contributions of the education communitys leading benefactors, volunteers, teachers and alumni.

Although slightly hard of hearing, Stapleton is spry for her age. She still drives and takes a walk around the neighborhood daily.

Im not in perfect health. Everybody has a few aches and pains, she said.

Stapleton, who graduated with the Class of 1931, moved to Jefferson City with her family from Moberly after the Wabash Railroad folded up and her father sought new work.

I was thrilled to death to go to a brand new high school with a swimming pool, she said.

One of her most vivid memories was serving as an attendant in the high schools homecoming court on what is now the Miller Performing Art Centers stage.

Karen Enloe, who serves as director of the JCPS foundation, said shes delighted Stapleton is available to attend.

Shes an accomplished pianist, she said. And she still drives, although she told me shes planning to quit when she turns 100.

Gary Kremer, executive director of State Historical Society of Missouri, will emcee the gala.

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Gala to celebrate district’s 175 years