2008 Donnelly College Delta Award presented to Sister Carol Ann Petersen, OSB

The following is Sister Carol Ann's speech delivered at the Donnelly College graduation, May 15, 2008


Sister Anne Shepard (left) with Sister Carol Ann Petersen.

It’s a privilege to be here tonight. Donnelly College and Keeler Women’s Center will always be linked by Sr. Jerome Keeler, a Benedictine Sister who had a vision of education bringing empowerment. As I look at the graduating class I recognize women and men who have come to Keeler for programs and services. Even if you no longer attend Donnelly, we hope you will continue coming to the Center. I also see 5 graduates who have volunteered at Keeler. We trust you remember that you never graduate from volunteering! It is an honor to receive the Delta Award. It is especially an honor to receive it at this graduation ceremony.

Donnelly College was founded in 1949. In that year the hourly minimum wage was 70 cents, the average cost of gasoline was 17 cents a gallon, and bread was 14 cents a loaf. And in 1949 Sr. Jerome Keeler saw the need to make higher education available in the urban core – higher Catholic education, liberal arts education, available for the large number of immigrants in the area, the majority of whom were poor.

Times change; the neighborhood changed. Gradually the surrounding neighborhood became an area where there were not as many Catholics. Donnelly went through hard times with diminishing enrollment. Some wondered if there was a need for a Catholic college in the urban core where few Catholics were being served. The story is that in the 1970’s a wealthy businessman offered Archbishop Strecker prime land in Johnson County where Donnelly could move into a flourishing area. But values and mission don’t change. The commitment to serve the urban core by offering Catholic higher education, liberal arts education to those who would not otherwise be served endured. To continue the work of Jesus Christ by making God’s love tangible and visible in our world is still Donnelly’s mission.

I suspect our hopes for tonight’s graduates are pretty much what Sr. Jerome hoped for her graduates in those early years: That you will be people who will make a difference, a positive difference in our neighborhood, our city, our world. Your challenge will be to deal with a world where there is still too much war, violence, prejudice, selfishness, disregard for our environment and human life, disease, hunger, homelessness and apathy. And all of these, to our shame, can be found within steps of our parking lot and front entrance.

Because your diploma will offer you more opportunities than many in our community who lack a college education or even a high school diploma, it is possible that you may allow material success to be your primary goal. Now, don’t misunderstand, I hope you do well, that you get a good job, that you’re able to earn a higher salary so you can afford to buy a house, to put gas in a nice car, to make generous donations to Donnelly during the annual phonathon.

But we – all who have invested ourselves in your future – hope that you do not forget that your education at Donnelly was a Catholic education. It has been imbued with the spirit and the personality of Jesus. Christ and his teachings are what make your education different from what you might have received elsewhere. Why is it different? It is different because it is more than an intellectual task. It is meant to form your conscience, to shape your heart, to deepen your faith and to set standards for your behavior. It is meant to put you in touch with our loving, compassionate God. Regardless of whether you are Catholic, Baptist, Muslim or whatever, you have met the spirit of Jesus, the same Jesus who was a voice and who through us becomes a voice for the poor and the powerless, those who are forgotten by our society; Jesus who raised up women and had meaningful conversations with them; Jesus who calls us to be peacemakers and people who care not only about ourselves but about others, especially those who are not as fortunate as we are.

Because of Sr. Jerome’s vision, you have received a liberal arts education, an education that fosters wonder and awe and delight in the sheer joy of learning for the sake of learning. History, art, music and literature teach us many things about ourselves and God’s creation. A liberal arts education brings us closer to God and to each other by inspiring us, and by fostering empathy and compassion. No matter what role you will fulfill in society or what job or career you will have, you will be richer and, hopefully, more open to the world around us because you have had exposure to truth and beauty, to sociology and history and theology.

As I remind you that God’s work is not done and as I challenge you to embody Donnelly’s mission by continuing the work of Jesus, making God’s love tangible and visible in our world, and by being life long learners, I want to congratulate you on all you have accomplished. By your hard work, and, as I know from what some of you have shared with me as you came to Keeler, often against seemingly unbeatable odds, you have completed the next level of your educational journey. With the faculty and staff I congratulate you and your families and your friends and all who have supported you. With you I thank the administration, staff and members of the Board of Trustees who live Donnelly’s mission and who made great sacrifices to ensure that you received an extraordinary education.

Congratulations and may your lives be blessed in every way. Remember Donnelly. Continue to live its mission and values. Thank you.