Every time we drive onto the Misericordia University campus we think to ourselves what a beautiful place this is. It is the perfect setting for a university, lush rolling hills, beautiful trees, winding roads and walkways.

As our friend Barbara Loots would say: "It is a place where students can grow and bloom."

It is a peaceful place, a thoughtful place, a spiritual place, a welcoming place.

On this beautiful spring morning we were about to experience the compelling legacy of the women who founded and built this very special place.

It was Misericordia's nineteenth annual Scholarship Recognition Day.

Designed to express gratitude for the kindness and generosity of its scholarship donors and the academic accomplishments of its scholarship recipients, it was a morning like no other in our memory. It was a morning that brought people together to celebrate giving and receiving.

Those who know Misericordia and the Sisters of Mercy like to say the tradition of this place is a reflection of four values: mercy, service, justice and hospitality. The events of this day gave witness to each of these.

When we entered the Banks Student Life Center, we met one of our very favorite people, Marie Stolarick. As always Marie greeted us with a smile and her co-worker, Bob Kaleta, gave us our name tags and our table assignment. After a brief conversation we made our way to the reception in the Kennedy Lounge.

It was a much different atmosphere than the last time we were in this room. In July 2007, the Kennedy Lounge became the setting for our annual Irish Teachers Festival. It was a wonderful evening of entertainment and celebration made possible by our dear friend, Sister Jean Messaros.

On this Sunday morning, President and Mrs. Michael McDowell were receiving and chatting with guests. There was no music, no entertainment. The room was filled with the pleasant sounds of hushed conversation as people mulled about making new acquaintances.

Jack Kelly was snapping photographs. Sister Cecilia Meighan, RSM and Jane Dessoye were welcoming people in different sections of the room.

When Sister Cecilia spotted us, she welcomed us with a beautiful smile and a warm greeting. Kitch rejoined by telling her that her mother's name was Cecilia. If truth be told, we were there because of Mrs. Loftus and the scholarship for the Women With Children Program that bears her name.

When our conversation with Sister Cecilia ended Kitch turned her attention to the historical photographs that hang from the walls making the Kennedy Lounge so unique.

As we looked at a vintage photograph of the Victorian porch on the Irem Temple Country Club, Jane Dessoye, Executive Director of Enrollment Management, introduced herself by making a humorous reference to the early days of my teaching career. Then she introduced her charming husband. Together they made us feel right at home.

While we were talking, Sister Jean Messaros entered the room. Sister Jean is a dear friend who, in our opinion, personifies everything this day was about. Again and again, we have been the beneficiaries of her kindness and her thoughtfulness. She lives the Mercy Mission every day of the year.

While we were talking and laughing, Jack Kelly appeared out of nowhere to snap our picture. After that we left the Kennedy Lounge, and we followed the crowd to the Cafeteria for brunch.

Once inside the cafeteria we met another dear friend, Atty. Harold Rosenn and his wife, Sallyanne, and their son, Scott. It was no surprise that the Rosenns were there to celebrate this special morning. They embody all of the values of a kind and understanding heart. They love our valley, its people and our institutions of higher learning, and they do everything they can to help schools like Misericordia.

Atty. Harold Rosenn is a mensch who spreads joy and good will wherever he goes. He, like his legendary brother before him, the venerable Judge Max Rosenn, personifies everything that is good, decent and wholesome about our community.

After handshakes, hugs and warm greetings with the Rosenns, we made our way to table 15 where we met two of Misericordia's finest students and their families.

Deborah Craig is an impressive young woman who is the recipient of the Victoria Cadwalader Scholarship. She sat across from us between her husband and her daughter.

Mrs. Craig will receive her diploma in nursing in May. On this day she talked about the double shift she just finished and the night shift she would begin at 11 p.m. When she talks about nursing, her face lights up, and you know that she will be everything a nurse should be competent and caring.

Her mother's face is etched with the pride of accomplishment that every mother hopes for her children. Her eyes quietly and lovingly speak these words: "I am so proud of my daughter. She has worked very hard to fulfill her dream."

On the other side of the table, David Nossavage looks at the table favors that bear his name.

David is a sophomore majoring in Mathematics. He is the recipient of the Marita Delaney Burke Scholarship. He is a serious minded student who speaks confidently about his dream to become an actuary. His parents are beaming when to our surprise they are joined by their relatives, Jane and Bill Dessoye.

It was a mini family reunion complete with affectionate greetings, joyful smiles and words of praise for David.

It felt so good to be a part of this moment. We were witnessing the best that Misericordia had to offer on a morning of gratitude that was filled with hope, inspiration and thoughtfulness. It couldn't get any better than this, or so we thought, but indeed it did.

The program began with beautiful words spoken by Sister Cecilia, Director of Planned Giving and Fr. Daniel Toomey, university chaplain.

A brunch that was designed for royalty was laid out on two long tables that easily accommodated the large crowd that filled the cafeteria.

University President, Dr. Michael MacDowell began the formal program with words of appreciation and recognition for two women, Anne Louise Wittman and Marie Wittman Kilgallon, whose lives were changed by their Misericordia education. They were appropriately honored for the scholarships that bear their names.

Then it happened, a junior, Nicholas DeStefano, came to the podium to to express his gratitude for the Marie Wittman Kilgallon Scholarship. If ever there was a Misericordia moment, this was it. Nicholas DeStefano, a young student with the most open, joyful face I have ever seen quoted Mother Theresa about doing small things with great love, and then he spoke these words: Misericordia is a part of who we are, good people who do good things with mercy, hospitality service and justice.

Nicholas DeStefano represented Deborah Craig, David Nossavage and every Misericordia student in the room with dignity, class and a great heart. Moreover, he made those of us who were there as guests feel very good about Misericordia University and the future of our community and our country.

Jane Dessoye added to that feeling when she talked about her role in getting these wonderful young people to attend Misericordia University, and she touched my heart with a quotation that said it all: "I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do."

Alison Martin, a senior, ended the program with a beautiful prayer of thanksgiving, and the room began to empty as people made their way to the university chapel across the campus.

Just when I thought the morning could not get any better, it did. Without warning I was standing eye to eye with a very important person from my past. Mark Simko was a student in one of my courses in the early 1970's. In fact he was my student aide.

Mark was a serious-minded, reliable and very helpful young man who came into my life at a time when I was learning how to be a teacher. He was patient, kind and competent. He helped me get the manuscript for Appointment With Disaster ready for publication.

On this day, 34 years after his graduation we were reunited on this morning of gratitude because Mark and his wife we at Misericordia to celebrate their son Brian, a scholarship recipient.

Without question, this chance meeting was the highlight of the day, and like two college friends we chattered away as we made our way to the university chapel and the mass that would end our morning of gratitude.

Sitting in the the chapel listening to Nicholas DeStefano sing, Alison Martin read and Fr. Daniel Toomey tell us how relationships and friendships bring God's hope into our lives, I thought to myself how fortunate we are to have a place like Misericordia University, how grateful we are to have had the steadying influence of the Religious Sisters of Mercy in our lives, how important it is to gather in celebrations of gratitude and hope, how proud those Sisters of Mercy who founded this college must be, and how happy my mentor, Sister Mary Hilary, must be to know that Kitch and I experienced this wonderful moment in a place she loved.

After we said good-bye to Mark and his family with promises to get together this summer here in Windsor Park, we had a chance meeting with Tina and Mike MacDowell.

It gave us an opportunity to say thank you, and it provided us with an opportunity to share these words: You have a lot to be proud of and it is more than just the bricks and mortar of this place. It is the wonderful spirit and a priceless value system that made this morning of gratitude necessary and possible.

As we left Misericordia University on this magnificent day, we both felt the presence of the beautiful soul of Nancy Beck-Loftus, a women with children who deserved to be honored in this way.

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