In the beginning

Oh memories! I entered St. Alexius School of Nursing in 1958. This was the beginning of a life changing experience. Unknown to me the beginnings of Mary College were also stirring. We, the nursing class of 1961, were presented with an English class in 1959, which to us, as nursing students, seemed out of place. We were made aware that the Benedictine Sisters were visionaries and initiating Mary College. As my classmate and sister-in-law Mary Kraljic remembered asking the class instructor, “How can you have a college without a building?” [Mary College did not have it’s own campus until September 1968 – until then, classes were primarily held in Boniface Hall at St. Alexius.]

As I look back, there was an assignment for the class that has remained with me. We read and discussed Alan Paton’s “Cry, the Beloved Country”. The apartheid movement was underway in South Africa. This book broadened my understanding of people and injustice in our world. I have followed Africa and the tumultuous changes of this continent through my life. In 1992 Africa beckoned, I visited the countries of Kenya and Tanzania and had a view from the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro at 19,430 feet.

Agnes Graber, RN
Class of 1961