A family story intertwined with the Mount's history
When James Ruggiero was 14 years old, he worked with his father, a mason supervisor at a new building in Newburgh: a Motherhouse for the Dominican Sisters. Impressed with the piety of the nuns, he vowed that if he ever had a daughter, she would go to Mount Saint Mary's Academy.
Years later, he was blessed with two daughters, Janice and Jeannine. They not only attended the Academy, but also the elementary schools on campus, Casa San José and Bishop Dunn Memorial School. The sisters agree that Mount Saint Mary's Academy was instrumental in preparing them for many of the challenges they faced in adulthood.
After graduating from the Academy, Janice went on to study Economics in college. She had a job lined up on Wall Street, but was struck by a drunk driver and had to undergo physical therapy. While she healed, a friend gave her the opportunity to interview for a local teaching job. She credits Sr. Agnes Alma McDonald, OP with teaching her the organizational skills that she needed as a teacher. Another influence was Sr. M. Thomasina, OP, a history teacher whose nightly homework assignment was to watch the news and write an outline on the broadcast. The next day, the class would discuss what they heard and share their opinions. This taught the students to form an opinion and not be afraid to defend it. Finally, “Sr. Mary Francis Mc-Donald [OP] was a perfect role model for those of us who became teachers because of her mastery of subject material, calm demeanor, and cheerful patience,” Janice reminisced. “We all loved her.”
Meanwhile, Jeannine has conquered her own struggles thanks to the Dominican Sisters’ influence. Despite the speech and physical impairments that came with being diagnosed with polio at age four, the sisters patiently worked with her throughout the years and helped her learn to read and write. She particularly remembers Sr. Rose Anita Cannon’s inspirational kindness and praise of her small achievements. “The Sisters looked at education as training individuals to learn, not just bookwork,” Jeannine noted. She had come to discover later in life that she had dyslexia and remarked that the sisters were before their time: they knew how to teach children with disabilities before her disability even had a name.
Today, Jeannine is able to use the sisters’ techniques with her two boys, one of whom has disabilities. She was determined to give her son the same love and understanding that she had as a child. Jeannine says that the sisters made her feel like she was part of a huge family and that they gave her the foundation to keep her strong.
As James helped construct the Motherhouse in the 1920s, who would have guessed how much the Dominican Sisters would enrich his family? As he built the foundation of the Motherhouse, so too did he build his family’s future. The Ruggerio sisters will forever be grateful for what the academy give them.
