Gannon Scholars Learn to Lead
Thirty-seven women at Loyola University Chicago are 2019-20 Gannon Scholars. The program is named for BVM Ann Ida Gannon, who hoped women would be inspired “not only to achieve their rightful place in society but also to use their gifts in bettering the world.” Photos provided by Loyola University Chicago
by Mary Fran McLaughlin, BVM
Winter 2020, issue of Salt
The Gannon Scholars Program, a jewel of the Gannon Center for Women and Leadership at Loyola University Chicago (LUC), is a progressive four-year program that engages students in leadership, service, and research.
Founded in 1984, the program continues Mundelein College’s legacy of academics and service. Appropriately, the Gannon Center was named to honor the late Ann Ida Gannon, BVM, a pioneer in women’s education and leadership who served as Mundelein’s president from 1957 to 1975.
In the midst of about 12,000 undergraduate students at LUC, Gannon Scholars shine, claiming some of the most coveted academic awards, holding on-campus leadership positions, and volunteering or interning in community organizations.
Recently two Gannon seniors, Juana Fonseca and Emily Robertson, received the President’s Medallion, given to an outstanding student in each of Loyola’s 14 schools.
Juana, from Chicago, is a biology major on a pre-medicine track. She is currently engaged in a two-year research project focused on the socio-emotional challenges facing undocumented women in the United States.
Emily, from Avon, Ohio, is one of the first students in the School of Communication’s new creative advertising major and is the firm director of Inigo Communication, Loyola’s unique student-run communications agency.
As director, she spearheaded an organization restructure—possible because of her vision, her ability to communicate that vision, and her steadfast commitment to results.
Scholars in Many Fields
This year, 37 women are enrolled as Gannon Scholars: six are first-generation college students and 14 are women of color. In the spring of 2019, their median GPA was 3.92, and 14 participate in the interdisciplinary and one in the business honors program. Their majors represent 26 areas of study.
The $8,000 Gannon scholarships are awarded annually to incoming first-year students and are renewable for three additional years based on successful participation.
More than 1,200 applications are received annually for 10 places! Gabrielle Buckley, Mundelein ’77, director of the Gannon Center, and Sarah Hallett, program coordinator, sift through initial applications before potential Gannon Scholars join them in the final steps: inviting 40 candidates for an interview, actively participating in the interviews, and selecting the next class.
Gannon sophomore Sarah Lehmann, a psychology major from Rapid City, S.D., says she was feeling scared and alone before the interview, where she experienced, with great relief, “unconditional love and care.”
Returning in August, she coped with homesickness and adjustment to new surroundings. Gannon proved to be her “home away from home. It changed my life and I am not alone.”
She is discerning where her psychology major will lead her and “what God wants for me.” She is drawn to a career in health services with special attention to mental health.
Program Provides a Sense of Belonging
Valeria Monreal, first-year Gannon Scholar from Chicago studying biomedical engineering, is looking forward to a career in stem cell research.
Her strong commitment and drive to keep up with her challenging STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) classes, including her first physics class, indicates potential academic achievement and success.
She is already involved in several student organizations on campus, including Engineers for Social Justice and the Latin American Student Association.
As a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) student, she is passionate about immigration and separation of families; the environment and gender equity in STEM are also priorities for her.
“I would not love Loyola as much if I were not in Gannon,” she says, adding that among the Gannon Scholars she has found strong group support, even a physics tutor, and a bond of belonging that was sparked with a retreat early in the semester.
Gannon Scholars meet weekly on Monday evening for one hour to “check in” and explore areas of interest and women’s leadership.
Sarah works with Gannon presenters who take turns to facilitate and prepare the topic. Topics include social justice, feminism, and professional and leadership skills.
Research Draws Scholars
The opportunity to do research was what attracted Rachel Phan, a senior accounting major from Beaverton, Ore., to apply for the Gannon scholarship.
Her research project deals with sustainability accounting for investors. Rachel plans to stay at LUC next year to complete her master of science in accountancy and eventually earn a CPA.
Environmental issues are extremely important to her. In her first year, she joined Alternate Break Immersion through campus ministry during spring break to visit an organic farm in Michigan.
Participants helped to “clear the land” and care for some of the smaller animals on this 150-acre family farm. Last summer she returned to work and live on the farm—planting and harvesting crops and preparing meals for the workers from fresh seasonal produce. She found rich multi-cultural and intergenerational diversity among fellow workers and created a variety of new menus featuring seasonal plants, fresh from the farm.
She truly values the Gannon program for “single-gender space where you can be yourself, speak openly about what you think, disagree with a different view or opinion, put aside fear of being or looking too smart.”
Encouragement Sustains Studies
Lastly, senior Radia Daud, from Chicago, will launch her nursing career this summer.
Now a U.S. citizen, Radia was born in Eritrea in East Africa and as a toddler fled with her mother to Ethiopia, where they lived in refugee camps while seeking asylum in the United States.
This bright young student learned English quickly when she entered public school and advanced her studies, completing an International Baccalaureate certificate in high school.
She applied for the Gannon scholarship in order to attend LUC. She realizes how much she has received, “especially the encouragement to do my best.”
Her research explores the health care of refugees who are underserved because of language barriers and lack of finances. Radia intends to work on a doctorate in nursing practices while she gains experience in the field of nursing.
Ann Ida wrote in 2009, “As it moves into the future, the Gannon Center will extend its influence beyond Mundelein College, Loyola University Chicago, and the United States to inspire women throughout the world who are struggling not only to achieve their rightful place in society but also to use their gifts in bettering the world.”
Gannon Scholars, past and present, stand up and take a bow!
About the author: Mary Fran (Virginia Mary) McLaughlin, BVM is enjoying retirement in Chicago and is a board member at Christ the King Jesuit College Prep, a Cristo Rey School in the Austin neighborhood.
Ann Ida Gannon, BVM: Sister Builder
Women and Leadership Archives
Women students were inspired to “consider that the world was open to women, not necessarily closed—not in a radical sense, but a matter-of-fact sense that this is where we are able, we are gifted.”
—Ann Ida Gannon, BVM