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Adrian, Michigan – After a hiatus of several years, the Siena Heights University community on April 20 brought back a favorite tradition – Sister Carmie Day. The event is named for former faculty member Sister Carmelia O’Connor, OP, whose mission was not only to keep the campus beautiful, but also build community among faculty, staff, students, and administrators.
Spearheading the effort to re-introduce this engaging event was Deb Keller, Executive Assistant to the President, who remembered Sister Carmie’s presence on campus from her own days as a student. Director of Student Engagement Gabe Dunbar, Associate Vice President of Campus Facilities Brian Bertram, and student John Holowaty assisted Deb in this effort. They chose the date to coincide with the many activities of our Halofest, a student celebration of the end of the academic year.
Teams were formed with many students, departments, and divisions of the campus volunteering their time to the campus beautification project: removing the signs of winter and ushering in spring and commencement. A total of 92 people participated in the day, and all are looking forward to continuing the tradition next year.
Feature photo (top): Liesel Riggs, left, and Amber Goodman, both from the Advancement Office, help to beautify the campus grounds.
I remember sitting at ledwege desk working campus security when carmie and her dog little bit would walk by for their nightly stroll, she would say Brian the old grand fathers clock is on the fritz again would you take a look at it and i some how could always magically restore its function. I got to know sister carmie over time she ask me to be her driver and i would take her on trips to different parishes around michigan she was teaching lay people.somebody should check and review Dominican order archive and know details about carmie and her works and her life as a dominican .she was quite remarkable,i think she told me that she had been some kind of superintendent of the catholic schools in chicago back in the day and she had several doctoral degrees.