I was born and bred in Pittsburgh , PA , growing up in an
Italian-Sicilian family with extended family members within
a few blocks of each other. Our inner-city community was
centered on home, church, and the Italian club, which was
like having another extended family.
I did not follow a traditional PhD route. My enrollment in grad school came 17
years and 4 sons after getting my bachelor's. I did take the straight path from
masters to doctorate-afraid that if I stopped at any point along the way I'd
never pick it up again! For 6 years my children progressed in school right along
with Mom. They did get sick of hot dogs for dinner, but they were all, and still
are, supportive of me, and were at all my graduations.
My current pastimes are reading and traveling (hopefully they often occur simultaneously)-I'm
into murder mysteries, and biographical and historical books. I am also a crossword
puzzle fan. I used to do a lot of crafts, but that fell by the wayside with the
academic life. Through my church I have knit sweaters for poor children around
the world, and also prayer shawls; I also participate in special choirs, am an
usher, and a lay speaker. Walking and water aerobics help to balance my love
of dark chocolate. I enjoy theater and all kinds of music from rock to opera.
A great deal of who I am has been shaped by my second son, Christopher, who has
intellectual disabilities. Having such a child caused me to rethink everything
in my life, and my world view has been shaped by being his parent. I will not
be syrupy about this, for there have been many tough times, but he is a blessing
to our family for many reasons.
I am broadening and deepening my interests in spiritual formation, and intend
to spend more time and energy of my research and writing in that area. I have
been privileged to spend a sabbatical of two years ( one week every three months)
enrolled in the Academy of Spiritual Formation , under the auspices of the Upper
Room. This has facilitated concentrated study as well as application to SPC,
to the Regent campus as a whole, and to my church.
My husband Roger, who is retired
military and a lawyer, and I have a "brought-together" family of 7 adult children
and 6 grandchildren. No pets, (had all sorts while kids were
growing up) although there are several "grandanimals."
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