Wishing You Joyful Holidays

Dear Saint Mary’s Friends,

Not only in the Christmas season but all year round, we here in the tri-campus community have an opportunity to be inspired by the innocence and openness of children. This year, 2024, we celebrated the 50-year anniversary of our campus-based Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) at Saint Mary’s and the 30-year anniversary of ECDC at Notre Dame. And in these places, there are many opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to encounter the joy, the trust, and the wonder we see in children. 

I regularly meet people in the local community who have a connection to ECDC—business leaders, educators, public servants, medical professionals, and others. Perhaps they are alums of ECDC themselves, or they sent their children. I love the story of how former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, current Mayor James Mueller, and Mayor James’ amazing wife Kellye Mitros ’06 (an SMC campus leader and the Student Government Association President in her day) all met at the Saint Mary’s ECDC and formed their life-long connections there! While many things have changed at ECDC over the years, the mission remains the same: to provide high-quality early care, individualized attention, and education to young children, as well as to offer a “lab school” for college and university students. 

That mission is certainly alive and well. In fact, this fall semester, 69 students were involved at the Saint Mary’s ECDC: 66 Saint Mary’s students (primarily from Developmental Psychology, Education, and Speech-Language Pathology), as well as two Notre Dame students and one novice from the Sisters of the Holy Cross. At the same time, 148 students were involved at the Notre Dame ECDC: 91 from Notre Dame, 46 from Saint Mary’s, nine from Indiana University South Bend, one from Ivy Tech, and one from Indiana Wesleyan. These college students learn so much related to their areas of study. And in their work, they respect the dignity of each child, showing by example the importance of relationships as they encourage both play and hands-on learning. Five Saint Mary’s graduates are employed at ECDC: Executive Director Kari Alford ’95, as well as two teachers at the SMC site and two at the ND site.
Earlier in the semester, I was invited to read to the 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds at the Saint Mary’s ECDC: I was transported back three decades to when I’d spend quality reading time each evening with my own three daughters. Choosing the books and then fielding the questions of these rambunctiously enthusiastic ECDC children, I found this diversion in the midst of my day very centering, and it nudged me to consider what a gift it is to have this vibrant activity happening in Havican Hall on our campus. Now, in Advent, I am thinking again about the meaning of having children in our midst.

Specifically, I find myself reflecting on the profound significance of Jesus Christ coming into the world as a child, a vulnerable infant, born in poverty and obscurity. For Catholics, the Nativity crèche, with Jesus lying in a rough-hewn manger, highlights the dignity of every person, especially the lowly and marginalized. God’s profound act of humility—becoming a helpless baby—underscores the depth of His solidarity with the human condition. It invites us to approach Him with childlike trust, mirroring Jesus’ later teaching that one must become like a child to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3).

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux encapsulated this idea in her “Little Way,” advocating for “spiritual childhood” by practicing humbleness and trust in God’s love. For her, it was most important to recognize the simple truth that God is everywhere and in everyone, and that there is therefore an imperative to do small things with great love. 

As we approach Christmas, I am working on the lifetime project of cultivating a trusting heart, approaching God with sincerity and simplicity, and doing my own small things with great love. I wish you a joyful Christmas, and I look forward to seeing you in the new year.
Warm regards,

Katie Conboy, Ph.D.
President

December 17, 2024