When Sister Mary Reilly was selected to be honored as this year’s Woman of Wisdom, we had no idea just how much we would rely on her inspiration of ingenuity and action to meet the complex realities of the past spring.
With the support of nearly 200 individuals and corporations, we raised $330,000 to support Sophia Academy’s mission, began by Sister Mary in 2001.
For more information on the celebration and to re-watch the videos, please visit our Women of Wisdom page. A complete list of sponsors can be found here.
from Sister Mary:
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Each morning, I hold Sophia Academy and all that have been part of this school, past and present, in my prayers.
In all the ministries I’ve been in, I have found that people want to be part of something good – something life giving. I didn’t do this alone. All of us want to be part of something bigger than ourselves, that takes us out of ourselves. And that way, we grow, we broaden.
This dream is not the accomplishment of one person. It is bigger than all of us, but together we are helping to make the dream a reality.
Building a school devoted to the empowerment of girls at the middle school level from low economic backgrounds has opened up and broadened our world. Working together has fostered many wonderful relationships.
I am the oldest girl from a family of 9 in South Providence. My Irish-born parents knew that education was the way out of poverty.
Thank you for the honor you have bestowed on me.
I’d like to end with two powerful quotes from Nelson Mandela which I first encountered when I attended an anti-racism conference in South Africa:
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
And another: “Help students grow into a global civic identity and understand how their decisions have an impact ranging well beyond the immediate vicinity.”
The motto of Sophia Academy, “reflecting wisdom in the girl”, is happening daily. Meet a girl in the 5th grade and meet her again in the 8th: you will see the change and the growth in wisdom of herself.
We are all students. I deeply appreciate all that you are doing from the bottom of my heart.”