The founders of Academia San José in 1963.
MSMC’s sister school in Puerto Rico closes its doors
As part of their mission of service, members of the Dominican Scholars of Hope set up shop near The View dining hall at the Mount one day in 2019, selling Krispy Kreme donuts to passersby. The scholars were raising money to defray the cost of yearbooks for the students of Academia San José in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, a fellow Dominican school.
Up until its final day of operation in June 2021, Academia San José provided students with the tools they need to develop their academic achievement and spiritual beliefs. Like the Mount, the Academia imparted to students the four pillars of Dominican life: study, spirituality, service, and community.
Under the leadership of Charles Zola, assistant to the president for Mission Integration, director of the Catholic and Dominican Institute, and associate professor of Philosophy, the Dominican Scholars of Hope have done much to aid their spiritual brothers and sisters 1,600 miles south of the Mount.
However, that is not the only history that the Academia shares with the college. For example, Irene Nunnari, a professor emerita, taught at Academia San José before coming to the Mount in 1966.
But this is just one of many connections between the two institutions, going back more than six decades.
From Newburgh to Puerto Rico
Three branches of Dominican Sisters – Newburgh, N.Y., Ossining, N.Y., and Fall River, Mass. – joined together in 1995 to become the Dominican Sisters of Hope.
Long before that, in 1950, three Dominican Sisters from Newburgh traveled to Puerto Rico and opened the Academia with about 50 students. During its last year, San José hosted more than 400 students from elementary through high school.
Since the first sisters arrived, many other sisters from Newburgh and the surrounding area followed in their footsteps.
Having joined the Dominican Sisters of Newburgh in 1962, Sr. Dorothy Gensur, OP, moved to Puerto Rico and taught middle schoolers at Academia San José from 1979 to 2013. She experienced the blessings of a wonderful community life with her sisters and a spirit of great resilience.
Sr. Catherine (Cass) McDonnell, OP, is Prioress of the Dominican Sisters of Hope, a Mount Trustee, and a 1969 graduate of the college. She taught Chemistry at Academia San José from 1971 to 1974 and described it as “truly, a wonderful experience.”
Initially, Sr. McDonnell was concerned because she didn’t speak Spanish. However, the bilingual students were eager to help, teaching her as much about Spanish as she taught them about science.
It was “a blessing,” explained Sr. McDonnell. “In the course of those language lessons, the students shared many other things about themselves – their hopes, their dreams, and their worries…I truly felt enriched by those students and I hope I was helpful to them in some way. I continue to pray daily for those students and their families, because they meant so much to me.”
Born in Puerto Rico, Sr. Juanita Marie, OP, journeyed to the Mount Saint Mary Motherhouse in Newburgh and entered the Novitiate in 1957. After her profession, Sr. Marie headed back to Puerto Rico, where she taught fifth and sixth graders at the Academia for several years. She cherished her time with her fellow sisters and with the children.
Sr. Mary Schneiders, OP, entered the Dominican Sisters in 1960 and would later teach Theology and Scripture at the Mount. She arrived at San José in January of 1967 to teach Religion and English to fifth graders.
“The children were delightful, and, with a few exceptions, eager to learn,” she noted. “I was also amazed to discover that one of my students who had a terrible time learning English nevertheless learned all the words to popular songs in English, and sang them with perfect pronunciation.”
Having left New York in the winter, Puerto Rico’s warm climate was a breath of fresh air for Sr. Schneiders: “You can imagine my delight as we deplaned amid balmy breezes and gently swaying palm trees,” she explained. “I immediately fell in love with this land of warm weather, beautiful rainforests, white sand beaches, and mountains.”
Like Sr. McDonnell, the children also helped Sr. Schneiders to overcome the language barrier.
“I had one little boy who became a self-appointed translator, and would translate everything I said in English into Spanish for the class,” she said.
Decades of Dominican tradition
The Dominican Sisters present during the final year of Academia San José – Sr. John Christian McCabe, OP, and Sr. Catherine Ortiz, OP – found much joy in serving their school.
In the early 1960s, Sr. McCabe taught Latin and History at Mount Saint Mary Academy (MSMA) in Newburgh. MSMA was one of the precursors to Mount Saint Mary College as we know it today.
She began her tenure at the Academia in 1963, first as a teacher of Latin and Religion, and then as an assistant principal from 1978 to 1987. Until the school’s closure, Sr. McCabe served as the Academia’s principal, with the same love and dedication that she has shown since first setting foot in Guaynabo. Sr. McCabe will be forever grateful “for 70 years of time, talent, and work of our Dominican Sisters here at Academia San José,” she said.
Sr. Ortiz was first assigned to Academia’s elementary school in September of 1961. Having worked in the Academia’s library for the last few years, she previously served as principal, among many other responsibilities.
One of Sr. Ortiz’s fondest memories is speaking to the students of the elementary school for adoration to the Blessed Sacrament every Thursday morning: “Their respect and piety were just admirable,” she explained. “I have been very happy and grateful to the community for allowing me to work and serve my own people.”
Born from the hard work of the Dominican Sisters, Mount Saint Mary College and Academia San José were bonded in the pursuit of spirituality, service, study, and community. Though the Academia has closed its doors, the Dominican spirit will live on at the Mount, with the sisters, and in the Academia’s many proud alumni.