Summer Lown, a Psychology major at Mount Saint Mary College, will graduate on Saturday, May 18.
For Summer Lown of Red Hook, N.Y., a Psychology major at Mount Saint Mary College, the last four years have brought a mix of tragedy, hope, and some of the greatest personal and professional accomplishments of her life.
Through it all, she has deepened her Christian faith and remained an exemplary member of both the Mount and local communities.
As a student, Lown maintained a full course load while working as a full-time EMT for Town of Newburgh Emergency Medical Services. It was heartbreak that sparked her love of EMT work: Two of her brothers passed away from cancer, with her youngest brother losing his battle against the disease during Lown’s sophomore year at the Mount.
“I saw my brothers sick every day and…all I wanted to do was help them the best way I could,” she explained. “I was drawn to emergency care. I fell in love with helping people who needed me immediately. Every free chance I got, I was on an ambulance doing whatever I could to help and to learn.”
Despite some very difficult circumstances, Lown has certainly made the most of her college experience. In addition to working full-time as an EMT, she has also been a member of the college’s Dance Team since she started at the Mount. For the last two years, she has served as one of the team’s Dance Captains. The experience has been invaluable, she said.
“The girls on this team are a part of my family and have pushed me to be a better person,” Lown explained. “I couldn’t thank them enough for sticking by my side.”
Lown also served as a Mount Admissions Ambassador for three years before taking on the role of Admissions intern last year. This entailed more responsibilities, such as helping to run the ambassador program on campus.
“It was a lot of work,” she said, “but it was worth it! Being one of the first people to talk to the prospective and accepted students and give them stories of my time here at the Mount was so much fun and something I will never forget.”
Lown credits her Christian faith with getting her through some of the more difficult times of her college years. While she grew up believing in God, she explained, Lown hadn’t spent much time in church. But that would change.
“Two weeks before my youngest brother passed away from cancer in 2022, he gave me a gold cross necklace and asked me to always have a cross near me to guide me in the right direction,” said Lown. “This was a huge awakening for me. When he passed two weeks later, I felt such a pull toward gaining a better relationship with God. I have never taken my cross necklace off and I have tattooed a Cross on my right forearm so I never go a day without looking at a cross.”
Under the guidance of Fr. Gregoire Fluet, Interim President of the Mount, Campus Chaplain, and Director of Campus Ministry, Lown received the Sacrament of Confirmation in 2023, affirming her as a Catholic. It was especially meaningful to Lown, since Fr. Fluet has been a source of comfort and strength for her since before she even began her freshman year.
“I remember meeting Fr. Greg at my Junior Jumpstart Open House back in April of 2018,” she explained. “It was one month after my youngest brother got diagnosed with cancer and I was drawn to Fr. Greg and asked him for a prayer. The next time I went to the Mount was for another open house in October of 2018, and he remembered me from the Junior Jumpstart. That’s when I knew Fr. Greg was going to be a huge part of my college experience. He was a huge support system for me when I was having bad days and was able to just talk to him about the struggles I was going through. He became such a big mentor to not only myself, but my family.”
In addition to Fr. Fluet, Lown cited Amanda Maynard, professor of Psychology and chair of the Division of Social Sciences, and Anne Ferrari, associate professor of Psychology, as “such a huge help with my college experience; being there for me when I needed a little more help on certain subjects or even just being there when I needed someone to talk to…They got to know me one-on-one and made me feel like I wasn’t just another student. I will forever be grateful for their kindness and wisdom.”
As she comes to the end of her undergraduate career at the Mount, Lown notes that there’s a lot of people she’s going to miss interacting with on a daily basis.
“My mentors, my professors, and my friends…have become family,” Lown said. “I care so deeply about the people I have met during this college journey and will miss them, but I know I will be back to visit!”