Capturing an Oral History of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur

Established in 1919, Emmanuel College and its founders, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (SNDdeN), have an extensive history.

This past summer, a multi-disciplinary research project involving Emmanuel students, staff and faculty launched the groundwork which will compile much of that history into an archive housed on the Emmanuel College campus. The SNDdeN Oral History project – a compilation of the lives, memory, tradition and charism of the SNDdeNs – will include digital and physical resources to be found at the Cardinal Cushing Library as well as a published book co-written by students and faculty.

When the project is complete in a couple years, the intent is to have one base source of knowledge that showcases the history, values and mission of Emmanuel College in a greater context, explained College Chaplain Fr. Federico Cinocca, S.T.D., who serves as chief book editor for the project. It will also be an accessible resource for students and faculty for future coursework, which will be an asset for incorporating the College’s and the Sister’s own history into lesson plans.

“We want people to feel at home here by understanding that history,” said Fr. Cinocca.

In addition to Fr. Cinocca, faculty members involved in the project included Professor of Theology Dr. Laurie Johnston, Professor of Sociology Dr. Katrin Kriz, Associate Professor of Management Dr. Kelly Basile and Associate Professor of History Dr. Violetta Ravagnoli. Together, they are working with a group of four Emmanuel students to bring the project to life: Andro Alkahwande ’25, Mia DeCamillis ’26, Alex Gencarelli ’26 and Loliana Morales ’26.

Emmanuel College's Chaplain, Father Federico Cinnoca, S.T.D.

Putting the Sisters' History into Context

Dr. Johnston emphasized the importance of the project not only in the context of Emmanuel College, but from the viewpoint of the Catholic Church as well. The oral history project will showcase the Sisters’ work over the years, showing their considerable roles in leadership within the Church and other organizations.

“It’s a common misconception to think there are no women in leadership roles in the Church,” said Dr. Johnston. “[The Sisters] have been here doing this from the very beginning and strike out [to do it] all on their own.”

In founding Emmanuel College and through their charism, the Sisters instilled their values in the College’s mission: to provide a dynamic liberal arts and sciences education in a learning community that has strong ethical values.

Celebrating their 175th anniversary of arriving in New England this October, the Sisters’ commitment to rigorous academics, compassionate service and the advancement of justice and peace remains as relevant as ever – and their impact on the Emmanuel College campus and beyond continues to inform the spirit of the Catholic intellectual tradition all these years later.

This level of scholarly work dedicated to their history is a testament to the importance of the Sisters’ impact, Dr. Johnston said, and Emmanuel is the perfect home for that history.

“Emmanuel is a strong institution – we’re not going anywhere,” she added.

A Leap of Faith

“I really had no idea what I was getting myself into,” said Alex Gencarelli ’26, one of four Emmanuel undergraduates involved on the project.

The students were all in the same boat: starting at the ground floor of a long-term project, they weren’t entirely sure what their work ahead would entail. But together, after a successful 10-week research period, they’ve found themselves immersed in their roles and set to play a huge part in the future of the project as well.

“Basically from the first week,” Gencarelli said, “we leaned on each other, [and] now we’re a team.”

Fr. Cinocca said the students got the best out of all that a large research project entails – and will now take that even further as co-authors.

“They’re actively involved – not just in the research, but in the writing phase as well,” Cinocca said. Their work helped them to build a strong and varied skill set, he added, which included writing grant proposals, a book proposal, as well as being able to “market their ideas” to a publisher.

At this point, the project has its foundation, including book and grant proposals, and the interview process with the SNDdeNs is well underway as the team begins to capture the oral telling of each Sister’s life and experiences.

The team will also be a part of a panel discussion at the University of Notre Dame conference, ‘Conference on the History of Women Religious: Lives and Archives’ in June 2025.

The writing phase, in which each student will co-author a chapter of the book, is an exciting but intimidating piece of the puzzle for the students, but on that and the entirety of the project so far, they’ve had each other’s backs for collaboration and support.

They’ve applied their time researching, cataloguing and interviewing to their own fields of academic study. Across the board, what stood out the most was the amount of agency each student had in the decision-making and project launching process.

Andro Alkahwande '25 and Mia DeCamillis '26 present the group's research at the 2024 summer research poster session.

“There were times where I wanted to defer decisions [to faculty],” DeCamillis said, but the faculty mentors allowed the students to take the lead just as much as they did.

“I learned a lot – like trusting my gut – while working with them side-by-side,” she added. Morales agreed, and said early on it was an adjustment to have so much freedom to make decisions.

“But it was because they trust you enough to put that in your hands,” she said.

From the faculty perspective, giving the students that agency was integral to the project’s strong start.

Professor of Sociology Dr. Katrin Kriz, a member of the faculty team, has been involved in the proposals and data collection. Across the board, Kriz said the students have done an excellent job on every piece of the project they’ve touched.

Dr. Kriz, who worked closest with Morales, appreciated the opportunity to get to know her beyond just having her in class. “I hope that this experience will make it easier for Loliana to come to me for advice about internships, her future career or to ask about graduate school or job references,” she said.

Above all, the students will continue exploring the uniqueness of what this research opportunity has to offer, she added, which includes the ability to conduct so much qualitative research, as well as having their name on a published book as undergraduates.

“It feels so rewarding that I get to be a part of something that is going to add to the world of academia,” Alkahwande said.

For the students participating on the research, they said learning and hearing more from the Sisters has helped them build a greater understanding of Emmanuel College and its mission, and particularly where it all came from, by meeting and hearing from the SNDdeNs.

“This [project] can show incoming students the path they’ve paved for us,” Gencarelli said.