Mount Saint Mary College Students follow in St. Dominic’s footsteps

Above: The Mount Saint Mary College sojourners at the Abbey of St. Mary of Lagrasse. From left: Alexander LaPoint, Ilci Valarde, James Phillips, and Stephanie Rivera.
Above: The Mount Saint Mary College sojourners at the Abbey of St. Mary of Lagrasse. From left: Alexander LaPoint, Ilci Valarde, James Phillips, and Stephanie Rivera.

A group of students and administrators from Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, New York, recently made a three-week pilgrimage in the footsteps of St. Dominic. Following Dominic’s missionary trail in France were Stephanie Rivera of Poughquag, New York, a mathematics major; and Ilci Valarde of Newburgh, New York, a biology/pre-med and Hispanic studies double major; along with James Phillips, assistant professor of theater; and Alexander J. LaPoint, former assistant director of Campus Ministry. “It’s our responsibility, as faculty, staff, students, and alumni, to keep Mount Saint Mary College strong and vibrant and contemporary, but also what it was the first Dominican sisters helped create, and to not lose touch with that,” said Phillips. Mount Saint Mary College was founded by the Dominican Sisters of Hope in Ossining, New York. The congregation provided some funding for the trip.