DECEMBER 2017 • VOLUME 01 • ISSUE 01 • VILLA MARIA ACADEMY • MALVERN, PA

Izzi Stays Strong in Battle with Cancer Isabella DeSimone, stays #izzistrong as she battles Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Izzi gives insight about her experiences during the past year with cancer.

Alivia OrvietoSports Editor

Sophomore Isabella DeSimone was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in the beginning of September 2017.

Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is a blood cancer that usually starts in one’s lymph nodes. However, in DeSimone’s case, the cancer origi-nated in her bones and more specifically her spine, back, and bone marrow.

DeSimone previously had a long drawn series of illnesses and testing. She knew something was seriously wrong when she constantly came down with 104 degree fevers. “I had fevers all summer and all day. Everyday I had to take Motrin,” she said. “The [doctors] thought it was Lyme Disease, so I got treated for Lyme Disease.” She had all the classic signs of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma through-out spring and summer, but the doctors original-ly couldn’t identify it because her lymph nodes weren’t swollen. DeSimone was diagnosed with cancer after she had a biopsy done on Labor Day weekend.

In order to cleanse her body of the cancer, her family and doctors put together a plan for treatment. The plan was five sets of three week cy-cles. The first week of each cycle, she had chemo-therapy on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. She starts her treatment at 8:30 a.m. and does not fin-ish until 7:00 p.m. The second week she received a drug called Vincristine. DeSimone said, “That’s the worst drug to me because it’s quick, but I get the most symptoms.” On the third week of each cycle, she does not receive chemo treatment. DeS-

imone has to get scans, tests, biopsies, or pulmonary tests during her 3rd week of each cycle. “They call it my break week, but it’s not a break,” she said.

DeSimone’s treatments have caused her to miss a substantial amount of school in the past few months. She said she plans on us-ing the winter break to learn and makeup any work and material she

has missed. She is grateful all of her teachers are so understanding and helpful.

People stretched beyond the school community have been supporting Izzi and the entire DeSimone family by wearing yellow bracelets that say “Izzi Strong.” In addition, the swim team hosted a swim meet vs. Conestoga at Malvern Prep on Tuesday, December

12th for DeSimone. They pre-sold Izzi Strong t-shirts, and the team wore yellow swim caps as they competed.

“People ask, ‘How are you?’ I’ve never said ‘bad’ because I’m not going to say that. I’m fine,” she said. “I’ve stayed positive, but I’m not fine. People know I’m not fine, but what am I going to say? No one can physi-cally understand, but it’s nice that they ask.”

"The first thing DeSimone wants to do when she is cancer-free is go on a run. “I used to hate working out, but now I miss it,” DeSimone said. Since she’s a field hockey player, it has been hard for her to miss the opportunity to play with her team this year in the state championship.

DeSimone said, “In ways this cancer has done good things for me, I am obviously stronger, I met the USA Field Hockey team, people text me ‘you inspire me everyday’ things like that.”

She continues to look for the positive: “It’s just a bump in the road, [for example] I lost my hair, but it will grow back.”

“I'm going to take this, and do something with it. I’m not just going to be over with it. This is going to be with me forever; I’m always going to remember this. I want to help people.” DeSimone said.

State Championship: Field hockey wins gold!The team brought their season to a close with a victory, gold medal around their neck, and a 24-1 game record.Alivia Orvieto '20Sports Editor

The field hockey team won the PIAA AA state championship on November 18th, 2017, after losing in the semi-final game last year in 2016.

The team defeated Wyoming Valley West with a score of 2-1. Junior Hannah Miller scored both goals for the Hurricanes, one in each half of the game.

The field hockey team was named team lead-er in goals scored per game, 6th in goals allowed per game, and 2nd in record leaders by Viper Field Hockey. Individually, Hannah Miller was named 4th goal leader, 6th assist leader, and 3rd point lead-er. Senior Emily Doyle was named 8th goal leader and 9th point leader. Senior Lindsay Dickinson was named 2nd in assist leaders.

Miller said, "We played really hard at practice and gave 100 percent, and we worked really well as a team throughout the entire season." During the season, the team had a twenty-four game winning streak in addition to the state championship.

The team was only defeated once, on the first game of the season by Downingtown West. They quickly rallied back and were undefeated ever since that game.

To accomplish this, Miller said, "the team worked togeth-er rather than individually. " Going into the playoffs the team did not want to have a relapse of losing in the semi-finals as they did in the 2016 season.

"Last year, we felt what it felt like to lose, and we didn't want to have that feeling again," Miller said. "We knew we had to play our best, and coming in there were obviously nerves, but we put them aside and just played our game," Miller said.

This year was field hockey coach Dan Polder's final year. He has won two state titles within his 4 years at Villa Maria.

Sophomore Adriana Yacovelli said, "Being a state champion is the best feeling in the world." As the clock ran out, she said she felt pure joy through-out her whole body. Yacovelli said her favorite part of playoffs was getting to run out onto the field when they called her name because the nervousness that she had before the game had turned into motivation.

Dickinson said, "If you didn't have a certain level of anx-iousness and anticipation, then it wouldn't show that you were that personally invested in wanting success for your team."

Sophomore Isabelle DeSimone

Malvern Prep vs. Villa:

He said, she said

Is ghosting right or wrong?

Most people have had a run in with

ghosting

>page 3

Faculty quizFind out who in the faculty you are most like. >page 2

Meet the new facultyThere are many new faces around school, so find out more about them.

>page 6-7

School-wide surveysSee how you compare to other students.

>page 4-5

New crew teamIt's the newest high-profile sport on campus.

>page 8

PIAA AA Field Hockey State Champions

Sisters From Around the World Twenty three of our Villa Sisters leave their homes every year, all for the opportunity to be here!Jillian Williamson '19,Kaira Mack '20Chief of Photography, Contributor

Sisterhood does not stop in our seemingly small community, instead it extends its arms around the world.

Senior Annie Ni, President of the Mandarin Club, is current-ly a foreign exchange student from Nanjing, a city in eastern China. Ni emphasized that her favorite thing about home was friends and family. The main difference between life in China compared to the life here is the fast pace that Annie was accustomed to in the city.

Junior Ninja Zhang said about living with a host fam-ily, “I'll be honest, it's not as comfortable as home. Because you live in someone else's house, there are different rules. It's a very special experience for me and helped me to communicate with people bet-ter."

Ni said she felt similarly, “It’s a kind of experience that definitely im-merses you in the American culture. Coming here, building connections

with people is definitely the hard part.”

Ni said she struggled with finding connections with the other exchange students. She was not ac-customed to reaching out to people, but she said learning to network with others was a good quality to possess. She said through school work and classes, she has formed a closer bond with other students.

Zhang said there are many dif-ferences between the schooling in China and here.

“In China we have small [grades], so the students only talk in a small circle. [Here], the classes have 100 people, and every-one still knows each other. Villa has a lot of activities, unlike in China. In China we don't have things like homecoming, prom or the Carol and Ring."

Director of Admissions, Mary Kay Napoli said the exchange stu-dents add so much vibrancy and enthusiasm to the community, “We want them to be empowered.”

Napoli said about the recruit-ment of exchange students, “it’s im-

portant to know why it is they want to come and study in the United States.”

Providing the best for all of the students is very important, “We want girls who want a full high school ex-perience, Napoli said.

Diving into the American cul-ture was a big change for the girls who came from thousands of miles away. As the holiday season approaches with Christmas and Chinese New Year, Zhang said she celebrates both, "Even though in China we don't have Christmas, we have Chinese New Year. When the families are together and celebrating Christmas, it reminds me of my family celebrating Chinese New Year."

Zhang said about her Chinese New Year celebration, "It's about family. We will go to my relative's house to have dinner with them, then play games and talk about the expe-riences we've had through the year. The older family members will gift red pockets to the kids filled with money." She said both the Christ-mas celebration in the United States and Chinese New Year celebration in China are very special to her.

Students help the hun-gry with Cups for Caritas From throwing to glazing, many hands take part in the making of just one cup. In the end, it’s a commu-nal effort to end hunger. Alivia OrvietoSports Editor

Villa Maria is partnering with Malvern Prep on the Cups for Caritas initiative. Our liaison, Mrs. Sarah Bacastow, is now in her third year partnering with Malvern Prep.

"It's a great opportunity for the girls to be involved with service learning," Bacastow said. She works with Malvern Prep to create ceram-ic cups that will raise money to fight hunger through the Bethesda Project. The fundraising event will be held at Malvern Prep on Sunday, January 14, 2018.

Almost every Saturday, stu-dents, family, and friends of the Villa Maria and Malvern Prep commu-nities gather for an open studio to make cups in Malvern Prep’s pottery stu-dio. Open studio attendees can either throw, which means to form ceramic pieces from clay on a pottery wheel, or they can glaze the previously fired cups, which is similar to painting.

This year Empty Bowls was changed to “Cups for Caritas,” which re-lates the national Empty Bowls organization to Malvern Prep, “Caritas” is an Augustinian value meaning love and charity.

Malvern Prep art teacher Ms. Kate Plows, who founded the Empty Bowls organization at Malvern, said, “Some families have been coming to this for ten years, this is their 10th event, and they have enough bowls at their homes that they could have their own Empty Bowls event.” She said they wanted to switch it up and create cups this year.

John Connors, class of 2018, said "my favorite part of Cups for Caritas are the open studios because I enjoy teaching friends how to throw on the pottery wheel."

The event on January 14th begins with Mass at 9:00 a.m. in the Mother of Good Counsel Chapel on Malvern's campus. Afterwards, Stewart Hall will be open at 10:30 a.m. for people to buy cups and have brunch; pancakes are on the menu.

Junior Kara Schiek said, "I enjoy glazing cups at open studios because I can decorate the cups someone else made on the pottery wheel." It's the group effort that goes into each and every handmade cup that makes it so special.

Students use technolo-gy to help communityStudents in Mrs. Sweeney’s Computer Programming class used 3D printers to design and create tools for the residents at HighGate Assisted Living.

Sophia PeggContributor

Technology teacher Mrs. Carol Sweeney and her students in Computer Programming designed and created useful tools and objects with the help of 3D printers for the residents of HighGate Assisted Living in the fall of 2017.

Sweeney was first inspired to take on this project due to an article she had read in Make magazine

“‘So, you’re a teacher with a 3D printer now what?’...Then I said that to myself,” Sweeney said.

The students found several struggles the residents experienced day to day. “They realized that a lot of people were having trouble with opening up their mailboxes," Sweeney said. "The girls traced the key they needed to work with, and then they made a design and a prototype, and they tried it themselves.”

Not only were the girls taking part in a class project, but they were spending their free and class time volunteering to help the residents.

Service Learning coordinator Mrs. Kara Bielli said, “I think that it was great that they got to talk to one another. Helping them solve an issue was a very positive experience for everyone.”

When they were meeting with the residents of HighGate, the students "learned about the residents lives before they came to the nursing home, and it was very nice to get to know them.” Sweeney said.

NEWS/VILLA LIFE2 December 2017 The Villa Voice

Junior Kara Schiek throws on the pot-tery wheel. / C. MCDONALD

Which faculty member are you most like?Which teacher are you most like? Answer the questions below and record your answers to find out! (Answers >page 8)

Alexa Fowler '19Co-Editor-in-Chief1. If you could spend the day with one celeb who would it be? a) Taylor Swift b) Queen Elizabeth II c) Pope Francis d) Marlon Brando 2. What are you up to in your spare time? a) Family, tv, reading, house and yard work b) Hang out with friends, go to the beach, museums and art exhibits c) TV and reading, I don’t have much time d) Studying for school, reading, running 3. What does your ideal summer vacation look like? a) Getting active and doing things such as hiking or swimming b) Traveling all over the word experiencing different cultures c) Hanging out at the beach and even doing some reading d) Relaxing with family 4. Which city in the world would you travel to? a) Rome, Italy b) Jerusalem, Israel c) Tokyo, Japan d) Abu Dhabi, UAE 5. What is your favorite movie genre? a)Sci-fi/fantasy b) Drama c) 80’s teen movies d) Thrillers 6. What is your favorite Disney movie? a) “Cinderella” b) “Snow White” c) “Beauty and the Beast” d) “The Lion King” 7. What is your favorite television show? a) “This is Us” b) Any comedy c) “NYPD Blue” d) “ER“

8. What is your number one pet peeve? a) Bad drivers b) People who depend on others to do their work c) People who are late d) People who make excuses 9.Nameonemakeup/hairnecessityforyou? a) Some hair mousse b) A hair dryer c) A scrunchie d) Hair spray 10. What are you doing this weekend? a) Going to the movies b) Going out with friends c) Going to the mall d) Catching up on some sleep 11. Which activities are you likely to be involved in? a) Choir b) Swim team c) Debate team d) Soccer team 12. Which job are you most likely to have? a) Musical direction for theatre b) Babysitting c) Working at a library d) Working at a restaurant 13.Whatisyourgotostatementpieceforanoutfit? a) A cool pair of shoes b)Matchingoutfitpieces c)Aflashynecklace d) A bold color 14. What is your go to dance move? a) Swaying to the music b) It depends on the song c) No dance moves here d) Anything goes 15.Whatisyourfavoritetype/genreofmusic? a) Classical b) New Age c) 90’s alternative d) Alternative rock

Senior Cristina Fizzano with the resi-dents of Highgate Assisted Living.

Life Without Social Media The majority of US citizens use social media; a Villa senior discovers what life is like when she disconnects and experiences life without it.

Faith PrinceContributor

Last May, I decided to delete my Instagram account to see what life was like without it. I found that I spent a lot of my time watching other people live their lives so much that I was sort of forgetting to live mine.

I first created my Instagram account when I was in the sixth grade. Instagram is a social media app where you can edit and post pictures and videos for your followers to see. I’ve grown up posting my memories for all my friends to see on my account. Last summer, as a rising senior, I kept thinking about how in college I would really like people to get to know me for me, not for the pictures that are on my Insta-gram account. But nowadays, the first thing you do when you meet someone is look them up on-line. I felt like I was spending too much time advertising myself on Instagram, and thinking about how other people would view me. I was also concerned that my life wasn't as exciting as someone else’s just because they were always posting cool pictures. So, I decided to delete my account last May.

Pressing the delete button on my account felt a bit unsettling at first. I felt like I was miss-ing out on what my friends and family were do-ing, and they were missing out on what I was doing. But after a little while, I felt so free. When I would go to hang out with my friends and they would be trying to get the perfect Instagram pic-ture, I was just enjoying their company. I real-ly learned how to be in the moment because I wasn't so concerned with capturing it.

I also discovered how much time you have when you're not mindlessly scrolling through Instagram. I think sometimes I didn't even want to check Instagram, I just did it out of

habit or boredom. This summer reminded me a lot of when I was a kid. I wasn't tied down to my phone, I was just living my life carefree. I don't think I realized the affect that social media had on me until I went without it. It was kind of like seeing life through a new lens, a much clearer one. I learned a lot of lessons through my Instagram free life, but I think the most important one is that life is so much better when you see it with your eyes, not through a screen. So, which is better, life with or with-out social media? Well, in experienc-ing both I can say that, it’s really up to you. It's really great living social media free, but it's also really great con-necting with your friends in ways that you couldn't a few years ago. Social me-dia doesn't have to be a bad thing, but just as with every-thing else, we need to be careful with it. I think that social media can be a great thing in modera-tion. It's really im-portant to have so-cial media detoxes and

turn off your phone once and a while. I also think it's important to evaluate your social media use and ask yourself if social media is adding to or subtracting from your life. So post your cool pictures or don't, it’s re-ally up to you, but just remember that life is so much more than an Instagram post!

Is "ghosting" right or wrong? For Malvern, the issue of cutting off communication with someone warranted an even response.

Malvern Prep

According to Dictionary.com, the term “ghosting” is defined as “the practice of suddenly ending all contact with a person without expla-nation, especially in a romantic rela-tionship.” In other words, one person involved in some sort of relationship completely cuts off the other.

When it comes 14-18 year old boys and girls, this happens on a daily basis, probably without realiza-tion. It can happen on small scales like not responding to a few texts, or on much larger scales like intention-ally going out of your way to ignore someone in person and over all types of social media.

Like I said before, the student body at Malvern, based on a sur-vey of 55 high school students, was almost even. The ratio of “Yes, it’s OK” answers to “No, it’s not OK” answers was 53% to 47%. Personal-ly, I can see both sides of the issue, so I can only try to argue what people’s opinions are.

Say you’re talking to someone and they continuously make you feel uncomfortable, so you don’t respond to that person’s persistent texts, Snap-chats, or whatever. That has to be a totally valid reason to “ghost”, since

a message is being sent that there’s an obvious disconnect between the two people talking.

On the flip side, ghosting can’t be acceptable if there isn’t a valid reason. If you ignore someone based only on their reputation with other people, their physical appearance, or some other reason along these lines, that’s pretty mean. There should al-ways be some level of respect to give people a chance to show themselves who they really are to you.

It would be interesting to see what Villa Maria thinks: I’m sure that there would be some different aspects of the argu-ment from a girl’s perspective. All I can say is that from the guys’ perspective, it’s almost dead even.

Mission Statement

The Villa Voice is a student-run publication created to

inform the Villa Maria community with truthful and

relevant information. We strive to give students a safe

outlet for their opinions and accurately represent the

student body of Villa Maria.

Editorial Policy

The unsigned editorial is to represent the student voice

of The Villa Voice. The unsigned editorial is not an

anonymous column. It is an opinion piece written by

an appointed group of various students on the Edi-

torial Board.

Although this issue does not contain an unsigned edi-

torial due to time constraints, the next issue projected

for March 2018 will contain the first unsigned editori-

al of The Villa Voice.

Submissions

Submissions from any students in the Villa Maria

community are encouraged, specifically letters to

the editor and feedback. Submissions must include

name and email verification, and anonymous sub-

missions will not be accepted. Not all submissions

are published. Submissions can be emailed to the Ed-

itors-in-Chief, Caroline McDonald and Alexa Fowler,

at cmcdonald@vmahs.org or afowler@vmahs.org.

Joining our staff

Students are welcome to join the staff as contributors

throughout the school year. Members are required to

attend at least one monthly meeting. Please contact a

staff members listed below for more information.

EDITORS IN CHIEF

Caroline McDonald '19

Alexa Fowler '19

SECTION EDITORS

Villa Life

Hannah Rosenberger '20

Maeve O'Reilly '18

Sports

Alivia Orvieto '20

Lindsay Dickinson '18

Media & Culture

Caroline Morris '18

Olivia DiCicco '18

News/Beyond Villa

Ellie Gray '19

Raquel Lacusky '20

Opinion

Sam DiBona '18

Photography

Jillian Williamson '19

DECEMBER CONTRIBUTORS

Julia Ayres '18

Isabella Carden '18

Catherine Conroy'19

Sam DiBona '18

Linsday Dickinson '18

Emily Dryzmalski '18

Alexa Fowler '19

Sarah Goldblum '19

Ellie Gray '19

Kelly Lain '19

Julia Lee '18

Kaira Mack '20

Caroline McDonald '19

Caroline Morris '18

Cecilia Oberkircher '20

Maeve O'Reilly '18

Alivia Orvieto '20

Sophia Pegg '19

Faith Prince '18

Guilianna Romeo '20

Katie Scaggs '20

Hannah Stehura '20

Jillian Williamson '19

DECEMBER LAYOUT DESIGN

Caroline McDonald '19

Hannah Rosenberger '20

ADVISER

Mrs. Laurie Scaggs '91

MEDIA & CULTURE 3The Villa Voice December 2017

Is "ghosting" right or wrong? Whether they were the ghoster or the ghosted, most Villa Maria students have had a run in with ghosting.

Villa Maria

Ghosting: normally a one sid-ed decision to cease conversation, which typically occurs between two people who had a “thing.” They dis-appear, taking not only their pres-ence but also your self confidence. It usually happens via text message, but can also happen on Snapchat. Here’s the question, what do people think about all of this?

According to a recent survey of 249 students, 65 percent agree that it is not OK to ghost someone

which is an expected response from a group of teenage girls. What is sur-prising, though, is that 61 percent of students admitted to ghosting others. It seems hypocritical that even after students said ghosting is wrong, many still admit to doing it.

There are several different lev-els of ghosting depending on the social media platform and the stage of the relationship. While different circumstances may occur, blatantly ignoring someone is not acceptable. Relationships are agreements be-tween two people, and are supposed to be a give and take. I think ghost-ing is cowardly, if you are mature enough to be in a relationship, you should be mature enough to com-municate your feelings to the other party.

It would be interesting to see what Malvern Prep thinks: I’m sure there will be some different aspects of the argument from a boy’s per-spective. All I can say is that from a girls’ perspective, it is evident that more people believe it is not OK to ghost someone.

Ghost writers: he said, she said

C. MCDONALD

Results from school-wide Google Forms Survey in November 2017 / C. MCDONALD

STUDENT LIFE4 December 2017 The Villa Voice

We conducted school-wide sur-veys in November 2017. Using Goo-gle Forms, the students answered a variety of questions. Over 200 stu-dents answered each question. We could like to thank the students who took the time to complete the survey. The survey questions vary from how much sleep the average student gets, to stress factors and even how many students have been to a con-cert. See how you can compare to the other students! We hope to conduct more surveys in issues to come, and it'll be inter-esting to see the collective views of Villa Maria students.

STUDENT LIFE 5The Villa Voice December 2017

STUDENT LIFE6 December 2017 The Villa Voice

New Faculty The eleven new additions to the faculty and staff this school year share their first impressions and experiences.

Mr. Richard HoranNew maintenance technician Mr. Horan joined the community for the 2017-2018 school year.

Lindsay Dickinson '18Sports Editor

After high school, Mr. Richard Horan received a full scholarship to the Williamson Trade School, decided to pursue a career as a technician.

Horan previously worked at E. Allen Reeves as a carpenter. Although he transi-tioned from a corporation to an academic en-vironment, Horan said the transition has not been difficult. “This has been one of the best jobs I’ve had so far,” Horan said. “Not too many difficulties, I have to be honest.”

Horan knew that he wanted to work here due to his mother’s influence. Mrs. Deborah Horan, Horan’s mother, works in the cafeteria, therefore playing a major role in his transition. Horan said working with his mother creates

a comfortable and familiar work envi-ronment.

He enjoys the versatility of his job as a mainte-nance technician, as opposed to a carpenter at E. Al-len Reeves. “I am usually fixing something to make the Villa community better, but I enjoy doing a little bit of everything," Horan said. "It is different from being a carpenter. As a main-tenance technician you get to do a bunch of things from fixing lights, to digging ditches.”

Horan is very excited to contribute to our community with his many and diversified skills.

Sr. Barbara Cook, IHM Sr. Barbara discusses how she knew she wanted to become a sister, her many hobbies, and how she hopes to bring new life to the Theology Department, Peer Ministry, and Charism Committee.

Hannah Rosenberger '20Villa Life Editor

Sister Barbara Cook, IHM has had a di-verse past and is grateful to be a new part of the Villa Maria community this year.

The Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and their charism has inspired her throughout her life. However, religious life was not always something that she knew was meant for her.

“I would never have been the girl who went up to a sister and said, ‘I think I would like to join the convent.' However, I knew ab-solutely I wanted to be a teacher," Sr. Barabara said.

Luckily, as an IHM, she is able to do both. Before coming to Villa Maria, she taught English at several schools, and is currently teaching both a spirituality course and a freshman English course. Most recently, she was proud to have been the Director of the Spirituality Center at the IHM Motherhouse.

“I had the great privilege of working mainly with adults who were interested in deepening their spiritual relationships,” Sr. Barbara said.

As a spiritual director, she feels particu-

larly inspired by the creative hope aspect of the charism.

“I feel that God has placed me here to be a person that can pass on hope and compassion, so that no matter what has happened to them, no matter what mistakes they have made, there’s always hope,” Sr. Barbara said.

And Sr. Barbara knows how to have fun, too!

“When I was a teenager, I appeared on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand," Sr. Barba-ra said. "I wanted to be on the camera with the guy I was dancing with. When I actually got there, the dance floor was so small! It’s a fun memory, and only the 'regulars' made the cut."

Mr. Brian Wagner New mathematics teacher is helping students understand the subject in a relaxed environment.

Ellie Gray '19, Raquel Lacusky '20News Editor

Mr. Brian Wagner is a math phanatic, al-ternative rock enthusiast and part time come-dian. He teaches math all day and then goes home to tutor more students for the SAT, the ACT, and mathematics.

Despite his passion for education, he was not always sure about the direction of his ca-reer.

“When I was a junior in high school, I was looking at colleges for journalism, and by the time I got to college I thought I would do business,” Wagner said. “It wasn’t until my ju-nior year when I decided to choose math as my major, because it was easy for me."

Easy did not always mean exciting for Wagner. “I didn't truly love math until I trans-ferred to Cabrini and my professors there inspired me with their dedication to the sub-

ject,” he said.When Wagner

graduated college he worked at Vanguard, where his job includ-ed transferring hun-dreds of millions of dollars around ev-eryday. He describes the environment as “fast paced, stressful, and full of deadlines.” He then opened his own practice, where he worked 80 hours a week, aligning with his own personal philosophy: “I would rather choke on greatness than mediocrity”.

When he retires, Wagner wants to contin-ue teaching .“In an ideal world, I would love to tutor underprivileged kids for free, or even just help any student who needs help at no cost. Ei-ther that or I’ll become a stand up comedian.”

Mr. Edward ByrnesFrom a space program to the Science Department, Byrnes joins the community as a Physics and Physical Science teacher.

Olivia Dicicco '18Media & Culture Editor

Science teacher Mr. Edward Byrnes worked as an engineer at Lockheed Martin, a global se-curity and aerospace company.

“I was an engineer for 32 years, and I worked most of my life in the space program, designing satellites and stuff like that,” Byrnes said. “I took an early retirement because I wasn’t enjoying it anymore so, I wanted to start teaching instead.” After retiring from engineering, By-

rnes often volunteered as an instructor for CCD classes, which inspired him to teach full-time. Byrnes also previously taught at West Catholic and Lansdale Catholic.

“I’m a big fan of Villa because my daugh-ters went here and I’ve known Villa since 2001. I’ve had five daughters go to Villa. I have 7 [kids].”

This school year, Byrnes anticipates the second semester because of an especially im-portant class he awaits teaching: Astronomy.

“I’m looking forward to Astronomy. I know [physics and physical science] really well, but it’s going to be fun teaching astronomy since I’ve done it for such a long time.”

Although astronomy seems to be one of his primary interests, Byrnes said he has an ex-cellent knowledge of movie trivia.

“I’m really good at trivia, movie trivia, spe-cifically,” he said. “I’m a movie buff. Pulp Fiction [is my favorite]."

“I feel that God has placed me here to

be a person that can pass on hope and be

compassionate." Mrs. Jennifer Bowker Bowker’s love for her students, history, and swimming are all com-ponents that make up our new history teacher.

Emily DrzymalskiContributor

Mrs. Jennifer Bowker is one of the newest additions to the History Department. Bowker teaches almost all grades and types of history, including World History I, American History, and AP American Government.

As a teacher, Bowker wants to help stu-dents to love history as she much as she does; turning a few into “history nerds,” as she calls herself, would only be a bonus.

Bowker, a graduate of No-tre Dame Academy, finds it im-portant that her life in all-girls education has come full circle.

“I believe in an all girls education because you find your voice and become a lot stronger,” Bowker said.

Although Bowker teaches history, it was not her original career choice. After graduat-ing from Bucknell University, where she dou-ble majored in International Relations and History, she did not know which career path to pursue.

Previously, she had envisoned going into diplomatic service and even sat for the LSATs twice. She also held positions as a physician’s assistant, call service for publishing, leather and luggage sales, and medical development

at the Univer-sity of Penn-sylvania. This was where she received her master's degree in Secondary Education for Social Studies.

“While [at the Universi-ty of Pennsylvania], one of the perks was that I could take some classes, and I fell in love with ed-ucational classes,” Bowker said.

Bowker's first job as an edu-cator was at Downingtown High School, where she was also the head coach for girls’ swimming.

Bowker was a head coach for eighteen years be-fore taking last year off to spend time with her three sons, the oldest just graduated from high school. Now she is back to coaching at TOPS swimming and diving in Pottstown. Outside of coaching, she has a passion for reading and hopes to join the school book club.

Just like every good history les-son, the community cannot wait to see how Bowker’s future unfolds.

“I believe in an all girls educa-

tion because you find your voice and become a lot stronger"

SR. BARBARA COOK / J. WILLIAMSON

MR. HORAN / J. WILLIAMSON

MRS. BOWKER / J. WILLIAMSON

MR. BYRNES / J. WILLIAMSON

MR. WAGNER / J. WILLIAMSON

Mrs. Mary Hadley Mrs. Hadley teaches math and always puts her students first.

Catherine Conroy '19 Contributor

Meet the new mathematics teacher Mrs. Mary Hadley, who is so committed to her students that an interview with her was put on pause so she could a help one through a precalculus problem. Hadley explains that it is important to her that her students feel con-fident approaching her for help and allowing math to be understandable.

“I feel like your job as a teacher is to help your students to succeed, and if they are not succeeding, that it is a reflection on you at times,” Hadley said. “I try to make myself approachable because math can be so hard. If you can't feel like you can go to the person who is supposed to help you, then they're not do-ing their job.”

Growing up in Havertown, and educated at Merion Mercy Academy, Hadley sought out education as a career.

During her first eleven years in the pro-fession, she became a Department Chair at Cardinal O’Hara High School before accept-ing the job as a math teacher at Villa Maria.

Hadley has never ceased to be passionate about her sub-ject and all of the highs and lows that come with it.

“ G e o m -etry is my favorite to teach because it has a lot of visual aspects. Precalcu-lus has its own ups and downs, but I love the

classes and the material and that ev-erything is different,” Hadley said.

Her crucial goal moving for-ward is dedicated to her students, specifically to encourage females in positions of math.

“I always had positive role models when I was in high school. Part of being a mathematician in-cludes the fact that I am a female

in a strongly male dominated field," Hadley said. "I do really want to encourage and stress how important women are in these types of mathematical environments. Through pos-itive reinforcement, I feel that this will help girls really connect with the subject of math.”

"If you can’t feel like you can go to the person who is supposed to help

you, then they’re not doing their job.”

Mr. Darren Polsz Mr. Polsz is the man behind the Snapchat geotag.

Isabel Carden '18Layout & Design Editor

After Snapchat was blocked in 2016, stu-dents were surprised to see a new geotag on their phones in the fall of 2017.

Mr. Darren Polsz, the newest member of the Communications Department, is the per-son to thank for this technological advance-ment. Polsz handles everything from “the graphic designs you see around the school, to the Snapchat geotags, pictures, the digital archive videos, and many things behind the scenes of Villa.”

Polsz's passion for art inspired him to pursue his degree in Specialized Technology, a major typically compared to graphic design.

He graduated in 2016 and before entering

our community, Polsz worked with the Philadelphia Flyers to create bill-boards and other ads. Some of his more creative jobs have included de-signing music post-ers and album covers for local bands such as, Chill Dad and Whale of the Delaware.

Polsz said, "the best part of his job is the creative freedom. I love the big scale things, seeing something you created on the comput-er print out and come to life, it’s awesome.”

Ms. Joan Koob New Science teacher gets students in shape for spring Crew team debut

Alivia Orvieto '20, Hannah Stehura '20 Sports Editor, Contributor

During her senior year of college at Phila-delphia University, Ms. Joan Koob realized she wanted to be a teacher. Now, she teaches CP Biology, Honors Biology class, and Environ-mental Science.

Prior to joining our faculty, Koob was a general science teacher at Cardinal John Foley Middle School in Havertown, Pennsylvania. The transition from Cardinal John Foley has not been a difficult adjustment. “High School-ers listen so much better than middle school-ers,” Koob said.

When she is not teaching Science, Koob is training the new crew team, the newest ad-

dition to the ath-letic program. The team is currently doing winter train-ing to prepare for the season. After school, Koob can be seen running hills and training with the girls to build their endurance.

“I rowed at Merion, and I was one of the first rowers. During my freshman year, only two of us were on the team, then we had five girls, and by my junior year we had 60 girls.” She is very excited to build a high school crew team from the ground up. Koob said, "Ev-eryone seems to be happy and enjoying what they're doing. I know I really love being here."

Mrs. Grace Opdyke One of the newest additions to the Counseling Department tells of her career as an educator, mother, and business owner.

Caroline Morris Media & Culture Editor

As the Counseling Department reorga-nized, Counseling and Test Prep Coordinator Mrs. Grace Opdyke was adopted into the Villa Maria family and brought a spirit of service with her.

She is the friendly face behind the main desk in the guidance suite and always has a bowl of candy to share with every student. Her career started long before Villa Maria. Originally, she went to school to teach because "she always had a desire to see the light-bulb go on for a student," Opdyke said.

After she was married, she stopped tradi-tionally teaching because she wanted to leave the classroom to have more flexibility to be at home with her four children, her “greatest loves,” and with her husband. However, once her children were old enough, she felt a call to continue working and started her own com-pany: Grace B. Opdyke Educational Services. Her company was originally run in her house as she helped high school students with college preparation. Soon it grew into a full fledged business located in Bluebell, Pennsylvania.

Opdyke said, “Seeing the success and see-ing people end up where they belong. It may not be where they were starting the process, but in the end, [they] end up where [they] be-long.”

Opdyke said her goal is "to hear from a student two years into college saying, ‘thanks so much for helping me get here, because this is the right place for me.’”

STUDENT LIFE 7The Villa Voice December 2017

Mrs. Krista CheslockMrs. Cheslock ensures students are staying happy and healthy.

Raquel Lacusky '20News & Beyond Villa Editor

School Nurse Mrs. Krista Cheslock first sparked an interest in health and medicine when she was young. “My mom was a nurse, and I was always interested in what she was do-ing. I enjoy making people feel better,” Ches-lock said.

Before coming to Villa Maria, Cheslock worked as a part-time school nurse at Delaware County Christian Elementary School. After-wards, she spent time as a substitute nurse at Great Valley, until she came across an opening as a district nurse for the non-public schools.

“I work at three different schools each week. It is a lot to keep track of. It has taken a

while to learn each school and how each one runs,” Cheslock said.

Even though she is very busy, she loves working with the commu-nity.

“I hope the students feel comfortable knowing they can come to me for anything," Cheslock said. I want to provide them with the best care so that they can be the best students they can be and have a wonderful and successful school year.”

Mrs. Kaitlyn Yourkavitch Not only does Mrs. Yourkavitch show a deep interest in mental health, but she also has a desire to explore more of the world in the future.

Hannah Rosenberger '20Villa Life Editor

College Counselor Mrs. Kaitlyn Yourka-vitch is thrilled to be a member of the Villa Maria community. She has also worked in the Admissions Offices at The University of Scran-ton and Cedar Crest College.

After being hired this past summer, she has had a few months to settle in and has only glowing things to say. “I enjoy coming to work. I love the department that I work in, and the students are awesome,” Yourkavitch said.

With the reorganization of the Counsel-

ing Department, this is quite a year for the new counselor. The department has separated into counseling and college coun-seling sections, giving each student two counselors to make sure all needs are met.

“It’s important to sep-arate the college counseling piece from the mental health and well-being of the stu-dent,” she said. “Although they do come hand in hand, I think really concentrating

and separating each helps nurture the students in different capacities.”

Yourkavitch has been working with the senior class on the college admissions process. She has had a great

experience so far, and is look-ing forward to working with the juniors in the spring of 2018.

“To have a very proac-tive Counseling Department

here at Villa is something that I think is really great for you guys as students,” she said. “The fact that the c o u n s e l i n g office is very present from day one is a great indica-tion of what the counseling office can pro-vide.”

“It’s important to separate the college

counseling piece from the mental

health and well-be-ing of the student.”

MR. POLSZ / J. WILLIAMSON

MRS. HADLEY / J. WILLIAMSON

MRS. CHESLOCK / J. WILLIAMSON

MRS. OPDYKE / J. WILLIAMSON MS. KOOB / J. WILLIAMSON

MRS. YOURKAVITCH / J. WILLIAMSON

Koob: New crew team is ‘here to stay’ The new crew team is set to make a splash Spring 2018.

Volleyball coach celebrates 25th anni-versaryVolleyball coach Joe Boland brought his team to district semi-finals this season while he celebrated 25 years of coaching.

Grace O'Connell '18Contributor

Senior Sarah Ungvary, captain of the volleyball team, hugged fellow teammate, senior Nicole Cooney, as their last volleyball game together came to a close. Though their careers on the volleyball team had ended, they knew that the friendships that they had formed were far from over.

“We had a really fun, exciting, and positive season,” Ungvary said. “Although we lost in district semi-finals, I think we consistently played as a team and had great chemistry.”

The bonds between the members of the volleyball team are the reason behind the multitude of banners, trophies, and awards adorning the gymnasium that com-memorate the historic success of the team.

“My favorite part of this season was knowing that I was a part of something so much bigger than myself,”

Ungvary said. “Building a team is an important part of every sport, and ours will continue to be great.”

Coach Boland said, "I want to give thanks for being so fortunate to be associated with all of the wonderful parents, team members and coaches who make up Villa Volleyball, both past and present. That it has lasted 25 seasons is further cause for being thankful. Being part of Villa Volleyball has made my life immeasurably better."

Swim team on 7-year win-ning streakSisterhood distinguishes Villa from the competition.

Lindsay Dickinson '18Sports Editor

Villa Maria Academy’s Swim Team is known as being nothing short of a Pennsylvania powerhouse. Out-scoring their second place opponent, Shady Side Academy, in the 2017 State Championship by an astounding 117 points, Villa Maria’s Swim Team achieved the impossible - winning a consecutive fifteen District 1 Cham-pionships and seven PIAA AA State Championships.

Achieving such a daunting task, however, is not an easy feat. Through-out the regular season, each girl trains to qualify for the district tournament, and the girls with the four best quali-fying times are given the opportunity to swim. While this competitive envi-ronment may appear frightening, cur-rent senior Nina Smith describes how the prospect of competing against im-mense talent motivates her to perform at her best.

“The idea of competing in the State Championship makes you work harder,” Nina states. “I didn’t make states my freshman year, and knowing that I wanted it my sophomore year pushed me that much harder. Once you are there, it makes you want it more every single year, and makes you that much more excited for every single season.”

Both Nina and the Villa’s Swim Team put in nothing short of contin-uous effort and practice to best con-tribute to the team’s victory. Nina describes both the team and her own outstanding work ethic, stating, “In ad-dition to Villa swimming I also swim for a club team which holds practices for two hours, five to six days a week. As a team, there is one mandatory prac-tice for both club and non club swim-mers on Thursdays. Non club swim-mers are required to practice three days a week in the mornings, which is how we prepare for racing.”

Despite graduating five seniors, this year’s team has decidedly set their

sights no lower than another gold. As Nina notes, “I think it’s going to be an adjustment, and while I think it’s defi-nitely going to be more challenging I do believe we have the ability to have the success we had last year. I think everyone is going to have to really want it.”

Kaitlyn Agger, a current senior on Villa’s Swim Team, is also a seasoned champion and believes that Villa’s team dynamic allows them to consistently re-main on top. “I think we’re a diverse group and are very talented across the grades,” Kaitlyn states. “This year I think we will be able to carry each oth-er through the state and district tourna-ments, especially with help from some of our talented underclassmen.”

Kaitlyn further believes the sister-hood amongst the team separates Villa from their competition. “All of the years that I’ve been on the team we’ve had no problem winning states,” Kait-lyn notes. “This year it will be harder because we’ve lost five seniors that ac-cumulated a lot of points for our team in the past. The bonding aspect of it, getting together and showing that we’re in this together, is really important.”

Yet despite their numerous victo-ries, both Nina and Kaitlyn note that their favorite part of Villa Swimming is not the numerous gold medals they have accumulated over their high school careers, but the friendships they have developed along the journey. As Kait-lyn notes, “My favorite part about Villa Swimming is the people. It’s so different compared to club swimming because you truly have the opportunity to work as a team. It’s really gratifying to know that you all come together to contribute during the season.”

Therefore, it is safe to state that with the strong sisterhood developed amongst the team as well as the strong leadership exuberated by Villa seniors such as Nina and Kaitlyn, that numer-ous victories are in store for Villa Ma-ria Academy’s talented Swimming and Diving Team.

STUDENT LIFE8 December 2017 The Villa Voice

THE VILLA VOICE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE STUDENT BODY AND FACULTY FOR RESPONDING TO OUR MANY REQUESTS. WE WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE FOR BEING INSTRUMEN-TAL IN THE CREATION OF THE VILLA VOICE: SISTER REGINA RYAN, IHM, MS. MADELEINE HARKINS, MS. MARGUERITE ESMONDE, MR. DARREN POLSZ, MRS. CATHERINE SHEE-HAN, MS. JACKIE DENNING, MS. KATHLEEN PLOWS, THE FRIAR'S LANTERN STAFF, MRS. KATHY ZWIEBEL AND ESPE-CIALLY OUR SUPPORTIVE PARENTS.

Raquel Lacusky '20, Hannah Stehura '20, Alexa Fowler '19 News Editor, Contributor, Co-Editor-in-Chief

Already in its first year, the new crew team has an exciting agen-da ahead. The team is recognized among students, and freshman Em-ily McDonald said, “Crew is a com-plex sport and it will be such a great learning experience for all of us be-cause we are so new.”

Although the crew team is new, science teacher and crew coach Ms. Joan Koob is anything but inexpe-rienced when it comes to the world of rowing. Her love of rowing start-ed at a young age, “I started going down to the river for races when I was in fourth grade and started to fall in love with the sport then, even though I couldn’t participate in it,”

Koob said. Koob started a crew team at her

high school and in college she served as a Coxswain for Philadelphia Uni-versity on both the men’s and wom-en’s teams. She proceeded to coach at her high school for 10 years, and she used her knowledge to establish the crew team at Villa Maria.

Sophomore Hannah Stenurah said, “It’s really great to have a coach with so much knowledge and experi-ence in our corner. It makes a world of a difference when it comes to un-derstanding the sport.”

Koob used her experience to teach the athletes how to row. “We had a ‘learn to row’ in the fall, and after that, comes a winter workout.” Koob said.

Her main goal is to prepare for the upcoming spring season when the new crew team will enter rowing

competitions. Koob said, “Just being able to get Villa’s name out there is huge.”

Koob attributed the success of the crew team to the support of Phil-adelphia University and Malvern Prep crew coach Craig Hoffman. She predicted that with all the support she has the new crew team will be around for a long time. Koob said, “we’re here, and we’re staying.”

"Students will learn leadership

and teamwork be-cause it is the ulti-mate team sport."

>Faculty Quiz

Mostly a’s: You are Dr. Anthony Mosakowski

You are a driven person who never gives up

on others. All of your friends and family

know and love your outgoing personality

and talent for all things music.

Mostly b’s: You are Sister Regina Ryan, IHM

Wherever you are, you always seem to

find a friend. You can always find a way

to have fun and never cease to make

jokes. Although you don’t have much free

time, you spend as much of it as possible

traveling and experiencing new things.

Mostly c’s: You are Mrs. Jill Alexis

You always have a smile on your face and

make others feel welcome. You have an

interesting story to tell and are constantly

surprising others.

Mostly d’s: You are Mr. Robert Cucinella

Sports are most definitely your thing. When

you aren't running or doing some other

activity, you have an endless amount of

unique hobbies to occupy your time. You

enjoy being alone, but you are the happiest

while spending time with your family.

2017 Villa Volleyball / Mrs. Laurie Scaggs

The crew team at practice/ Ms. Joan Koob

Boat House Row where the Villa Maria boathouse is located. / Flickr

2016 - 2017 Villa Swim Team / M. Esmonde