Editor’s Note: This is the first installment of what we hope will be a regular Reflections series. “One on One With…” starts appropriately with longtime Siena Heights fixture Trudy McSorley, who retired last summer after more than 50 years on campus. She reflects on her time at Siena Heights, as a student, faculty member and administrator.
1. First impressions of Siena Heights?
This can be a very involved question as I first came to Siena in 1961 when I entered the Adrian Dominican congregation. Then it was simply going to class. We were not involved in college life, as our focus was becoming Adrian Dominican Sisters. When I returned in 1973 as a faculty member, I was young (30) and a bit overwhelmed being a part of college and academic life, as I had not known it before. At the time I was privileged to work with my teacher and mentor, Sister Therese Craig. We also lived together in an apartment at Village Green where many other Sisters who were on the faculty and staff were living. There were at least 30 Adrian Dominican Sisters on campus at the time. Looking back it was an amazing time on campus in many ways. We had our first layman (Hugh Thompson) president; men were now a significant part of our student body, and there was a great effort to outreach into the community of Adrian.
2. How did you get involved in teaching, specifically drama and theater?
As I said I was an Adrian Dominican and that was the primary ministry of the Sisters at the time. I think that is one of the reasons I was attracted to the congregation; the Adrian Dominican had been my teachers since I was 6 years old in first grade. One of my teachers in high school (Rosary high school in Detroit, an all girls Adrian Dominican school) was Sister Rose Terrence (Sister Therese Craig after Vatican II). She was an incredible teacher, director and passionate educator. She led the speech and drama department where I found myself at home. When I entered the congregation I was asked what my major was going to be by Sister Bertha Homzina (the registrar at the time). I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to say something like “speech and drama” (considered a bit too frivolous). She never bat-ted an eye (at least I didn’t see it!), and I happily went on my way as a speech and drama major. Sister Therese was my teacher for many of my classes and was more than tough on me, which was great ammunition for me later in life as we became very dear friends. In 1973 I received a phone call from the Siena theater department to interview and work with Sister Therese in the child drama/children’s theater program, as it had grown more than anticipated. They offered, I accepted, and the rest is history.
3. This year the Creative Stages program celebrates its 50th anniversary. As someone who guided the program for many years, what has that program meant to you?
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This is a very difficult question. I could be succinct and say “everything,” but that would hardly be enough. So I’ll begin: In 1963 (the summer), children came to campus for the first time to experience creative drama. Sister Therese was teaching a “new course” she thought would be good for teachers to have. Our Sisters would be the first students in the class of “The Teaching Creative Drama.” It was held in Archangelus Ballroom, and the children ages 6-9 came several times a week so we could lead them through our newly discovered material. It was wonderful and we took to it, as did the children. I was so comfortable with the work. I could not do enough of it, and soon found that the theory of creative drama could be applied to many areas of the curriculum in school. Basically it was hands-on experiential learning, very right-brained (as I would later discover). When I returned to the classroom in the fall, I had a newfound confidence and began applying the work in my language arts classes and soon was doing workshops in Detroit, Toledo and Chicago. Children had a right to learn this way. It freed them and gave them voice. When I came to Siena, the program, then known as Studio 6-12 (because it included children ages 6-12) had a fully developed creative drama program as well as children’s theater. In addition, the college curriculum included two touring troupes. One was led by “actor-teachers” who used the methodology of creative drama and had the children in the schools participate in an improvisational drama experience. They resolved dramas that involved some type of incident or series of incidences that could be resolved within a drama. This was an amazing experience for potential teachers, as they used the very work that would help them in the future make learning more meaningful. The second type troupe was performance-oriented. The college students brought touring theater performances to the children. In addition, we had two types of theater productions on campus for child audiences. (One was) children performing for children, where we did many of the literature classics such as “Pinocchio,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Ice Wolf” and “Anne of Green Gables.” The other type of children’s theater was college students performing for children such productions as: “Androcles and the Lion,” “Wiley and the Hairy Man,” “Davey Crockett and the Coonskin Cap” and “Ransom of Red Chief.” It was here that the term “Teaching is a Performing Art” was coined on our campus. Teacher Education was looking for a home in our new division structure, and we invited them to be a part of our division. Sister Eileen Rice, chair of Teacher Education, decid-ed it was a perfect fit, as that was precisely what teachers did in the classroom – teaching was/is an art a performing art! This program meant everything to me. There are as many stories as there are the thousands of children who went through the program over all those years. As time went on it was not only Siena’s program, it belonged to the Adrian and Lenawee County community. The families were proud of it, and it indeed was my passion. The hardest thing I have done at Siena was leave that program and the Theater Department. I did it for the right reason, as I felt I could be a presence and lead the Student Life Division in a way that was necessary at the time.
4. What has been the single biggest change since you’ve been at Siena Heights?
Hmmm. I suppose one would naturally say the growth in athletics, more students, more academic programs. But sitting where I am now on this end of the calendar of life, I would say the focus on Mission. Being a truly Dominican institution. This commitment is critical for our uniqueness, and I think for our integrity and survival as an institution. We didn’t always do this, you know.
5. What will you miss the most at Siena Heights? The least?
This is easy: I miss the community and the continual interaction and presence of the students. I really believe we have very special students, and once they commit to Siena and their work here, it is amazing how they grow. I just love them. I also miss the community. That is what we are, a community that cares, responds, loves, learns with all our frailties. But a beloved community. I will miss the meetings the least. Need I say more!
6. If you could describe Siena Heights University to someone in just one word, what would you use?
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I can only use one word? ”Caring Community.” Hyphenate it if you have to!
7. You’ve been called the “patron saint of the Siena Heights student.” What have the students meant to you during your time at Siena Heights?
I simply love our students. I was very young when I came to Siena and connected easily with the students. I had to be tough so they would take me seriously, but that soon waned. I have always felt our students were very special. You know, most of our students are first generation college students. They lack, for the most part, the sophistication that students attending larger or more prestigious institutions. There is a real wholesomeness and genuine spirit among our students. It is easy to love them, and they love back! There really is no limit to what we can give them in terms of love, care, respect and nurturing. There is no limit to how far they can grow in response to that support. It really is all about our Mission.
8. What is one thing most people don’t know about you?
Hmmm. That is another tough one. I guess it might be that I really value and cherish my solitude. It is my time for prayer, reflection and mindfulness; without that I can’t do much else.
9. Now that you’re officially “retired”, how do you plan to stay active in the Siena Heights community?
I have been around quite a bit this semester, honoring the commitment I made to the FYE instructors who wanted the Mission and Dominican identity presentations for their classes. I also have done some staff and faculty presentations on Mission and Identity. I expect to direct the play “Laramie Project Ten Years Later” by Moises Kaufman in February. I’ve always been intrigued by term “Professor Emeriti.” I was just notified that the Board of Trustees granted me that honor. However, I really feel there should be some responsibility with such titles. These wisdom figures who gained so much from Siena need to be tapped as a resource. We’ll see how that materializes. For now, I’ll be around. Siena is more than a name, more than a place. It is a spirit that daily changes, grows and needs all of us to nurture her.
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