When asked to discuss her thirty-one years of teaching at Colgate
University, where she is Professor of Philosophy and Religion and Women's
Studies, Sister Marilyn Thie describes "the magic of helping students form
values, question their own assumptions, and get committed to something in
the world." Her voice and responses are so calm and measured that even a
listener who has never heard her in the classroom can imagine the respect
she displays for her students' questions and opinions in the
interdisciplinary courses she teaches. Throughout her long career, Sister
Marilyn's desire has been to "explore different ways of knowing" and to
learn "how to ask different kinds of questions that people in different
fields use." This desire has come in handy for a woman who has chaired her
department twice, been one of the founders of the Women's Studies program,
acted as a mentor for young faculty members, and collaborated with
colleagues in Africana Studies, Latin-American Studies, and Peace Studies.
Committed to Social Justice
This work may sound hopelessly "academic" and apart from the world. It is
not. Sister Marilyn's commitment to social justice pervades her choices, her
work in administration, and her teaching. In a popular course she teaches
called Living Catholicism, students are required to do ten hours of service,
which has included working with refugees, helping in low-income
assisted-living homes where residents are mentally handicapped,
participating in early- childhood education programs for families with
single mothers. Sister Marilyn is particularly happy to report that this
service is a favorite of her male students who long to be faithful presences
for these children at risk. Her students also regularly visit low-income
senior apartments and long-term care nursing homes where, she says, "They do
a lot of listening." When these young men and women return to the classroom,
Sister Marilyn requires them to write papers that connect their experiences
to Vatican documents on social justice.
This absolute need to connect reading and learning to the lives of those in
need has pervaded Sister Marilyn's life as a Sister of Charity and a
teacher. After her undergraduate work in English at The College of Saint
Elizabeth, she earned a doctorate in Philosophy from Georgetown University
and asked the question, "What can I do with what I've learned?" One way of
answering that question was to travel to Central and South America to serve
the needs of the poor with Sister Peggy O'Neill and other Sisters of
Charity. Her commitment to work with people on the margins also led her to
travel with student groups to Mexico and other Latin-American countries.
Sisters' Influences
It is clear in talking with Sister Marilyn that nothing important from her
experiences has been lost. She has a unique ability to take insights from
one area of learning and apply them to deepen her teaching and to improve
the quality of her service in another area. Her humility in talking about
all she has done with God's help is notable. And her love for the Sisters of
Charity is evident when she mentions those who have been so important to
her. She laughed quietly when she spoke of what a big influence Sisters
Agnes Gregory and Rose Patricia were on her early mission at Marylawn. She
mentioned the importance of Sisters Francis Augustine, Therese Aquinas, and
Elizabeth Marie to her development as a Sister and a teacher. But her
sweetest story concerns her time during her novitiate as Sister Josephine
Marie O'Brien's "secretary" (the quotes are Sister Marilyn's). In addition
to typing and office work, once a week Sister Marilyn would clean Mother
Josephine's room, although she suggests there wasn't much to clean. Mother
Josephine would say, "There's a treat for you there." Most often it was a
banana on the radiator. When she says of Mother Josephine, "She was a
wonderfully wise woman," it is hard not to think that Sister Marilyn
continues to taste that banana today.
- Laura Winters
Box 476, Convent Station, NJ 07961 973-290-5345
