2024 Tower Award recipients share advice with Pres Girls
By KRISTIN BECK ‘05
Presentation Academy
Eight of this year’s Tower Award recipients shared their words of wisdom with current Presentation Academy students, faculty and staff at a panel discussion September 5, at Presentation. Mother Catherine Spalding Visionary Award recipient Alice V. Kruegel PhD. '57 and Education recipient Carla Humphrey Hay, PhD. '60 were unable to attend.
After introducing themselves, the recipients were asked to what or to whom do they credit their success.
Science & Healthcare recipient Delanor Manson MA, BSN, RN said, “I credit my success primarily to my family and role models that helped me to see a possibility and also a lot of hard work.”
Lifetime Achievement recipient Susan Hartman Smith '68 said she grew up in the Vietnam Era in the 1960s and was taught that from those who have been given much, much is expected. She credited her time as a student at Presentation for helping her find her voice. “Presentation is responsible for the person that I am today,” she said.
Smith also credited being the mother of two daughters. She said she tried to share the values she learned at Pres with them, and, in turn, she has learned a lot from them.
Government, Justice & Law recipient Jennifer Black Hans '88 said, “Success is not necessarily just measured by what position you attain or your title, but in the combination of your life experiences.” She said she built a foundation of education at Pres, followed by her experience at Indiana University and at the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville.
“Having drive is very important to success,” Hans said. While ambition is focused on self and where you want to go, drive is being willing to push forward when its hard to do so, she said. Hans also said she has had a wonderful support system and finds a constant source of inspiration from her son, who has a disability. He has helped her redefine success and overcome obstacles.
Business, Technology & Trade recipient Jennifer Green was born and raised in the West End of Louisville, one of 13 children. Her family and community were invested in their success and devoted their time and resources toward making sure they were exposed to things that would help them develop into good human beings, good citizens and set them on the path toward independence. As a Black woman, Green said she has experienced many challenges, but through programs like Black Achievers, she came to believe she could overcome any obstacle and that she was just as talented and qualified as anyone else.
“Ambition is important, drive is certainly important but mastering your craft, knowing something that nobody can take away from you, people can’t question because you have invested the time, the hard work, the mental tenacity,” Green said. Taking the time to understand, asking questions, raising your hand, offering to do more, etc. are important characteristics that cannot be taught, she said. These are things she now looks for in emerging talent and things that have worked for her as she has navigated various academic and professional settings.
Father Joe Graffis Award recipient Father Joseph Graffis also credited the importance of education to his success as a priest, noting that his grandmother came to the United States from Ireland and graduated from Purdue University in 1902, and his parents graduated from Indiana University in 1930. Father Joe earned a Bachelor’s degree in philosophy and education, as well as a Bachelor’s of Sacred Theology and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore. He credited good mentors for his success, as well as what he has learned from the many parishes he has served. “Take advantage of every opportunity that surprises you,” he said.
Service & Advocacy recipient Beth Mattingly Denham '83 agreed that Pres Girls should be lifelong learners. Don’t be afraid to reach out to mentors, she said. Find your squad and be the girl who lifts others up. She encouraged the Pres Girls to work outside their comfort zones and always reach out to others for support. Try to be positive, put yourself out there and network, Denham said.
Arts & Communication recipient Jenny Kiefer ‘07 also credited her success to her support system, especially her mom, fellow recipient Martha Kiefer. Martha added, don’t be afraid to fail, to ask questions or to try something new. If there is something that interests you but you don’t know anything about it, find someone who does. “People love to talk about themselves and things they are passionate about,” she said.
The recipients were then asked to describe obstacles they have overcome and to give advice to the Pres Girls.
To the artists in the audience, Jenny Kiefer encouraged them not to be afraid to make something bad or do something poorly. “That’s how you learn,” she said, encouraging them to put their first drafts out there and then improve them.
Martha Kiefer said she tends to get in her own head and overthink things. She encouraged the students to try and push themselves past that and not to be afraid to think outside the box.
As a young priest, Father Joe was elected director of the personnel board for the Archdiocese of Louisville. He spent a week learning from a fellow priest in Baltimore and was amazed at what he learned. “There will be opportunities in life that seem off the wall. Take the opportunity; you might learn from it. You will be surprised by how many dividends it pays.”
Everyone believes they are going one way in life and then God moves them slightly in a different direction, Father Joe said. “God’s choices are better than mine; God’s ways are different than ours,” he said.
When he thinks there is no way he can do something, God gives him the gifts to do it. “I think God surprises us. Be open to God’s surprises.”
Manson said her mother discouraged her from joining the U.S. Navy. However, she really wanted to see the world and have that experience so she did it, serving 27 years and earning the rank of captain.
Another obstacle Manson overcame was her brother, who said she wouldn’t survive at her dream school, the University of Kentucky College of Nursing. He said she would fail because she had grown up in a community that loved and supported her and at UK, she would have no one. “I said, ‘Bring it on!’”
While it was difficult, she succeeded and became the fifth African American to graduate from the College of Nursing. “It was hard, but I made it and look where I am today,” Manson said.
While Smith is being honored for lifetime achievement, she said she has probably grown more from what others would perceive as failures in her life. She discussed her challenges raising her daughters as a single mother and pivoting after losing a job. Smith said she has a very strong faith and resiliency. When life seems darkest, give it to God, and the light will shine out of that, she said.
Smith also shared that she is a three-time cancer survivor. She was diagnosed with stage four melanoma and beat it and then was diagnosed with two types of breast cancer. She has been cancer free since 2022. Smith said she used this opportunity to deepen her faith and said that if God blessed her to survive, she needed to pay it forward. “I have learned as much and grown as much from my challenges as well as my successes and if I’ve achieved anything in life, it’s understanding God put me here for a reason and I’ve still got a whole lot of giving to do.”
Green told the Pres Girls that they are fantastic and amazing young women who can spread their wings in a society that is more accepting of seeing women in leadership roles compared to her generation. She believes her generation was born to mothers who felt restrained in some way, and, because of this, they embedded in their daughters a drive and blind ambition toward academic and professional goals, sometimes at the expense of personal goals. Her advised the Pres Girls to invest energy in both their professional and personal life goals. “It’s not a zero-sum, either-or game; you should prioritize and design the life you envision for yourselves very thoughtfully every step of the way.”
Hans told the Pres Girls that everyone experiences loss. She has lost trials she was very invested in. She has lost jobs, particularly because she has chosen a career related to politics. While she is not a politician, she has lost her job when a politician she works for loses. She wondered what she was going to do next and many times it was providence; she found another job and another passion to pursue and she has enjoyed a good career. Be flexible; experience and absorb loss; pivot; and be resilient, Hans said.
“Have an attitude of gratitude,” Denham said. She suffered the loss of three very important people to her in one year and that changed her. “If you have that attitude of gratitude and reflect on the value they brought to your life, you will savor moments that you had.”
Denham said her parents raised her to give back through time, talent and treasure. She encouraged the students to do the same through volunteering, donating, and giving of themselves to others. Take care of yourself and be kind to yourself, she said.