My Mission

How do you live the lessons of Holy Family?

As told to Catherine O’Neill Grace

FOR PHILADELPHIA POLICE DEPARTMENT Deputy Commissioner Myesha Massey ’22, the Holy Family mission—embracing lifelong responsibilities toward God, society, and self—means waking up each day thinking about how to keep city residents safe. For long jumper Desi Stroud ’27, the mission lies in the hard work of training that starts well before he sprints down the runway to the take-off board. Ask other members of the Holy Family community where they find their missions and the answer is “everywhere”—in the smile of a first grader, a meal shared with strangers, or the flight of a wild bird.  

God and the Grind

By Desi Stroud ‘27, a rising senior studying sports marketing and management and competing in track and field

In high school, I thought basketball was going to be my sport. Even when the track coach tried to get me out there, I would say, “No, I’m focused on basketball.” But I tried it, and it just came naturally. I ended up at Holy Family because my coach told me he had a connection here.

Now I’m a long jumper on the track team, and I run sprints, too. I want to be an athletic director, either for college or high school, overseeing all the sports. I know I need experience, like coaching and training, so I’m trying to build that now and maybe get a minor in administration. I just want to lead programs in the right direction, like I’ve seen from the athletic director here.

I’m trying to be my best for God and others and myself. Right now, I’m focused on going to nationals. You’ve got to fall in love with the grind before you fall in love with the result. The meets go by fast—it’s a lot of adrenaline—but the work leading up to them is what really matters.  

Inspired to Serve

By Sister Mary Ellen Gemmell, CSFN, a member of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth and an instructor at Holy Family

As a Sister of the Holy Family of Nazareth since 1970, I know that the joy of our mission is deeply imbued in my heart. Guided by our foundress, we serve families by mirroring the unity of the Holy Family. Today, I carry this spirit forward as an instructor at Holy Family University, teaching Spanish, ESL, and interdisciplinary core seminars.

My path took a profound turn in 1976 when I was sent to serve in Puerto Rico. These enriching years were spent in various educational capacities, beginning at Colegio Espíritu Santo and later serving as principal at Academia del Carmen and Academia del Perpetuo Socorro. As associate superintendent for the Archdiocese of San Juan, I led a significant project adapting a K–12 religion series, Hablamos de Dios, for Puerto Rican culture with 78 teachers across five schools. I was happy to integrate our Holy Family educational pedagogy into religious instruction for teachers across the region. Life in Puerto Rico also taught me the beauty of community. During hurricane seasons, we often lived without water or electricity. Yet, in those moments, unity prevailed; we gathered to cook outside so no food would go to waste, transforming hardship into shared strength.

After returning to Philly, my heart remained attuned to the island. When Hurricane Maria struck, I asked leaders at Holy Family University if I could organize a relief effort. Thanks to their incredible support, we shipped roughly 11,000 pounds of goods to those in need. Whether in the classroom in Philly or through service in Puerto Rico, it remains a privilege to live out our mission of unity and faith.

Aiming High

By Kenna Rozanski ’29, a rising sophomore year at Holy Family, who is studying nursing and playing midfield for the women’s soccer team

What the Holy Family mission means to me is surrounding yourself with good people and creating high expectations for yourself. I like being busy, and I like being involved in things that push me. I’m part of Campus Ministry, I’m on the Honors Program board, and I’ve started taking on more service leadership, too.

One of the things I’m most excited about is helping with a local food bank through Campus Ministry. Service has always mattered to me. I like the physical act of giving back and being able to help people directly, to actually involve yourself with the people who are going through hard times firsthand. We helped out at a food bank; we did a Thanksgiving drive for families in need that couldn’t get meals on the table.

I think Holy Family’s mission matters right now because people need accountability and connection. The idea of being bound by my responsibilities guides me. You have to remember that you are the person you’re going to spend the rest of your life with.

Heart-Forward Leadership

By Ted Qualli ’00, president and CEO of The Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia, a nonprofit committed to meeting the needs of Catholic donors and organizations through charitable fund management and grantmaking

Family is where you learn everything first: your faith, how to navigate conflict, how to treat people with respect, how to understand the world around you. Those early experiences shape your values and your worldview.

That’s what my time at Holy Family felt like. Interestingly, it wasn’t so much my fellow students that I remember most—it was the people who worked there. I remember Mrs. White—Patricia White—in the admissions office walking me through financial aid and helping me understand how I could make school possible. It felt less like a transaction and more like someone taking the time to care for you the way they would for their own child. That deeper connection stayed with me. Of course, I learned practical things: how to write better, how to communicate more effectively. But the most valuable lessons were the intangibles. Values like respect, integrity, and responsibility became part of how I approach my career and leadership.

In my work at the foundation, I’ve had to make difficult decisions and have hard conversations. What I try to remember is that those decisions still need to be grounded in dignity and respect. You may have to say no, or make a choice someone doesn’t like, but you can do it with integrity.

I’m far from perfect—I make mistakes like anyone else. But I try to center myself on those values and remember that leadership is stewardship. Organizations existed before us and will continue after us. Our responsibility is to care for them and the people in them the right way while we’re there. There’s a way to do it that’s grounded in love.

A Place to Belong

By Jayda Pugliese ’09, M’14, principal of Nazareth Academy Grade School

I’m hard of hearing and wear bilateral hearing aids, so when I was looking for a college, I knew I wanted a smaller school where I wouldn’t feel like just a number. I wanted to be known as a person, as Jayda, and Holy Family offered that. I wanted to be someone who’s recognized for their contributions to the University.

I became deeply involved on campus. I was part of Campus Ministry and even signed the Masses in American Sign Language. When my father passed away during my junior year, nearly all of my professors came to his funeral. That moment showed me what the mission of Holy Family really means. It’s not just words—it’s family. After graduating with degrees in special and elementary education, I worked in Philadelphia schools in a variety of roles before returning to Holy Family for my master’s in teaching English to speakers of other languages and literacy. Later I began a doctorate in educational leadership. Along the way, I received a Milken Educator Award, a national honor given to about 30 teachers each year, for my work as a fifth-grade math and science teacher. Eventually, I became a principal in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and then at Nazareth Academy Grade School, where I first began my journey as an educator.

At Nazareth, we welcome all who come to us. That welcoming standpoint is just so needed. There is so much division in the world right now, and what we need are communities that model love, acceptance, and family. That’s something Holy Family taught me and something I try to live every day.

Caring for Community

By Myesha Massey ’22, the deputy commissioner of the Office of Community Partnerships for the Philadelphia Police Department

I’ve been with the Philadelphia Police Department for 28 years, and from the beginning I always saw this work as service. My goal has always been to serve the community and make life better for the people of Philadelphia.

When I first joined the police department in 1998, I didn’t have a college degree. Years later, when I was promoted to sergeant, a commander asked me, “What are you doing with your career?” At the time I thought I had already made it. She encouraged me to go back to school. That’s when I started looking at Holy Family University.

I was a mom of two and working full time, and the faculty and staff were incredibly supportive. Many of them had backgrounds in law enforcement or public service, so they understood the demands of the job and helped build a schedule that worked with my life.

Faith was also important to me. I’m very active in my church, and policing itself is a faith-based profession in many ways. We face difficult situations every day, and you need to feel connected to something higher. During a really challenging time in the country—during the civil unrest after George Floyd and Sandra Bland— it meant a lot to be in a place where professors understood what we were going through.

For me, this work is a calling. I wake up every day thinking about how to make Philadelphia better— how to make a block safer, how to improve the quality of life for residents, how to speak up for people who feel unheard. This job doesn’t feel like work to me. It feels like purpose.

A Call to Heal

By Lisa Harrelson ’16, M’19, D’22, the owner of Flourish Psychiatry & Wellness in Philadelphia, where she is a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner

I really like teaching people how to be good people. That’s what I was taught at Holy Family, and I still try to teach that as much as I can. It doesn’t matter what profession you’re in; you need to maintain just being human no matter what.

I had my first degree and first life in music. I went to the University of the Arts in Center City, and I was a jazz singer. I was a wedding singer and did lots of fun stuff, but I had a vocal injury. I was told: “You can do this for fun, but you can’t do this six days a week.” So, I decided I needed to do something different. I looked at second-degree programs and landed at Holy Family.

I went to Holy Family through and through. I got my bachelor’s and then my master’s and then I attended the doctor of nursing practice family nurse practitioner program. The professors reached out on a personal basis regularly. It wasn’t just “check the box.” Even though the standards were really challenging and definitely enforced, there was still a very human aspect.

Holy Family taught me the idea that you’re just a human and the person in front of you is a human. You follow the rules, you check the databases, you do all the compliance, but you don’t make the person feel that. I opened my practice a year ago thinking I’d do one day a week. It filled right away and just kept growing from one client to more than 1,000 and a staff of eight.  

Stewardship of the Wild

By Kathy Hershey ’76, the founder of Utopia Wildlife Rehabilitators in Hope, Indiana

I run a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organization in Indiana. We’re federally licensed to care for native wildlife, including raptors like eagles and owls, as well as mammals, bats, and other animals that come through our doors. Every day is different. One day we might be caring for baby squirrels found in a car hood, and another day we’re treating an injured owl or releasing a hawk back into the wild.

A big part of what we do is education. We train veterinarians, run summer programs for kids, and help people understand how important wildlife is to the ecosystem. Sometimes children come here years later and tell us their time at the center helped shape what they wanted to do with their lives. That’s incredibly rewarding.

I’ve always believed that Christianity is a verb—it’s about what you do. I try to use the gifts I’ve been given to contribute back to my community and to care for the world around us.

Wildlife rehabilitation is really about stewardship. We’ve been given an extraordinary world, and we have a responsibility to care for it. If we can help people understand that— and inspire them to protect it—then we’re doing something meaningful.

Photos by Melissa Kelly; Photo of Hershey: Courtesy of Kathy Hershey.