Mount Professor Emerita Turns 100
12/11/2020
Happy Birthday Sr. Paula!
Parts of this story originally appeared in the Autumn 2020 issue of the Sisters of Charity quarterly magazine, Vision.
It’s not every day you meet someone who has earned the title of centenarian. But for Marie Paula Holdman, S.C., Associate Professor Emerita of German, the past 100 years have been nothing short of a marvelous journey.
Mary Elizabeth Holdman was born in New York City on November 6, 1920. A lifelong educator and student, she has spent this past century sharing her passions for languages, the arts, travel, education, and faith with everyone she meets.
Her ministries have taken root in education and include teaching seventh graders at the Academy of Mount Saint Vincent, working as the Director of Communications for the Sisters of Charity, serving as the College historian, and—for decades—teaching German right here at Mount Saint Vincent.
Sr. Paula and her family often traveled to Germany to visit her grandparents. Here she is as a young child on the S.S. St. Louis in 1925 en route to her family’s homeland. Her father and sister can be seen on the right.
Her stories from both the classroom and beyond always include the people who were important during those periods of her life, including hundreds of alums of the College—many for whom Sr. Paula remains one of the most influential figures in their lives. Just ask Bill Dunworth ’85 and Eileen Spear ’90.
Bill and Eileen remember Sr. Paula as a dedicated, compassionate educator who wanted nothing more than to see her students succeed. Both remember small, intimate classes of only three or four students—most of the time gathered in her cozy office on the fourth floor of Founders Hall—where they were challenged in rigorous courses of German language and history.
When he began at the College in Fall 1981, Bill had originally selected biology as his major. However, after taking Sr. Paula’s intermediate German class during his first semester, he quickly switched his major to German and international business.
“Sr. Paula had a special way of weaving her experiential narratives from her travels into her lessons, and providing a focused, intimate learning environment—which gave me a college experience in the liberal arts that was quite challenging and for which I consider myself very fortunate to have received” remarked Bill.
While at the Mount, where she began in 1953, Sr. Paula also worked with students on the newspaper. In fact, she worked with student newspapers in almost all of her ministries.
“We have wonderful people who graduated from the Mount and have followed their own careers as journalists—really great writers among the people whom I taught in the many years I spent in education” said Sr. Paula.
Most of Sr. Paula’s classes were small since German wasn’t popular major at the time. But that meant she could hold classes in her office instead of a classroom—or even outside on a nice day!
Sr. Paula was also an advocate for women and their voices—something rather daring during her early days as a professor. She used her own voice to create one for her fellow Sisters who may not have shared her same intrepid spirit. She spent much time writing about the life of Josephine Rosaire Rae, S.C., who once served as Director of Novices and Dean of the College.
“Sr. Josephine led the College, but was not president,” Sr. Paula explained. “No nun had the title at that time. The nuns were deans, and the presidents were all archbishops—a perfect example of the women doing the work,” she says with her knowing chuckle.
Like Bill, Eileen also found herself in one of Sr. Paula’s German classes as a freshman five years down the road. She was immediately captivated by Sr. Paula’s love of learning and her belief in Eileen’s potential, and their relationship has never floundered since.
“Although strict in the classroom, Sr. Paula was very compassionate and thoughtful when it came to providing direction, guidance, and support,” said Eileen. “She was concerned with each and every one of her students’ overall success in life—and not just their grades in her class.”
Bill agrees—remembering fondly the many interesting anecdotes Sr. Paula would share in class. She often would bring in artifacts she had saved from her various trips abroad: a book of matches from a hotel she stayed in, museum tickets, menus, postcards. It was a way for her to bring Germany to life in the classroom and it heightened both Bill and Eileen’s curiosity for travel.
Sr. Paula was deeply invested in the success—both personal and academic—of every single one of her students. She is pictured here standing in the back of a classroom full of students at the Mount.
And after Bill graduated from the Mount and Eileen wrapped up her studies, they reconnected with Sr. Paula—but this time over 3,700 miles overseas.
At this point, Bill had been working across Europe for a few years and Eileen was spending time studying abroad in Germany. Sr. Paula happened to be visiting Hamburg during the same time two of her most dedicated students were across the pond, and she eagerly wrote to them and arranged a reunion. They spent an evening together and even found one of Sr. Paula’s former colleagues from the Mount, Frau Margrit Beck, who taught German in the early 1960s.
That’s just one story of Sr. Paula hopping on a plane and finding her former students across the globe. Now living at Mount Saint Vincent Convent, she has kept in touch with many of her students over the years—Bill and Eileen included—which makes for having friends around the world.
Bill currently works in international development, traveling around the globe and spending spurts of time in far-away places: Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Australia, and even Nepal, just to name a few. He always tries to send Sr. Paula a postcard when he can.
“She told me she hangs them on her door for the other Sisters to see,” said Bill. “I even had a cake mailed to her at the Convent from the Hotel Sacher in Vienna for her 100th birthday. Although I never visited Vienna with her, she often told fond memories of her travels there. When I called her to wish her a Happy Birthday, she was ecstatic about the cake. I’m glad I could make her smile.”
A recent photo of Sr. Paula and her birthday cake at Mount Saint Vincent Convent, where she now resides, during her 100th birthday celebration this past November.
Eileen also moved abroad as she began her career and spent over 20 years living and working throughout Europe—including time spent in England and Sr. Paula’s beloved Germany. Now living in Boston and still deeply connected with her alma mater, she often finds herself back on the Mount’s campus for reunions, meetings, and celebrations. Whenever she’s in the Bronx, she always makes a special trip to visit Sr. Paula in the Convent.
“Sr. Paula has been a great support to me both during the happy moments of my life and during difficult times, engaging her fellow Sisters in prayer when I needed it,” said Eileen. “She even attended my wedding—which was a blessing! I remember celebrating with her on the occasion of her 75th Jubilee as a Sister of Charity. It was a magnificent accomplishment, and I am thankful to have been there with her.”
Eileen loves visiting Sr. Paula each time she’s on campus. One sunny spring day, Eileen snapped this photo of Sr. Paula in front of Founders Hall as they took a stroll down by the Hudson River.
Sr. Paula speaks of her relationships with Bill, Eileen, and all her former students as the highlight of her career and points to the Sisters in her community as a lifelong blessing.
“I had such an opportunity to share so much with my fellow Sisters,” remarked Sr. Paula. “They all, in their own way, encouraged their students and that encouraged their fellow faculty members. They shared what they found interesting and amusing. They enriched my life.”
Sr. Paula has, without a doubt, left her mark on the Mount Saint Vincent campus. She will always be remembered as a committed educator, charitable Sister, and devoted mentor. Though her bones might not be as spry as they once had been, her mind is still sharp as a tack.
Turning 100 years old is no easy feat, but Sr. Paula has much to reflect on and be thankful for over the last century, and so do the thousands of individuals—students, Sisters, colleagues, and friends—she has left her mark on the College and around the world.
About the University of Mount Saint Vincent
Founded in 1847 by the Sisters of Charity, the University of Mount Saint Vincent offers nationally recognized liberal arts education and a select array of professional fields of study on a landmark campus overlooking the Hudson River. Committed to the education of the whole person, and enriched by the unparalleled cultural, educational, and career opportunities of New York City, the College equips students with the knowledge, skills, and experiences necessary for lives of professional accomplishment, service, and leadership in the 21st century.