Marymount California University will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a gala to honor Sister Antoine-Marie Baurier, a member of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (RSHM), the school’s founding order.
The gala is planned for Saturday, September 29, 2018, beginning at 6 p.m., and will take place at the school’s Oceanview campus.
In 1969, Sr. Antoine-Marie was teaching at the Marymount School in Paris when she was asked to travel thousands of miles to join her sisters in California, and teach at Marymount High School in Palos Verdes. She was told the assignment would be for one year. Even though her degree from the Sorbonne was in science, and she had taught math in Paris, she was asked to teach French and Spanish language classes at her new home.
The one-year assignment was soon extended, and she joined the faculty when the high school became Marymount College in 1972. At that time, the college was a two-year institution with only about 100 students. She lived on campus with the other RSHM sisters, who were working as teachers and administrators. In lean times, the sisters donated 75 percent of their salaries back to the school. In 2000, they donated their convent, which is now known around campus as the Oceanside building.
Sr. Antoine has navigated through many changes during her career and ministry at Marymount. She mentions that when she started teaching, her students were like younger siblings. Now, she says, they are like her grandchildren. Many of them, when returning to Marymount to visit her, have commented that no other language classes they’ve taken have taught them as much as hers. Her love for teaching and for her students is evident.
“As a Catholic institution, we have a mission that aspires to treat those we serve with true respect, to recognize their dignity, and to attend to their spiritual needs,” said Marymount California University president Brian Marcotte. “Sister Antoine-Marie Baurier has shared and embodied this mission for nearly 50 years. She is a pillar of our Marymount community and we are grateful for her dedication as an educator and her leadership as a member of our board of trustees. We are pleased to honor her as part of our 50-year gala celebration.”
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