I really loved it here [Assumption College]. I have made, I made a great group of friends and, in fact, this past weekend I was on the Cape with my, my “Assumption Girls” as I call them. There’s seven of us that go away at least once a year and you just feel like these are women that I really bonded with, but we’re different, we live in different places, we’ve had different experiences as far as marriages or anything else, but when push comes to shove these are people that I can count on in my life.
Donna Connolly was born on May 25, 1956. She is married to Timothy Connolly, and has two sons: Sean who is 22 and Mark who is 18. Donna grew up in Long Island, New York and first came to Worcester to attend college. She graduated from Assumption College in 1978 with a degree in social and rehabilitation services, and also graduated from Worcester State College with her Master’ degrees in Human Service Management in 1989. She works for the Colleges of Worcester Consortium, and specifically works at South High in Worcester where she works with students and their families with the process of applying to colleges. She is also on the board of directors for a mental health agency called The Bridge of Central Mass, and she is the president of the Alumni Association at Assumption. In this interview, Donna talks about the importance of family and education. She talks about her rough childhood and how her mother’s re-marriage was a change for the better for her and her family. She also talks about the strengths, issues, and changes she’s seen in Worcester, and gives words of advice to young women today.