Mercy Sister Lisa Gambacorto, directress of Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung, welcomed students to convocation in September with a lesson about bees. Bees are cooperative, she explained to the young women beginning a new school year. She stopped short of demonstrating the “wiggle dance” bees use to communicate, but stressed how important it would be for the girls to work together and build each other up. She knew the lesson had struck a chord when she saw the girls wearing bee earrings to school.
In many ways, that dedication to helping others be their best selves has been a hallmark of Sister Lisa’s career. She is celebrating her 25th anniversary as directress, the longest-serving leader of the Sisters of Mercy’s sponsored work high on a hill in Watchung.
It started when she abandoned her career aspiration as a dentist about 45 years ago, Sister Lisa explains. “I entered the convent right after college. I had attended high school and college with the Sisters of Mercy, and they were so dynamic and progressive – they seemed so happy. I gradually discerned a vocation while in college, and since we didn’t have religious dentists in the order at the time, I changed my major.”
“As a young sister, I had taught previously at the Mount before the community asked me to study to become a counselor,” Sister Lisa explained. “I practiced marriage and family counseling for seven years before I got a call in 1999 from a search committee asking me to come in and discuss moving the Academy in a new direction. I had no idea I would be offered the role, and I initially said ‘no.’” After some prayer and persuasion by the sisters, she took on the role as the calendars turned on a new century and the world fretted over ‘Y2K.’
Recognizing that the grand facility was in dire need of upgrades, including the introduction of computers and modern science labs, “I immediately started making phone calls to raise money,” Sister Lisa said. “There’s a strong alumni base of people who have a great regard for this school, and they were waiting to be asked,” she said in response to a question about how she secured needed funding. Over time, those improvements have included one-to-one computers for students, a science and math wing, new cafeteria and gym, Bloomberg Financial Market Lab terminals, and the ‘Angels of Victory’ track and field built on the side of a mountain.
“The school never looked back,” Sister Lisa said, “and after 25 years, I have a good constituency of former students who are now in positions to support the school.”
Those who work with her and studied under her say she can count on that. Sister Lisa forges personal relationships with both students and staff and is there for them in a personal way at special times in their lives. She has been there when they have gotten married at the Mount, cooed over babies and consoled them at the wakes of loved ones. “If I had $5 for every baby picture I’ve received, I wouldn’t need to do any fundraising,” she jokes.
Jacqueline Muscatore, now assistant directress for faculty, curriculum and planning, first knew Sister Lisa as a student, when she was president of her senior class. “The Mount is my home,” she said fondly. “The Sisters of Mercy are a big part of that. Sister Lisa is a big part of that. She is committed to supporting the entire person of each student. The ‘sisterhood’ is important to her. She connects what we do every day, challenging each student to develop to her full potential, with the mission of the Sisters of Mercy.”
Elizabeth Lyndon, vice chair of the Mount Saint Mary Academy Board, similarly experienced Sister Lisa first as a student at the school. “Girls often turned to her for emotional support – she was firm but fair,” Lyndon said. “When I got the phone call asking me about my interest in serving on the board, I didn’t hesitate. The Mount is where I found my voice, where I found my value. It was important to me to see the school advance; Sister Lisa is the reason I want to give back.”
Lyndon and others describe Sister Lisa as “a force.”
Shelby Carmant, now a senior and president of the Student Council Executive Board, said, “Sister Lisa is a driving force who inspires all the students. She brings out the best in you and encourages you to always reach for the stars.”
“I love my job,” said Dr. Dorothea Kominos, chair of the science department, who came to education after a successful career as a pharmaceutical research scientist. “It is very rewarding, and one of the best things about it is Sister Lisa. She is a big supporter of STEM [science, technology, engineering, mathematics] education.”
If it all started with the influence of the Sisters of Mercy, it ends there, too. “Consciously or unconsciously, I have tried to emulate for these girls the enormous influence of the Sisters of Mercy on me, because I want that for them, too,” Sister Lisa concludes.