An afternoon spent walking across Mount Mary College's campus reveals two important things: the vast amount of beautiful outdoor lawn space perfect for a game of Frisbee, and the lack of students taking advantage of it. As a Catholic women's college located on the outskirts of Milwaukee, Mount Mary primarily educates commuter students who quickly head home after classes.

The School Sisters of Notre Dame founded the college in 1913 and it has been educating women with a focus on leadership ever since, said Lorissa Najera, admissions counselor and former student.

Ariel Andries, a sophomore commuter student studying fashion, said the school tries hard to instill leadership qualities.

Andries and her friend Lindsey Smeaton, a sophomore art major, sat in the Cyber Cafe—the main place to find students after classes, they said, and described the typical Mount Mary student.

Smeaton said students are involved in social justice within the community, and many take on leadership roles. She said she has worked with inner city schools and that Andries has worked with the Girls Scouts of Milwaukee Area, Inc.

Becky Young, a senior majoring in English professional writing, said she agreed that service and leadership play a big role on campus.

"It comes back to girl power and inspiring women to be the best they can be," she said.

Women's College

Statistics show single-gender education environments create higher self-esteem and more learning opportunities by facilitating a different classroom dynamic, according to Najera.

"Girls are more willing to talk," Smeaton said. "They know they won't look bad if they have a wrong answer."

Najera said prospective students often worry about this aspect of the college.

"Although it's an all-women environment, there are lots of other places to meet members of the opposite sex," she said.

There are some male students at Mount Mary in graduate and nursing programs because of the school's partnership with the Columbia College of Nursing, Najera said.

Academics

Most students choose Mount Mary because of its unique academic offerings and small class sizes, Najera said. Special majors include art therapy, fashion, dietetics and interior design. These and other departments provide a student-to-faculty ratio of 14-to-1.

"There is personal interaction among our students and faculty," Najera said. "The faculty is invested in students' futures."

Smeaton said she enjoys the small classes, which usually have no more than 20 students.

"You have one-on-one time with teachers," she said. "There aren't many tests and we work on small assignments."

Young said this environment allows her to be on a first-name basis with professors and to learn in a comfortable yet challenging atmosphere.

Commuter School

Although Mount Mary enrolls more than 1,700 students, only a maximum of 200 live on campus in the college's only resident hall. The first floor of the hall is filled with offices, dining halls and large banquet rooms, Najera said.

"It's largely a commuter campus," Andries said. "A lot of people go home on the weekends, so it's not very lively."

The campus also may not be the liveliest on weekends because the average age of a Mount Mary student is 24.

"Some students come right out of high school and others are out in life with families," Najera said.

This creates a mix within class dialogue that lets students experience a variety of viewpoints and lifestyles, she said.

Social Atmosphere

Andries said she sometimes wishes she lived in a dorm at one of the University of Wisconsin System schools because of the subdued social environment at Mount Mary.

"You don't make as many close friends (here)," she said.

Young, who lived in the dorm her first two years, said most people socialize only within their majors. Most students also go home or visit friends on the weekends.

For those that spend weekends on campus, resident assistants create events to get people involved. Those looking for the party scene have to venture off campus for bars or house parties, Young said.

"I never felt I was missing out on anything, though," she said. "It's still a connected campus. There's camaraderie among the girls."