Dr. Rhonda Matthews, an associate professor of political science and women’s studies in the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice at Edinboro University, took time out of her week at the request of Mr. Moffett and Mr. Pituch to discuss significant changes regarding the consolidation of Cathedral Preparatory School and Villa Maria Academy. She also spoke about how students can see this change in their lives in positive ways in which the change can impact society for the better in a progressive way.

“This change is going to have a ripple effect. The idea of nostalgia is strong amongst alumni and this change is going to be vast,” Matthews said Monday during fourth period at the Villa campus. She also spoke to the Prep campus on Wednesday. The concept of tradition that alumni hold close to their own culture at Prep and Villa will not be diminished, yet change brings an opportunity for other cultures to be acknowledged.

“There are some things that I want you to understand about these months in which we celebrate groups of people that are out of the normality of representation despite their influences on American culture,” she said. “When you leave people out of the narrative you shift the reality of society. When we see these kinds of histories we should see them all as our own.”

“As go women, so goes the nation,” she said.

When societies make level playing fields and provide resources for success, women statistically excel. When women do well, communities and nations thrive. Once it is understood and questions are asked about how we can make progressive change, we need to look towards women to take the steps for a successful progression towards the community Ramblers and Victors, let alone the world, are eager to see.

Matthews discussed the value of knowledge. She encouraged students to not just take a person’s credentials alone as justification for expertise and wisdom. You need to listen for yourself and establish who is worthy of being listened to. You need to be able to discern who you want to prioritize learning from to develop change.

Villa students reflected on aspects of the present, including chaos, progression, and history that may need change. “There has never been a time of history, in any nation, where anything has gone smoothly,” Matthews said.

Matthews encouraged us to call out descriptions of the present that may be contradicting and to link them together to better understand the complexity of the progression within communities. Villa students want to see a world that reflects balance, fairness, and happiness.

“It takes imagination to achieve a world like this, not exclusively, but it is essential”, responded Matthews to the crowd.
“It is up to us to be the change we want to see.”