NDMU Graduates Honored at 2023 Alumni Awards Dinner

By: Erik Pedersen, Content Strategy Director

Alumnae and Alumni Weekend Photo Gallery

BALTIMORE – Several outstanding Notre Dame of Maryland University graduates were celebrated at the 2023 Alumni Awards Dinner in September as part of Alumnae and Alumni Weekend.

Micah Castelo '18, Dr. Nephthalee Edmond Tefera D'13, Fran Gunshol '88, M'94, Dr. Amy Rosenkrans '93, D'16, and Sr. Kathleen Feeley, SSND '50 were this year’s alumni award winners. The ceremony began with the induction of Emily Jordan Glover '16, M'17 and Dr. Zaria Comer '18, D'22 into NDMU’s Athletics Hall of Fame.

Additional information on the alumni award winners recognized is available below. A full gallery of photos from Alumnae and Alumni Weekend 2023 is available on NDMU's Flickr page.


The Elizabeth P. Hoisington '40 Distinguished Alumna Award: Sr. Kathleen Feeley, SSND '50

Sister Kathleen Feeley served as President of the then-College of Notre Dame of Maryland from 1971 to 1992. During her tenure, the Loyola/Notre Dame Library opened, the college began to offer graduate degrees, and both the Morrissy Honors Program and the Renaissance Institute were founded. In her early religious life, Sister Kathleen taught first grade in South Carolina, third and fourth grade together in Bel Air, MD, and seventh and eighth grade together in Riviera Beach, MD.

Following exciting years of teaching English at Notre Dame of Maryland High School, she was part of the moving crew when the school moved from Charles St. to Hampton Lane and became Notre Dame Prep (NDP). She taught on the new campus until she returned to CNDM to teach English to college students.

After her presidency, Sister Kathleen went abroad for several years and taught literature in India, Australia, China, Japan and Ghana. After returning to NDMU, she taught graduate courses in English, and is now teaching in the Renaissance Institute.

The Elizabeth P. Hoisington ’40 Distinguished Alumna Award is presented to a graduate who, through achievements in career and/or community service, embodies the principles of Notre Dame. Winners, who have graduated no fewer than five years ago, have demonstrated loyalty to the University and achievements in career and or community.


Service to Society Award: Dr. Amy Rosenkrans '93, D'16

Amy Rosenkrans is a proud double graduate of Notre Dame. In 2017, she was awarded the Joseph L. Arnold Prize for Outstanding Writing on Baltimore History by the Baltimore City Historical Society. This past spring semester, she was a consultant to the Hard Histories Project at Johns Hopkins University, where she worked with undergraduates researching African American orphans who were housed in the Johns Hopkins Colored Orphan Asylum.

Amy is currently sharing her passion for history with middle school students in Baltimore City. She credits Notre Dame with fostering her love for history and providing her with the skills to develop that love in others. She has been recognized numerous times during her teaching career, most recently receiving the 2020 Ponzcak-Greenblatt Families’ Holocaust Endowment Fund Award for Excellence in Holocaust Education.

In her spare time, Amy is the Secretary of the Maryland Women’s Heritage Center Executive Board, where she was one of the volunteer researchers for the Woman’s Suffrage Centennial Project. Her research is featured in Preservation Maryland’s Ballot and Beyond Podcast Series. Additionally, Amy was successful in lobbying to get a historical marker in her hometown of Havre de Grace commemorating the work of Harford County Suffragists. Her current project, Memories of the Baltimore Woman’s Industrial Exchange, strives to document the history of the institution and the people who made it a Baltimore icon. She is especially proud that three NDMU Morrissy Scholars have been assisting her on this project.

The Service to Society Award is presented to a graduate who best exemplifies the ideals of a Notre Dame education through the application of their education, initiative and humanity to socially useful ends in the community, nation or world. The Alumnae and Alumni Association established the Service to Society Award in 1999. All graduates are eligible.


Alumnae and Alumni Engagement Award: Fran Gunshol '88, M'94

Fran Gunshol’s connection to Notre Dame began long before she was born. Her mother and her four sisters attended Notre Dame Prep on Charles Street, and her father was enormously proud of his sister, Joan, who graduated from the college. Fran grew up hearing tales of their love for all things Notre Dame.

Returning to college in her thirties as a mother of two, she circuitously landed at Notre Dame and graduated in 1988. Her career path led Fran to her alma mater, where she proudly served as Assistant to the President to Sister Kathleen Feeley, Director of Special Events and Conferences Services for Notre Dame’s Centennial, and Director of Alumnae and Community Relations. During those years, she watched her daughter, Colleen Bergin, become an alum, class of 1994 - in fact, they graduated together on the stage, with Fran completing her Master of Arts that same year.

After 10 years at Notre Dame, Fran’s passion for philanthropy led her to serve as Executive Director for the CCBC Catonsville Foundation, Executive Director of the BCCC Foundation, and Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving at Stevenson University. Upon her retirement from Stevenson, Fran was brought home to Notre Dame once again, serving as a consultant for eleven years until 2022.

The Alumnae and Alumni Community established the Alumnae and Alumni Engagement Award in 2017. The award is presented to a graduate celebrating a milestone Reunion year who has achieved long-standing and consistent support for Notre Dame of Maryland University. Support is measured through the sharing of time, talent, and/or resources. 


Regina Russo Hammel '41 Outstanding Recent Graduate Award (Undergraduate Student): Micah Castelo '18

Micah Castelo, a proud alumna of NDMU, graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Communication Arts, along with a minor in Women’s Studies. She has maintained a strong connection to her alma mater as the alumnae editor of Damozel, Notre Dame’s literary magazine. Following her undergraduate studies, Micah achieved her Master of Arts in Magazine, Newspaper, and Digital Journalism from Syracuse University, where she also reported internationally from Canada, Israel, Palestine, and the Philippines. Today, Micah combines her passion for storytelling, research, and accessible technology as a content designer at Fearless, a Baltimore-based gov tech company.

Regina Russo Hammel '41 Outstanding Recent Graduate Award (Graduate Student): Dr. Nephthalee Edmond Tefera D'13

Nephthalee Edmond Tefera serves as the MedStar Harbor Hospital (MHH) pharmacy director. In this role, she oversees all pharmacy operations and leads a team where associates are respected, appreciated, and positioned for success. Nephthalee previously worked as a pharmacy supervisor and, before that, as a clinical pharmacist at MedStar Montgomery Medical Center.

Nephthalee aims to develop leaders from the inside out and push efforts forward regarding Health Equity and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in the workplace. She was a founding co-chair for the Maryland Society of Health-System Pharmacists (MSHP) EDI steering committee, and currently serves as a board director for the organization. She also promotes well-being and resilience in the workplace as one of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) well-being and resilience ambassadors. Nephthalee’s commitment to championing leadership development led her to pursue an executive leadership coaching certification in 2020. With her experiences, expertise, and enthusiasm, she has coached professionals and learners to develop and harness their leadership power within. Complementing her love for leadership coaching, Nephthalee also serves as a Health System preceptor to the neighboring school of pharmacies in the area.

Nephthalee completed her pharmacy general practice residency at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Hampton, Virginia. In addition, she is a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist and International Coaching Federation accredited leadership coach.

The Regina Russo Hammel ’41 Recent Graduate Award honors a recent graduate, not more than 10 years ago, who has exhibited professional achievement and/or contributions to community life and who had demonstrated loyalty to the University. The Regina Hammel ’41 Outstanding Recent Graduate Award was created by Gary and Laura Hammel Dicovitsky in honor of Mrs. Dicovitsky’s mother in 1999.


Athletics Hall of Fame: Emily Jordan Glover '16, M'17

Emily Glover graduated from NDMU with her bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts in 2016. She continued on through the BA/MAT Education Program to graduate with her master’s in Elementary and Special Education in 2017. After graduating with her master’s, Emily taught fourth grade for two years at Church Creek Elementary School in Harford County Public Schools. In July 2019, she married her husband Sean and moved to Easton, Maryland, where they still live today with their dog, Pearl. Emily currently teaches fifth grade math, science, and social studies at Denton Elementary School in Caroline County, and she is actively pursuing programs to begin working towards earning her Board Certified Behavior Analysis certification.

Emily was a four-year varsity swim team member at Notre Dame, and she holds school records in the 200-meter breaststroke, the 200m butterfly, and the 200m/400m individual medley. She continues to swim competitively for her local YMCA Masters swim team, and she also coaches a local summer swim team at the Miles River Yacht Club in St. Michaels, MD. In addition to her success in the pool, Emily was a member of the Morrissy Honors Program and Delta Epsilon Sigma. 


Athletics Hall of Fame: Dr. Zaria Comer '18, D'22

Zaria Comer first graduated from NDMU as a chemistry and physics double major in 2018. During her undergraduate education, she participated in various on campus activities, including basketball, volleyball, Pre-Pharmacy Club, Trailblazers, and the Black Student Union. Zaria balanced that rigorous schedule all while working three on campus jobs – serving as a desk assistant, lab assistant, and resident assistant – and also working at Walgreens as a pharmacy technician. 

After completing her undergraduate studies, Zaria continued her education by attending Notre Dame’s School of Pharmacy. She recently completed her first year of residency at the Baltimore VA Medical Center, and she is now undergoing her second year of residency at MedStar Hospital with a focus on pharmacy administration. 

In 2018, Zaria was nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award in recognition of her outstanding athletic and academic achievements. She finished her basketball career ranked No. 1 at NDMU in both field goal percentage (50.0) and blocks (179), and she was the Colonial States Athletic Conference leader in blocks in each of her final two seasons. Zaria is also second in program history in rebounds per game (12.3), fourth in career points (1,221) and fourth in total rebounds (772).

Established in 1895, Notre Dame of Maryland University (NDMU) is a private, Catholic institution in Baltimore, Maryland, with the mission to educate leaders to transform the world. Notre Dame has been named one of the best "Regional Universities North" by U.S. News & World Report.