STEUBENVILLE, OHIO—Franciscan University of Steubenville honored six alumni at the 33rd annual Alumni Awards Banquet held September 30 during the 2022 Homecoming Weekend.

Father Dave Pivonka, TOR, president of Franciscan University, congratulated the honorees and expressed gratitude for their faithfulness to their families, careers, the Church, and to Christ, saying they were “doing wonderful, holy, amazing, productive things.”

Anna M. Carter ’09 received the Outstanding Young Alumni Award for co-founding Eden Invitation, an innovative nonprofit that supports the chaste integration of life and empowered discipleship. Eden Invitation received a $100,000 grant from the OSV Institute for Catholic Innovation in 2020 and reaches over 350 people online and in-person, with thousands more participating on social media.

“A lot of what we do at Eden Invitation is actually inspired by a lot of what I experienced at Franciscan,” said Carter. “I experienced a lot of love, a really deep sense of belonging through household life and through the friendships that I formed, and opportunities for empowerment.”

Sister Virginia Joy Cotter, SV ’03 received the Dr. John J. Carrigg Award for furthering the culture of life, especially through education. A member of the Sisters of Life and director of the Respect Life Office for the Archdiocese of New York, she helped develop and implement a life-honoring curriculum used in the archdiocese by 62,000 students in kindergarten through high school.

“I think the message for all of us is that we’re not alone,” said Sister Cotter. “I think that’s why we gather around Franciscan … the gift of community here is so profound that you can’t leave here untouched by it.”

Leslie A. (Grimard ’10) Ford received the Father Dan Egan Award for applying the principles she learned at Franciscan University to public policy at the highest levels of government. Committed to supporting families, upholding human dignity, and protecting the vulnerable, she served on Capitol Hill and in President Donald Trump’s White House on the domestic policy council. She currently advises state governments and serves as a consultant for nonprofits such as the Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank.

Ford thanked the professors, friends, and priests at Franciscan University who gave her a foundation for her life, family, and career. “You taught me to encounter the living Christ,” she said, thanking the priests. “You gave me the Church and the sacraments. The daily prayer life that I developed here is the only thing that sustains me out there. If I hadn’t encountered the living Christ, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do.”

Robert H. Gentile ’66 accepted the Professor Edward J. Kelly Award for his success in executive leadership and service in the field of energy at the local and national levels. After managing several Ohio coal mines, he served in the Reagan and Bush administrations in the U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Department of Energy. Gentile is currently president and CEO of Leonardo Technologies, providing technical and management expertise to clients in the energy sector.

“What I learned here is the Socratic method, this presentation, discussion, argument,” said Gentile, reflecting on his liberal arts education at Franciscan. “That was a wonderful experience, and it really led my management style and gave me the management style that I had for the rest of my life.”

The Bishop John King Mussio Award was given to Sister Megan Mary Thibodeau, SOLT ’95, for her faithful service to the Church and her leadership of the sisters of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT). Elected general superior in 2013, she supervises 115 missionary sisters in seven countries. She recently completed the rigorous process that, with approval from Rome, will allow the SOLT sisters to become a Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right.

“The love of Christ has to impel us, and that is what Franciscan taught us while we were here,” said Sister Thibodeau. “It’s God’s love that makes us do what we do. And if we are in love with God and following him, we will be able to spread that love to everyone that we meet and serve along the way.”

The late Albert J. Wagner ’73 received the Alumni Citizenship Award for being an exemplary public servant and his efforts to give a voice to the most vulnerable. Known as A.J., he worked as a probate attorney, county auditor, acting judge, and magistrate for Dayton Municipal Court, judge for the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, and more. He served on many boards, including the Ohio Chapter of the National Kidney Foundation and the United Way. He authored five books, with the proceeds of several benefitting local charities.

Lu Dreyer ’71, who nominated A.J. for the Alumni Citizenship Award, said, “A.J. built bridges over political, religious, ethnic, and economic differences.” He was “truly an instrument of God’s love in his community.”