'Caldwell Gave Me Confidence'

MaryAnn Gaydos Bury '66

It was 1962, when college plans were not foremost in the minds of many young women. At that time, it was common to marry upon graduating from high school; many young women opted to start a family instead of seeking further education or a career. MaryAnn Gaydos Bury says she wanted to work and hadn't planned to apply to college, until her parents, offering their encouragement, said, "Just go." But MaryAnn was concerned: her SAT scores were not as strong as her excellent high school grades.

Her mother had heard about Caldwell College for Women and urged her hesitant daughter to apply. As it turned out, Caldwell accepted MaryAnn based on her grades alone. She planned to teach French and earned her degree in French literature. Towards the end of her senior year, she was recruited by Pope Pius XII High School in Passaic, thanks to a recommendation from a Caldwell alumna who taught there. The school was hiring lay faculty and offered MaryAnn a position; she remained there for five years. "It was wonderful," says MaryAnn, adding, "Caldwell had totally prepared me. I knew what to do and how to do it, even as a new teacher." In a happy coincidence, MaryAnn met her husband Jack, who taught history at the school; the couple has been married for more than 50 years.

As the demand for Spanish classes at Pope Pius grew while enrollment in French courses declined, MaryAnn decided to look for a new teaching position. She quickly learned there was a shortage of teaching jobs, so she pivoted, accepting a position as a clerk assistant in the library department of a plastics company. Although unfamiliar with the industry at the time, her diligence led her to study technical handbooks to form a knowledge base. "You can take a liberal arts person, put them in any job, and they can adapt," she says. She rose to become the supervisor of services for the technical information center at the company. Her next position led her to Allied Signal, where she was the manager of the business library. Her career in information research reached its pinnacle at Honeywell, where she retired, coincidentally, at the time of her 40th Caldwell class reunion. Reflecting on her career and accomplishments, MaryAnn says, "Caldwell gave me the confidence to take on new challenges."

While at her reunion, she says that cherished Caldwell memories came flooding back to her. "Just walking the campus and looking at the buildings made me remember it all. Being there in person renewed my sense of community. I thought to myself, 'I cannot let this go.'"

MaryAnn speaks movingly of her parents' generosity, a virtue they passed on to her. She describes her father, who shared his food with others less fortunate when he was a supervisor on the night shift. It is that same spirit of generosity that is alive and well in this alumna, who, while attending her 40th reunion, decided to include Caldwell in her will, the ultimate gift of gratitude.

A gift in your will ensures future generations of students at Caldwell University can make memories and prepare for successful careers. To learn more, please contact Lori Funicello at 973-618-3226 or lfunicello@caldwell.edu.

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