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Among the many talents of Sister Marcella Louise Wallowciz, CSFN ‘77, Ph.D., — an accomplished mathematician and writer — perhaps the greatest has been her ability to thrive on minimal sleep.

“I was very good at sleep deprivation,” she quipped. “After completing my undergraduate degree, I worked on my master’s in mathematics from Villanova (’88) before making my final vows. I pursued my Ph.D. in education from Capella University (’14) while teaching math at �Թ�tv.”

Education has always been at the forefront of Sister Marcella Louise’s life, alongside her devotion to her faith community, which she joined with her older sister, Pat, who became Sister Ludwina in ’73. At �Թ�tv, she excelled as both freshman and senior class president during a time when the campus comprised only three buildings: �Թ�tv Hall, the library, and St. Joseph Hall.

“When I returned to �Թ�tv in 1993 to join the math department, we had just one computer for the math and science departments,” she said. “It was in room 405 of �Թ�tv Hall. We had to call dibs to use it—first come, first served. Online learning wasn’t even on the horizon at that time. Technology advanced rapidly; we went from LED projectors to learning management systems, from Blackboard to Canvas, and became paperless. Now, you can keep your whole life on a flash drive.”

A severe reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine nearly ended not just Sister Marcella Louise’s teaching career, but her life. She spent two weeks in critical condition, five weeks in the hospital, two-and-a-half months in a nursing home, and almost a year on the infirmary floor of the convent.

“When I was in Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, many of my nurses were from �Թ�tv,” she said. “Since I teach statistics, I have many nurses as students. I would ask them, ‘I didn’t teach you, did I? I hope your grade isn’t proportional to how much pain I am feeling now.’ Kidding aside, I found our nurses to be highly professional.”

Her sense of humor and deep faith helped her through this challenging period.

“Our sisters have a nightly prayer chain, and I appeared on it several times,” she recalled. “I kept the messages sent out on my behalf. It may sound macabre, but it reminds me of God’s grace, how He took me from that moment to where I am now. It had to be divine intervention because people were waiting for the call to say I had passed away.”

Now entering her 47th year in the convent, Sister Marcella Louise continues teaching through an online platform, contributes to weekly blogs and the National Eucharistic Revival newsletter Heart of the Revival, and serves on the editorial board of her Province’s current newsletter.