Catholic High alumna Tonie Staudenmaier Wallace-Aitken wanted to give back to her Baltimore City alma mater ? to the tune of $1 million.
“I am where I am today because of my years at Catholic High and the positive direction from the sisters,” said Wallace-Aitken, a 1965 graduate.
The pledge, made by Wallace-Aitken and her husband, Greig Aitken, is the largest private donation ever given to the school, said president Barbara Nazelrod.
The money could come in a lump sum later this year or in fiscal year 2007, she said.
The gift was announced at a recent emotional school assembly, and the students erupted into an applause and chanting “Tonie” when she announced the news, Nazelrod said.
“We were absolutely jubilant,” she said.
School officials still are talking with Wallace-Aitken about how the money will be spent, but Nazelrod said she expects some will go toward upgrading the school?s technology. Other plans include replacing windows or renovating the kitchen and cafeteria, she said.
The school relies heavily on alumnae to keep the day-to-day activities running, but those annual donations are usually much smaller, said Marcy Shea-Frank, director of institutional advancement at Catholic High.
Nazelrod credits the supportive all-girls environment for the close connection many alumnae have to the school.
“As we went on with our lives, we realized that everything we learned as young women in society, we learned at Catholic High,” said Nazelrod, also a graduate.
Wallace-Aitken, a member of the Board of Trustees who lives in Winchester, Va., owns software development company Advanced Legal Technologies and a court reporting company.
She said some recent business opportunities allowed her to give that amount, and she wants the money go toward more technology and some arts programs.
Wallace-Aitken said she has been involved with the school and has seen it through some financially tough times. Now, a new spirit is back in the school.
“It?s just alive,” she said.
