What Happens After Montrose? A Peek into the Life of Emily Marcucci ‘95
Emily speaks with Mrs. Schickel at the Montrose alumni reunion.
We often hear of the great things that our alumnae can do after Montrose. “With a Montrose education, you will be confident in taking on the next step of your life.” (excerpt from a paraphrase of many a Montrose flyer). Besides those with older siblings or alumni friends, we don’t often get to see into the lives of those who have graduated from our school. Here is a detailed (though largely specific) outline of what can happen when you have left Montrose to brave the wide and wild world.
Emily Marcucci is the second-born of eleven children and the first of all her siblings to attend Montrose. She started as a sixth grader at the Westwood campus, Deerfield, while she was living in Wellesley. A member of the class of 1995, she and her friends caused mischief throughout their time at Montrose. Emily recalled: “I do remember causing my fair share of mischief, but it was always in good fun and with a healthy relationship with our teachers – never in a disrespectful way, we liked them too much.” In eleventh grade, Emily and her friends secretly sold the frozen cookie dough balls for a junior class fundraiser. She also received many demerits for out-of-dress-code clothing, three of which ended her up in detention! Aren’t you glad we didn’t go to school in the 90’s? We’d all be toast.
During her senior year in high school, she desperately wanted to go to Notre Dame in Indiana but ended up getting more money from Harvard, where she applied to later on. “My mom took the thick red envelope and displayed it in the window of my home so I saw it as I pulled into my driveway.” She still wanted to go to Notre Dame, but she remembers an important piece of advice she received from then-Head of School Ellen Cavanaugh, which helped her in making the important college decision. Ms. Cavanaugh said: “Emily, I think God is trying to tell you something. Sometimes, we can be blind to what is right in front of us. It is not what you thought you’d do, but you will do great things at Harvard and beyond. Trust me.”
At Harvard she studied psychology, and now she is a stay-at-home mom. Emily said: “By the world’s standards, I might not have accomplished much. I have chosen not to pursue a career, but the work I do in my home is very challenging, important, and fulfilling.” Her time at Montrose and especially with Father Dick taught her to see the world in a new way. “Remember what Fr. Dick would stress? Love God and others. Each human being that walks this earth is unique, precious and unrepeatable and has a purpose.” This lesson would help Emily later in life when her second child, Phillip, was stillborn at 32 weeks. “It was devastating and unpredictable, but without losing Phillip, we would not have been given Johnny, and the rest of our babies in that particular order and time.” Her experience with God’s plan and His understanding of her life helped her to brave the many difficulties that this life throws at us.
During her years at Harvard, she met her eventual husband, Mike Marcucci, a baseball player and a history and government major one year ahead of her. They connected through mutual friends and both of their work-study jobs at the hockey rink. After dating for six months, he proposed at the Lincoln Memorial, after both had graduated, and they got married! Thus began their family. Maddie was born a year after they got married, and there were nine more after her, making a cute little family of eleven. Emily laughed and said: “As Fr. Dick used to say, there is never a dull moment in any of our lives. God keeps me busy with figuring out how to love those He has sent my way during all the moments of my life.”
Her Montrose education and friendships with the girls she met at school taught her to face life confidently and with a sense of humor. Emily cherishes her memories of little Montrose back in Westwood and is grateful for all the lessons she learned as a student there. Emily concluded: “Both Montrose and Harvard have prepared me to handle the unexpected – life is not predictable, but it is in the journey, distinguishing what is truly important, that helps us be who we are meant to be.”
Theresa Marcucci ‘23, Faith Editor
