Elena Corie Marchisotto ’67 came to Manhattanville for a liberal arts education.  She chose to study mathematics and became one of only seven mathematics majors in her year. Elena describes her experiences at Manhattanville as empowering, inspiring, and truly magical. She recalls the wonderful education she received from Manhattanville in an environment where advisors, professors, and fellow students really encouraged her to be the best person that she could be and helped her excel in her career. Elena believes that not just her mathematics courses, but also her philosophy, history, and English courses really prepared her to do her research in mathematics. She authored many publications and credits her Manhattanville education as the source of her really learning how to communicate with her writing. Elena gives special mention to her English professor, Mother O’Gorman, who once told her that her essays sounded like theorems. She added that Mother O’Gorman taught her how to write in a way to convey the essence of what those theorems meant. Elena is very passionate about mathematics and is grateful to Manhattanville for preparing her to get her PhD at New York University.   

Elena became a researcher in the field of Foundations of Geometry, and a mathematics professor teaching at a university. She feels that while her research has the potential to benefit the mathematics community, her teaching could influence a larger audience. Elena truly enjoys interacting with students and sees that work as a way to benefit society. Elena is very proud of her undergraduate and graduate students and hopes she has had a positive impact on them. The lessons she taught her graduate students have a particular legacy. Many who became mathematics teachers and professors have passed along her teaching methods. Elena credited Manhattanville for preparing her to design several mathematics programs for the university which emphasize the teaching of mathematics in a humanistic way, incorporating its history and philosophy. Elena feels that the teaching of mathematics often misses the human element: “[m]athematics is not just a collection of formulas.  There are humans behind those formulas and stories of their failures and successes in finding or creating them. Mathematics is not just for the classroom or for STEM fields. It permeates daily lives in surprising ways.”  Thinking about such things from different perspectives is a skill Elena learned at Manhattanville that she still uses today in her research and in her life.  

Elena is proud of her granddaughter who is planning to attend Manhattanville. Elena has enjoyed reading her essays for the application process and was so happy her granddaughter applied for the Sister Mary T. Clark Scholarship since she loves to volunteer. Elena once again reflected on the great philosophy teachings in Mother Clark’s classes, as well as in Mother Dowd’s classes, that she will never forget and for which she will always be grateful.