2026 Jubilarian of the Year

Mary Prescott’s DSHA journey began as it still does for many Dashers: Wanting to attend school with her friends. Mary also felt called by her mother, Nancy Croal Prescott, HA ’48†.

“I was most interested in going where my friends were going at the time, but my mother attending Holy Angels was also a selling point,” Mary explained.

“Looking backwards, there is a great deal of research that shows all-girls education in the high school years boosts self-confidence and fosters leadership skills and other key qualities,” said Mary. She also cited research that students at all-girls schools are more likely to pursue degrees and careers in STEM.

This was true for Mary’s mother, who majored in chemistry and was later the first woman chemist at Pabst. At DSHA, Mary also discovered her interest in science and math courses, particularly biology classes taught by Science Faculty Rita Zagar†.

Mary also found that literature and writing spoke to her. She wrote for the school newspaper and served as co-editor her senior year. One of her favorite courses was Russian literature with English Faculty Margaret O’Donnell, DS ’65†. “It introduced me to a lot of my favorite authors… like Nikolai Gogol whom I’m certain I wouldn’t have discovered on my own.”

When it came time to look to college, Mary gives credits to her counselors: “They encouraged me to aim high and not make safe choices.”

Mary would go on to earn a degree in biochemistry from Princeton University. While challenging, she carried the lessons of DSHA with her: “I was taught how to study, how to think critically, and how to approach new information – the thinking skills that were necessary to succeed in college.”

At first, Mary had anticipated attending medical school; however, a scientific writing course she took her junior year changed her trajectory. She realized she could combine her scientific interests with her talent for communication.

That realization led Mary to Johns Hopkins University, where she pursued medical writing and later earned an MBA from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. She worked for two decades in advertising, PR, and marketing in the pharmaceutical business, and ultimately put her interdisciplinary education to work by establishing her own company in 2001, Prescott Medical Communications Group. There she built a career at the intersection of science and communications.

In 2022, Mary sold her company and now enjoys retirement, which she splits between Illinois and Michigan. She’s an avid golfer and writes the newsletter for her club’s scholarship organization: The Lost Dunes Memorial Scholarship Fund. When she’s not on the course, you may find her catching a baseball game.