Ellen Bartel's Walk Down DSHA Memory Lane

7/23/2018

Ellen Bartel, DSHA President from 1998-2018

In her 20 years as President of DSHA, Ellen Bartel ushered in exciting innovations, groundbreaking initiatives, and an avalanche of opportunities for Milwaukee's best and brightest young women. Join her for a walk down DSHA memory lane.

Fine Arts

I grew up in a theatre family, so the opportunity to lead the effort to build the Robert and Marie Hansen Family Fine Arts Theatre was an incredible privilege. Dolores Boyle and Nick Weber joined our faculty to build and expand our theatre program in our brand new facility. They debated what show we should choose to open our first season in our amazing new space. Finally the choice was made to do The Sound of Music. Of the choice, Dolores said, ‘Every girl at DSHA can see herself in that musical — that is where we should begin.'

Yes, I thought. That is the vision for all that we do here — girls coming to see themselves in new ways, with new capabilities in new opportunities.

And then she drafted our sons, Fritz and Mitch, then 14 and 12, to join the cast. ‘If the boys would agree to be in the waltz scene, two more girls could dance,’ she said. Fortunately, the boys knew that in our ‘theatre family,' there was only one right answer to that offer!

Campus Ministry

In this school year filled for me with many “last” times, one stands out as particularly poignant to me: the assembly at which we welcomed our seniors back from Vocare. As I played a role in the program, I had a perfect view of the seniors as they returned to us, to pray with us, and listen to reflections offered by several of their classmates.

Finally, in closing, they sang with all their hearts, souls and big voices the DSHA anthem, We Are One Body. I realized I would never have that particular view again, and I counted myself as especially blessed to have had that window on our world. There can be no doubt that our young women of faith, heart, and intellect will go forth to live lives that will make a difference.

Co-Curriculars

The Sisters of Culture Water Drive for the people of Flint, MI proved to be a vivid and memorable example of Dasher initiative, generosity, spontaneity and problem solving. The leaders and members of Sisters of Culture were concerned about the desperate situation of the people of Flint. They were also moved to action. With a reasonable amount of planning and permission seeking, they planned a water drive for the DSHA community. And they had a plan and a means to move a reasonable amount of water to the city of Flint — someone was going to loan them a van.

But when determined young women set out to make a difference, big things can — and often do — happen. People in the community began

to drop off water. And then one day a truck arrived — full of water! The call went out, and students, faculty, and staff converged on the back entrance to form a line to pass case after case of water, one pair of hands to another, all the way into what became a giant mountain of water in The Quad. The response was uplifting, surprising, and required a few more days and more problem-solving to get ALL of this water to Flint. But they did it — in passion, cooperation, and hard work.

Dasher Athletics

My most classic “sports fan” memories are of the 2000 volleyball sectional semi-final match that went to five tense sets, and the 2015 basketball state semi-final where Arike (Ogunbowale, DSHA '15) scored 55 points. I remember the adrenaline, raucous cheers, and the incredible victories our Dashers earned in those games.

But I will never forget attending a freshman softball game in the spring of 2007. I think it is fair to say that few members of that team had played much softball. And I’m sure they learned a lot and progressed through the season. But I know they were learning the value of a team, and the blessing of feeling you belong — so important for any of us, and certainly helpful to high school freshmen finding their way. I know this because during the fourth inning, I looked over at our team. Our girls were sitting astride the bench, lined up facing home plate and were engaged in a coordinated effort of braiding each other’s hair. Finding your place, feeling known and cared for — I always smile when I see that happening for our girls.

Academics

View 360: DSHA Perspectives, created and offered in 2009 and repeated in 2013, was an incredibly creative, highly-collaborative teach-in offered for our entire learning community: students, faculty and staff. Its goals: build understanding across our differences and develop skills that enable us to build bridges that enhance our ability to work together, to have true dialogue and solve problems.

Deb Mueller, our Dean of Students at the time, led the team. Together, we created a set of learning activities: art, music, prayer, small group dialogue, film, improvisation that gave each of us a number of experiences in looking at issues and situations from perspectives other than our own. It was dynamic, energizing and eye-opening for us as a school.

Faculty & Staff
This school community is blessed with the most talented and dedicated faculty and staff. I see their effectiveness in the incredible change that takes place in our young women – from freshman to senior year. But they also impact, motivate, and inspire each other. Really successful schools are highly collaborative. At DSHA, we all feed off of each other as we strive to do great work. And we take care of each other in times of trial or sadness.

When our beloved teacher Sue Reidy became ill, so many members of the faculty and staff rallied around her to support her through prayer, through taking over classes, and celebrating the good times that she was so intent on having and maintaining. And when Sue passed away, we gathered to support each other as her loss was so keenly felt by so many. Teachers and staff turned to each other first so we could then turn to support Sue’s grieving students.

What a privilege to belong to this community of faith where solace and understanding are available daily, good times or bad times.

Donors & Volunteers

I have been astounded, uplifted and inspired by the extraordinary acts of generosity that thousands of members of our community have directed to DSHA. We simply would not be who we are without that demonstration of belief in our work that has come in the form of financial support on which we rely and for which we are so grateful.

Bob and Marie Hansen were so instrumental to this. After all, their gift of $3.5 million in 2000 put us on a trajectory that was previously unheard of. But they also helped me begin to understand what my role at DSHA could and should be. I’ll never forget Bob’s words to me some months after they had made this amazing gift — when construction was well underway for the Hansen Theatre. “Marie and I will be so disappointed if all you get out of our gift is a theatre.” Disappointed? Who could be disappointed by that?

I came to learn that any facility is only a vessel for the vision. Bricks and mortar don’t teach or inspire or collaborate or shape leaders. That comes from people with vision, talent, energy and commitment.

In that regard, we have been abundantly blessed.

Back

Back to Voices of DSHA

- Fine Arts: The Bartel family poses at the dedication of the Robert and Marie Hansen Family Fine Arts Theater in 2001.
- Campus Ministry: Ellen is shown at the dedication of the Mother of Our Savior Chapel on September 11, 2015.
- Co-Curriculars: Water Drive organizers Tatum Crampton, DSHA '17; Payton Wade, DSHA '16; and Mae Gates, DSHA '17.
- Dasher Athletics: Ellen and Mike Bartel cheering on the Dashers at one of the hundreds of DSHA sporting events they attended in their 20 years.
- Academics: President Ellen and Mike Bartel pose with students at St. Louis University in April 2009 as part of the DSHA College Bus Trip for first-generation students and students on financial aid.
- Faculty and Staff: DSHA faculty and staff members Kathleen Cullen Ritter, DSHA '05; Lisa Metz, Jacky Krawczyk, and Sue Reidy.
- Donors and Volunteers: Ellen poses with Bob and Marie Esser Hansen, HA ’43.