2008 Woodie Awards
Behind the wheel of Salve's heart
Through 60 years of changes one thing has remained the same: a dedication to students that is best found in a little white van.
Briana Scafidi
Issue date: 3/2/08 Section: News
A childlike gleam finds itself in Donald Mosher's eyes and lights his face like Christmas morning as he drives past Newport's First Beach. At first it's hard to tell what he's so happy about. His van is filled with students and that's the way he likes it, but this gleam is for something different, and he's happy to tell a packed shuttle all about it. He remembers when he was a kid; First Beach was something quite different then. A large dining hall, boardwalk, merry-go-round, and roller-coaster sat like a summer dream beside the ocean. But the hurricane of 1938 took it all away-knocked it right off the beach and into history.
Winds of change haven't stopped blowing in Newport since. When Salve Regina College opened its doors in 1947, the entire institution was confined to one building. A small group of women studied, ate, and even slept in Ochre Court. In sixty years the school has adopted and constructed dozens of buildings, opened its doors to thousands of students, became coed, and even recently started accepting more male students than female. But a few things have remained constant within the Salve community. One of the most important is a personal dedication to students.
A MUTUAL RESPECT
Donald Mosher, or "Mo" as most of Salve knows him, has lived in Newport for 76 years. He retired from his maintenance position in Newport Public Schools in 1994 and applied for a job at Salve, where a neighbor of his worked as a shuttle driver. Salve hired him, and he has since devoted his weekends to driving students, as if they were his own, to their community service sites, the supermarket and other downtown locations. "I just love working for kids," Mo says. "I love it here."
And Salve loves him back. In his white collared shirt, crew-neck Salve sweatshirt, brown slacks and loafers, Mo is undoubtedly one of the warmest characters on Salve's campus. The baseball cap pulled over his white head of hair is the perfect touch to the tiny grandfather's appearance. He is Salve's No.1 fan. He is behind the wheel of the University's heart.
Winds of change haven't stopped blowing in Newport since. When Salve Regina College opened its doors in 1947, the entire institution was confined to one building. A small group of women studied, ate, and even slept in Ochre Court. In sixty years the school has adopted and constructed dozens of buildings, opened its doors to thousands of students, became coed, and even recently started accepting more male students than female. But a few things have remained constant within the Salve community. One of the most important is a personal dedication to students.
A MUTUAL RESPECT
Donald Mosher, or "Mo" as most of Salve knows him, has lived in Newport for 76 years. He retired from his maintenance position in Newport Public Schools in 1994 and applied for a job at Salve, where a neighbor of his worked as a shuttle driver. Salve hired him, and he has since devoted his weekends to driving students, as if they were his own, to their community service sites, the supermarket and other downtown locations. "I just love working for kids," Mo says. "I love it here."
And Salve loves him back. In his white collared shirt, crew-neck Salve sweatshirt, brown slacks and loafers, Mo is undoubtedly one of the warmest characters on Salve's campus. The baseball cap pulled over his white head of hair is the perfect touch to the tiny grandfather's appearance. He is Salve's No.1 fan. He is behind the wheel of the University's heart.
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