Chantal Mahler, Interview with Melissa Newman, 2022

Item

Chantal Mahler (WLA, Mundelein College 1989 Class Photograph)

Interview Transcript

Title

Chantal Mahler, Interview with Melissa Newman, 2022

Summary

Chantal Mahler was a Spanish and Communications major with a concentration in Journalism and graduated from Mundelein in 1989. She talks about commuting down Sheridan road to Mundelein and her fond memories of working with her classmates on the Mundelein Scholar, the student newspaper, first as sports editor, then editor-in-chief for her junior and senior year. Chantal praises the professors in her major, Sister Mary Pat Haley, Sister Mary Alma Sullivan, and Betty Prevender and talks about how their lessons have stayed with her throughout her career. Sister Jean was also a bright presence throughout her time at Mundelein and after. Overall, Chantal reiterates how wonderful the people at Mundelein were and how she became a strong, capable woman from their guidance and support.

Content Note: These collections may include language or descriptions of events that may be upsetting to some users.

Date Created

March 17, 2022

Biography

Chantal Mahler was born and raised in Chicago on Southport Avenue near Wrigley Field. Her love of baseball and sports can be traced back to going to games with her grandpa and gathering with her family to watch the latest game. Her family moved out to the suburbs when she was nine, where she attended St. Mary’s school in Buffalo Grove and then Stevenson high school in Lincolnshire. Looking into colleges, Chantal knew she wanted to get back into the city and attend a smaller school, so Mundelein was a great choice.

She commuted all four years and worked off campus to help pay for school. She used the commute to ground herself and appreciate the beauty of driving down Sheridan Road. Chantal majored in Spanish and Communications with a concentration in Journalism; she graduated in 1989. She combined her passion for the news and sports by becoming sports editor for the Mundelein Scholar, where she was able to apply what she was learning in classes in a practical way. She was nominated and served as the senior representative in the Mundelein Student Council where she was able to bring the voice and experience of the senior class to help improve student life for the underclassmen.

After Mundelein, she has worked as an editor and reviewer and notes that she still applies the lessons and skills Sister Mary Pat Haley, BVM, Sister Mary Alma Sullivan, BVM, and Betty Prevender everyday.

Interviewer Biography

Melissa Newman was a graduate student at Loyola University Chicago and a graduate assistant at the Women and Leadership Archives 2020-2022.

Time Log

[0:00 - 5:00]: Background on family, why she chose Mundelein, and the strong Catholic upbringing she had.
[5:00 - 10:00]: Professors that influenced her, life skills she learned from them, and the importance of being a strong female presence in a male-dominated society.
[10:00 - 15:00]: Experience of being at an all-girls college, being the sports editor for both high school and Mundelein’s newspaper, and the familial connection to sports.
[15:00 - 20:00]: Continuation of her love for sports and writing for the Mundelein Scholar.
[20:00 - 25:00]: Mundelein Scholar continued: who sponsored them, which Sister was in charge of them, how they worked, and the difference in being the sports editor versus the editor-in-chief.
[25:00 - 30:00]: Mundelein Scholar continued: missing writing while being the editor-in-chief, thinking about how being the sports editor with the current Sister Jean “stuff,” having a hard time with Loyola taking over Mundelein, and the lack of scandalous news stories.
[30:00 - 35:00]: Mundelein Scholar members not being “rabble rousers,” winning an Illinois Collegiate Journalism Award, being part of a commuter sorority, staying on campus with somebody after a night class, being involved in senior counsel, Dooley Brothers coming during St. Patrick’s Day, and being involved even though she was a commuter.
[35:00 - 40:00]: Making friends through her mom’s Filipino food, how the commute to Mundelein was, and expanding on the Dooley Brothers’ performance on St. Patrick’s Day.
[40:00 - 45:00]: Where she would go to eat and study on campus, loving being next to the lake, and being nominated and serving as senior class representative.
[45:00 - 50:00]: Continuation of being senior class representative, finding an open administration for students to go to with issues, and loving the intimate, close-knit feeling of Mundelein, and the life and academic skills she gained while there.
[50:00 - 55:00]: Life skills Mundelein gave her in terms of breaking out of stereotypes and being more empathetic and a great listener, graduation day, and reunions of her class.
[55:00 - 1:00:00]: Talking about the contagious, wonderful women from Mundelein and how it affected her and her class, wanting to do the oral history interview to share how great Mundelein was, and how she feels nowadays about the lasting image and memories of Mundelein like the buildings and Sister Jean.
[1:00:00 - 1:02:37]: Experiences at Mundelein, the legacy Mundelein has and the impact it has had on the students that went attended, and how she wants to pass the legacy on like her alumnus before her.

Index

7th Circuit, CM 50-55

Breslin, Sister Mary Brenan, CM 55-60

Buffalo Grove, CM 0-5

Carthage College, CM 40-45

Chicago, CM 0-5

Chicago Cubs, CM 0-5, CM 15-20

Chicago Tribune, CM 5-10

Coldwell Banker, CM 0-5

Concordia College, CM 15-20

Daily Herald, CM 5-10

Deerfield, CM 0-5

DePaul (University), CM 0-5

Dooley Brothers, CM 30-35, CM 35-40, CM 40-45

Dorothy (The Wizard of Oz), CM 50-55

Dr. Pepper, CM 15-20

Facebook, CM 15-20

Farrell, Sister Carolyn, CM 55-60

Filipino, CM 35-40

Gannon, Sister Ann Ida, CM 55-60

Haley, Sister Mary Pat, CM 5-10, CM 15-20, CM 20-25

Irish, CM 35-40, CM 40-45

Krunchers Potato Chips, CM 15-20

Learning Resource Center, CM 15-20, CM 40-45

Lincolnshire, CM 0-5

Lion (The Wizard of Oz), CM 50-55

Loyola University Chicago, CM 15-20, CM 25-30, CM 55-60

Mundelein (city), CM 0-5

Mundelein (College), CM 0-5, CM 5-10, CM 10-15, CM 15-20, CM 25-30, CM 30-35, CM 35-40, CM 40-45, CM 45-50, CM 50-55, CM 55-60, CM 60-62

Mundelein Scholar, , CM 5-10, CM 15-20, CM 15-20, CM 25-30

The Mustard Seed, , CM 20-25

Northwestern University, CM 15-20

Palatine, CM 0-5

Piper Hall, CM 30-35

Prairie View, CM 0-5, CM 35-40

Prevender, Betty, CM 5-10

Riley, Colleen, CM 50-55

Riviera Theatre, CM 25-30

ROTC, CM 0-5

Rovner, Judge Ilana Diamond, CM 50-55

Scarecrow (The Wizard of Oz), CM 50-55

Sheridan Road, CM 35-40

Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, CM 25-30, CM 55-60

Southport Avenue, CM 0-5

St. Mary’s (High School), CM 0-5, CM 10-15

St. Patrick’s Day, CM 30-35, CM 35-40

Stevenson High School, CM 0-5, CM 10-15

Sullivan, Sister Mary Alma, CM 5-10

Sun Times, CM 5-10

Tea Room, CM 35-40

Terrace, Susan, CM 30-35

Tin Man (The Wizard of Oz), CM 50-55

University of Louisville, CM 15-20

Vernon Hills Athletic Complex, CM 15-20

Weekend College, CM 45-50

The Wizard of Oz, CM 50-55

Wrigley Field, CM 0-5, CM 10-15

Copyright

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