Patricia McGuire – President, Trinity Washington University

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Patricia McGuire on growing Trinity Washington University ~

“We had to get on our feet as an enterprise. We had to get people knowing us, and so two years ago, when I went around looking to build a new science laboratories and nursing laboratories and classrooms, we were able to raise the money to build a new academic building because the sports center was successful. It’s amazing how success breeds success.”

A Ockershausen: This is Andy Ockershausen, and this is Our Town. Our next guest was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and thank the Good Lord, she came to Our Town in 1970, liked it so much, she said, “I’m gonna stay here.” And she’s been called a transformer and a superwoman, and she deserves all the accolades. She’s expanded academic programs, raised significant amounts of money, built an award-winning, $20,000,000 state of the art athletic center for women and girls, which I find is one of the real jewels of Our Town, and through her leadership as president of Trinity Washington University, they educate more D.C. public school graduates than any other private university in the city, and as a matter of fact, in the nation.
I met Pat McGuire through the Greater Washington Board of Trade where she has a been stalwart member of the board for years, and then she received the Leader of the Year award in 2007.
Pat, it’s hard to believe that that’s 10 years ago, but time goes so fast. But it’s only part of her success. Welcome to Pat McGuire. Thank you for being on Our Town.
Patricia McGuire: Oh, Andy thank you for having me on Our Town. This is a real treat. I think this show is so important. It should be required listening for all members of Congress so they can know what our town is really all about. Thank you.
A Ockershausen: Well thank you for being on Our Town, and you don’t realize how important you are, but we do because we sit back and look at what’s going on in Our Town, and to see the impact you have made, and one of the first things I know about when you built that facility that’s state of the art, and people photographed … When we sent the camera crews out and did all that, it was a spectacular thing to do. I don’t know if any of the men got anything that night.

On Building Trinity Center for Women and Girls in Sports

Patricia McGuire: Well that’s nice of you to say, but you know, Trinity’s history is so interesting because we never really had top of the line sports teams, but when I because president, and we were suffering. We were the only women’s college left in the region, and we had to decide if we wanted to be a women’s college still, if we wanted to exist still. And I said to the board, “If we’re going to be a great women’s college, we have to great women’s sports because Title 9 requires it.”
A Ockershausen: To be competitive.
Patricia McGuire: And be competitive. At first the board was like, “Eh. I don’t know about that.” And then, you might remember, the Board of Trade was working on the 2012 Olympics bid for DC.
A Ockershausen: Absolutely. Right.
Patricia McGuire: And I got mixed up with Board of Trade people working on that. I met the Women’s Sport’s Foundation, and I went back to the board and said, “You know what? That’s right. We’re not going to build a gym for five or ten girls. We’re going to build the Trinity Center for Women and Girls in Sports and make it a destination venue around Women’s Sports.” And that was actually a legacy of the 2012 Olympics movements in D.C. That facility.
A Ockershausen: It energized you. Did you tell the board it was going to cost $20,000,000?
Patricia McGuire: I did. I did, and they were, by that point, they knew me well enough they weren’t shocked. We raised a lot of money around the concept.
A Ockershausen: Right You got to do it.

Benefits of Building Trinity Center for Women and Girls in Sports

Patricia McGuire: And we got about 40,000 people visiting our campus at the Trinity Center.
A Ockershausen: And a magnificent campus. It always has been.
Patricia McGuire: Every year. It was so successful that just last year, we were able to build a new academic center. When I built a sports center first, the faculty were a little mad at me, because they wanted new academic facilities.
A Ockershausen: Certainly.
Patricia McGuire: But we had to get on our feet as an enterprise. We had to get people knowing us, and so two years ago, when I went around looking to build a new science laboratories and nursing laboratories and classrooms, we were able to raise the money to build a new academic building because the sports center was successful. It’s amazing how success breeds success.
A Ockershausen: Isn’t it amazing in our country, but it is a fact, sports gets you more publicity than all your academics.
Patricia McGuire: That’s true.
A Ockershausen: It’s awful, but that’s the way it is.
Patricia McGuire: The Final Four just ended, and who heard of Gonzaga before? And now, all of a sudden, everybody Gonzaga, and gosh I wish they had won because I’m a Jesuit girl too, so I had hope. But sports really helps make schools known.

Patricia McGuire Comes to Our Town – Trinity Undergrad and Georgetown Law

A Ockershausen: So when you came here, you liked it so much you said, “I want to be an attorney.”
Patricia McGuire: Yes.
A Ockershausen: And why did you pick Georgetown? Or did they pick you?
Patricia McGuire: Well, no. I picked Georgetown. I came to Washington to go to Trinity.
A Ockershausen: I knew that.
Patricia McGuire: I grew up. I was a very conservative Catholic girl in Philadelphia.
A Ockershausen: Right.
Patricia McGuire: When the nuns came to my high school, Merion Mercy, to recruit students to go to Trinity, I thought, “Wow. I get to go to Washington. I can be involved in politics.” I loved my life at Trinity. I went downtown. I got involved in so many things, and it was natural to stay and go to Georgetown Law School because it was right up the street from Capitol Hill. It was wonderful.
A Ockershausen: Were there a lot of women in school with you or was it still primarily male.
Patricia McGuire: No, it was still predominately men. It was about 20% or 25% women.
A Ockershausen: Right.
Patricia McGuire: It was very different from my experience at Trinity because Trinity is still, today, an all-women’s college, but Georgetown-
A Ockershausen: Did they ever have men at Trinity at one time?
Patricia McGuire: Well, we have men now in graduate and professional programs.
A Ockershausen: Oh do you? Right.
Patricia McGuire: About 5%. We have about 2,200 students. About 5% are men, but we’re still mostly female, and it really works for women.
A Ockershausen: I’m so glad.
Patricia McGuire: Yeah.
A Ockershausen: And it’s great for Our Town to have that facility, and you do such a great job for the public school graduates here.
Patricia McGuire: One of the things that changed. I became president in 1989. I can’t believe how long ago that is now. I’m still not done.
A Ockershausen: You’ve always been president to me.

Trinity Meets Educational Needs of Women

Patricia McGuire: Well, that’s … We met when I started coming to the Board of Trade. Like many women’s colleges, Trinity had shrunk really small, and we had to figure out if there was a future for this school, and it was the nuns, the sisters, who are always so radical and visionary who said, “We founded the school because women couldn’t go to college in 1897. There’s still thousands of women who can’t go to college, and they’re right at our doorstep, so turn your attention to the women of the city.” And those women are predominately low-income women. They’re African-American and Latino women. They’re graduates of the public schools. And today, our student body is about 95% African-American and Latino.
A Ockershausen: I read all your bulletins. I understand what you’re saying.
Patricia McGuire: We’re about 85% Pell Grants. And we do great work.
A Ockershausen: I know you do.
Patricia McGuire: So these women, their lives get turned around but Trinity, and they love being in a women’s college, so it gets back to this, they’re not afraid to go to school with other women. They think this is the best thing that ever happened to them.
A Ockershausen: And I’m sure the competition has been rampant, which is great for them. It’s raised everybody’s level.
Patricia McGuire: It’s raised everybody’s level. I was just having a meeting earlier today. One of our groups of students now are young women who are dreamers, so called dreamers. They’re undocumented students who have DACA approval. Don Graham, one of our great Our Town people started the program to provide scholarship support for these students. These are some of the best students we’ve ever seen, and they have helped to make the campus so exciting.
A Ockershausen: I’ll bet.
Patricia McGuire: And it’s challenged other students to do even better. One of these students is going to go to Stanford this summer on a biochemistry internship. I mean, this is how great students make other students great, and all boats rise.
A Ockershausen: It pulls everybody up with them.
How is your athletic program. It’s still very competitive, isn’t it?
Patricia McGuire: Our athletics program … Well, we’re division 3, and we’re happy-
A Ockershausen: It’s the Catholic University division 3.
Patricia McGuire: We’re happy if we score some points and win a couple of games. For Trinity, sports, to me, if a very integral part of teaching young women how to thrive, how to be on teams, how to compete, but we’re not about getting into championships.
A Ockershausen: To work together.
Patricia McGuire: We’re about the teaching and learning values there.
A Ockershausen: Absolutely. I understand that, but mentioning, Donald was right here with us about a month ago.
Patricia McGuire: Oh he’s great.
A Ockershausen: And he’s so proud of what’s going on now, and being part of Our Town and listening to all these things that you’re talking about, but such an impact you’ve made in Northeast Washington too. That’s important to me.

Trinity Meets Needs of its Northeast Washington Neighbors

Patricia McGuire: Yeah. Well, we’re one of the larger employers in Northeast Washington, so we are big employment. Most of our students come from Wards four and five, so we’re really educating a big slice of the community. We work very closely with our neighborhoods, so when the neighbors need something, we’re happy to provide it. When we built the sports center, the neighbors supported us, and we provide neighborhood services through the sports center.
A Ockershausen: Facilities. Right.
Patricia McGuire: One of the biggest programs in the sports center is in the morning in the daytime. We have senior citizens swimming and water aerobics. The neighbors have supported our other projects. When we just built the academic center, they were supportive.
A Ockershausen: Your impact on a neighborhood is incredible. It spreads out.
Patricia McGuire: We’re always trying to find ways to help.
A Ockershausen: We have tried to model … I shouldn’t say we. Janice has in our relationship with Don Bosco, but for the same thing, and the kids are very, very poor that we educate, but to see them go to college to your school, and some of them … We have kids in Georgetown. We have kids at Notre Dame, four of them. It’s just so great for us. Both Janice and I are inner city and public school students. To see this, of course Janice went to St. Mary’s. That’s not a Catholic school I found out.
Patricia McGuire: That’s okay. It’s a great school. But I’ll give a shout-out to Don Bosco Cristo Rey. The principal, Larry Savoy is on our board at Trinity.
A Ockershausen: He’s terrific.
Patricia McGuire: Welcome 10 or 12 of the young ladies each year to come to Trinity and be Trinity students.
A Ockershausen: They better be good students.
Patricia McGuire: They’re good students. They thrive. You know they have that work experience through the coop program, so they’re more mature. They know … They’re accustomed to being professionals, and we like that.
A Ockershausen: They found out that the public is out there, and they got to be part of it. When they get into a work situation, they really learn a lot. That’s what impresses me.
Well Pat, what’s in your … What’s on your agenda now that you’ve built this great center. What are you going to do for Our Town?

Health Education Curriculum at Trinity

Patricia McGuire: Well, one of the things … One of the reasons why we built this great academic center, we decided a while back. I was on the board of the Washington Hospital Center, another great local great institution, and they were telling me about the work force shortage that was coming up for nurses and healthcare professionals. So we decided to get into health education in a big way. We started nursing. We started occupational therapy. We already do psychology and counseling and things like that. The programs grew so big, we needed new laboratories. We need to have more capacity.
So we have this beautiful, new laboratory and classroom building now with simulation labs and all kinds of gizmos. The technology is amazing, and we see developing additional programs to pipeline local students from local neighborhood into the local healthcare workforce. That’s what Trinity does.
A Ockershausen: That is fabulous.
Patricia McGuire: We can be a local pipeline.
A Ockershausen: I had heard that one of the big problems in the hospital situation is help, is employees.
Patricia McGuire: That’s right.
A Ockershausen: They got to get out and recruit them.
Patricia McGuire: That’s right.
A Ockershausen: And you’re providing that service to the city to help the city.
Patricia McGuire: Yeah. That’s right.
A Ockershausen: Our Town has got to turn on itself.
Patricia McGuire: A lot of the universities, they’re great, distinguished universities in this town, and they’re terrific, but very few local residents are enrolled in our local universities.
A Ockershausen: Oh I understand.
Patricia McGuire: But at Trinity, more than half our students are D.C. and about another 30% are from Prince George’s County, so we really have become a local school, and that’s a good thing.
A Ockershausen: A very good thing.
Patricia McGuire: And we provide this pipeline. We do it with nursing, occupational therapy. We do it with teaching as well.
A Ockershausen: Pat McGuire, that is amazing. I’m learning more from you than I deserve, but this is Our Town, and I’m Andy Ockershausen. I’m talking to Pat McGuire, and we’ll take a short break here, Pat.
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Announcer: You’re listening to Our Town.

On Participating in CBS’ “30 Minutes” Children Show and Broadcasting

A Ockershausen: In talking to Pat McGuire about her career has been fabulous since she came to Washington. One of the things I learned about Pat was she got involved in television here, with children’s television programming and had an impact. And you did something on Panorama.
Patricia McGuire: I sure did.
A Ockershausen: I haven’t heard that name for years.
Patricia McGuire: Panorama. Well, it started with this children’s show called, 30 Minutes done by CBS in New York.
A Ockershausen: Yes.
Patricia McGuire: And this grew out of … So I was working with a wonderful local program at Georgetown Law School called Street Law. Street Law took law students from Georgetown, sent them to the public high schools to teach about law and the legal system and how to talk to police and landlord, tenant and stuff like that.
Well, these people in New York heard about this program, and they were creating this new children’s news magazine, so 30 Minutes was a spinoff of 60 Minutes.
A Ockershausen: Oh yeah.
Patricia McGuire: Yeah, and it was a Saturday afternoon program, but it was done for kids.
A Ockershausen: Right.
Patricia McGuire: And they wanted a little legal piece at the end of each week. So, they got all of us involved, and everybody in the office did screen auditions. I’m the one who got chosen. I was the youngest and … So I got to go to New York every week for about two years.
A Ockershausen: Wow.
Patricia McGuire: To do these little segments at the end of 30 Minutes on-
A Ockershausen: Would they tape you in New York?
Patricia McGuire: Yeah. We got taped. I was with Betsy Aaron and Christopher Glen, these wonderful journalists.
A Ockershausen: Wonderful names.
Patricia McGuire: And we talked about thing like what happens if the school principal searches your locker. How should you respond? What happens if your parents divorce? We talked about real legal issues for kids. It was a great show.
A Ockershausen: That should be a very interesting program for kids now.
Patricia McGuire: It’s a really important … It’s not on the air anymore, but it was a really important topic.
A Ockershausen: Should be.
Patricia McGuire: And they still teach street law in the schools. They call it Citizenship Education now. It’s a little less edgy.
So then, after I stopped doing that, Panorama called me up, and they wanted a weekly legal feature on Panorama, and that’s how I did that for a couple years.
A Ockershausen: That was such a big part of Our Town, Panorama, what they did in the middle of the day here on Channel 5, and all the things that the Metro Media, and those people that stood behind that program when it started.
Patricia McGuire: That was a great show.
A Ockershausen: Now, did you use any professional people talking to the kids or … Did you bring in like policemen to talk about what’s going on?
Patricia McGuire: Oh sure. Part of the whole methodology behind the Street Law program was to de-mystify police officers, judges. We used to run mock trials and get all the judges at superior court involved so that the kids would not be afraid of these authority figures in the community.
A Ockershausen: Judicial system.
Patricia McGuire: And maybe if they weren’t so afraid, they wouldn’t get into trouble. They wouldn’t be so angry. That was … The whole point was to reduce juvenile delinquency and try to increase peace and harmony in the neighborhoods. It was a great program.
A Ockershausen: This offer … You offered so much to the public that they never had before. They had Sesame Street, which was a little bit, but Sesame was done with so much … It wasn’t serious enough. But what your program sounds like, these kids got some good talking to.
Patricia McGuire: The program, 30 Minutes, was a very meaty program. The problem is, it was almost too sophisticated, and they put it on Saturday afternoon, so viewership was quite low.
A Ockershausen: Well, that’s a terrible time.
Patricia McGuire: And then after a while, CBS News didn’t want to do it anymore, but you know how … Broadcast media is a tough business, so I even considered whether I would want to go into broadcast media as a career after this.
A Ockershausen: It ebbs and flows.
Patricia McGuire: I decided that I would stay as a teacher and educator and do it that way.
A Ockershausen: But Pat, being part of our time and what you’ve done with this young people, do you offer your students now an opportunity to go on to law school from entry level?
Patricia McGuire: Oh sure. So, Trinity students today. They’re in a full range of programs, and we have many who go on to law school. We have some who go on to other kinds of graduate school. I just heard one of our students is going to NYU for a masters in biology this year. They go into public policy programs.
A Ockershausen: They must be on scholarship at NYU. It’s a big number.
Patricia McGuire: Well, graduates students can get a lot of federal financial aid. It’s a big number. Right.
A Ockershausen: But a great school.
Patricia McGuire: It’s a great school, and we have our own graduate programs at Trinity too, so we have masters for teachers and principals and guidance counselors.
A Ockershausen: That’s where most of the males are, correct? In the graduate program?

On “helping students get on a track where they can get great jobs”

Patricia McGuire: That’s where the men are. And some of our students now stay for their master’s degrees too. What’s important is helping students get on a track where they can get great jobs. And that’s what we’re looking for.
A Ockershausen: Good jobs bring good money. We know that, don’t we?
Patricia McGuire: That’s right. And students have to know that at the end of the college career, there’s a well-paying job there. That’s just life today.
A Ockershausen: Isn’t that the truth?
Patricia McGuire: That is life today, and there’s a lot of controversy about the cost of college, and does it lead to a job. We just shouldn’t have a controversy about that. Of course. it should lead to a job, and that doesn’t mean that you don’t learn Shakespeare and Aristotle. Philosophy, English, that’s all really important to an educated person, but you also have to know how to do stuff, and that’s what the professional programs are.
A Ockershausen: I’m so glad to hear you say that. Sitting in your seat, two weeks ago, three weeks ago, was our very dear friend, Jim Vance from Channel 4 who was a teacher. Did you know he started in broadcasting because he was a teacher at Cheyney College in Pennsylvania. One of the things that he was coaching his students on, and we hear it all the time from guests, that the kids would come and how, and when he got in broadcasting, they’d come and say, “How do I get to what you’re doing?” And he said, “Well don’t try to be what I am. It’s ridiculous. Take history. Learn geography. Learn public affairs. Learn a real well rounded. Don’t study broadcasting.”
Pat, I bet I’d say that 20 times a week a year to young people. Do not study broadcasting. Become a good citizen. Most of them have no idea of our historical significance, and that’s the best advice that Vance could give.
Patricia McGuire: That’s great advice.
A Ockershausen: And then the second big advice is something that you’re the epitome of, we’re going to talk about that. We’re going to take a break now. This is Andy Ockershausen, and this Our Town.
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Announcer: You’re listening to Our Town with Andy Ockershausen, brought to you Best Bark Communications.
A Ockershausen: This is Andy Ockershausen, and this is Our Town, and I’m re-introducing you to Pat McGuire who is just such a big, big, important part of Our Town. What she has done at Trinity made the college into a world class university. She made the campus world class, but she’s the perfect example of somebody who got involved in Our Town. Pat, what you have done and what you belong to always pays off.

The Importance of Working with Area Organizations

Patricia McGuire: Well, I always try to make a little headway each day and participate in organizations where I can get Trinity’s name out, and where the work we do at Trinity can be helpful to others.
Just this morning, I was at a meeting of the Catholic Charities Board. I’m on that board. I’m currently on the Cafritz Foundation Board. I was on the Community Foundation and the Meyer Foundation before. The Board of Trade, of course, is so important. I believe, as an institutional leader, that I have to connect with other leaders to help make Our Town great, and that’s what I always work for.
A Ockershausen: And that’s what you do. And not only do you introduce people and educate them on Trinity, but they also educate you back on what’s going on in their world.
Patricia McGuire: Listen, I have said to my staff and my board, the best on the job training I’ve ever received is through the work I do on other boards and with community groups. The Board of Trade was a great learning adventure for me all the years I was involved with it. And still, to this day, I learn stuff every time I go to a meeting.
A Ockershausen: Pat, you hit it. What is so important about giving is getting back in so many ways, and it outweighs what you give.
Patricia McGuire: Well, it absolutely does, and it also keeps you on top of the issues, on top of changes that are coming or connected to important constituencies.
One of my great involves was Girl Scouts here in Washington, and we have a great partnership between Trinity and the Girl Scouts, but I just loved … I used to go out every summer on Camp CEO. I don’t do it anymore because I just can’t sleep on the cots anymore. But to meet the girls-
A Ockershausen: That was great going up.
Patricia McGuire: And now, 10 years later, I see some of these girls who I knew when they were campers, and now they’re young professionals, and I meet them, and it’s just so heartwarming to see how we made connections.
A Ockershausen: But their experience has changed them too. It’s made them a little aware of what this world is about, correct?
Patricia McGuire: That’s right. That’s right. And all of us who are grownups need to be aware of how we have to great role models for kids.
A Ockershausen: One of the things that you’ve involved with is Acacia so you do spend some time on participation in the community beyond education. Correct?
Patricia McGuire: That’s right. That’s right.
A Ockershausen: They learn from you at Acacia
Patricia McGuire: That’s right. I was on Acacia’s board, which was a great local company. We merged into a company out in Lincoln Nebraska called Ameritas, so Acacia and Ameritas are still alive. Acacia still has its presence here in Washington. A wonderful company. And I learned all about life insurance through that which is important.
A Ockershausen: That’s important. You bet it is.
Patricia McGuire: And that was great learning for me about how to do financial management in a serious way.
A Ockershausen: They had a beautiful building on Indiana Avenue. Is it still there?
Patricia McGuire: Absolutely, it’s still there. It’s the headquarters-
A Ockershausen: I worked at that building as a messenger in high school.
Patricia McGuire: Did you really?
A Ockershausen: Many, many years ago.
Patricia McGuire: It’s the headquarters of Jones-Day now, the law firm. It’s a beautiful building with the Griffins out front.
A Ockershausen: A magnificent thing up on top. That’s where we had our anniversary party.
Patricia McGuire: Oh yeah. It’s a great venue.
A Ockershausen: Now of course we know Goodwill and how much that goes, and what a great job that’s done for Our Town, and you’re on that board too?
Patricia McGuire: I cycled off the board, but Catherine Meloy is a great friend. I loved being on that board. She does such great work. She’s another one who transformed that institution-
A Ockershausen: Oh didn’t she though?
Patricia McGuire: And brought it light years forward, and my hat’s off to Catherine. She does great work.
Janice Ockershausen: We had her on Our Town.
Patricia McGuire: Okay.
A Ockershausen: We have her everywhere.
Patricia McGuire: Yeah. She’s a superstar.
A Ockershausen: I hired her at WMAL. It was the greatest thing I ever did. Except for meeting Janice, of course. But we were all here together.
The things I tell to you, I don’t have to, but all the things you’re involved in, you get back more than you give.
Patricia McGuire: Absolutely. Absolutely. I always feel so energized when I come away from a board meeting or a community meeting or I’ve met three more people who I have followup with who are going to help me solve a problem. That’s what it’s all about. People talk about networking in this kind of 60’s kind of way, but I believe networking is vital and real every single day. I wouldn’t know you, Andy, if I hadn’t gone to all those Board of Trade meetings.
A Ockershausen: Correct. It’s just the chance to play with each other and do things with each other, and the things that you’ve done … One of the things that impressed me so much, it was not educational, but it was to me. When you received the leadership award, and they had this great ceremony at Washington Hilton. Not the Washington Hilton it was the Capitol Hilton, and your group came together, all your alumni were there, and one other group was female singers. It was so great. I don’t know whether they were students or alumni, but what an inspiring evening that was. There was so much love in that room.
Patricia McGuire: Well that was … I loved that evening. I still remember. It was a while ago now, but the Board of Trade Leader of Year, and we had dozens of our alumni showed up, and the Girl Scouts showed up too, and everybody stood up and started singing the Girl Scout songs together, and the men in the room were like, “What is going on? The women are taking over this room?” And it was just fabulous, and that’s what Our Town is all about.
A Ockershausen: It was 2007. That’s 10 years ago. It’s hard to believe.
Patricia McGuire: It sure was. Can you believe it. I can hardly be that old yet.
A Ockershausen: It was only what you deserved Pat because you have done and what you continue to do. You were important on the Financial Control Board. What haven’t you done? You worked for Robert Rubin. Incidentally, I really liked him, Robert Rubin.
Patricia McGuire: Yeah. I did the Sacagawea … Yeah. He was great.
A Ockershausen: A lot of people don’t remember that Indian. I do.
Patricia McGuire: He appointed me to the dollar coin, the Sacagawea coin. That’s right.
A Ockershausen: Lewis and Clark.
Patricia McGuire: There you go. There you go.
A Ockershausen: Did you ever travel that route to Sacagawea Route?
Patricia McGuire: You know, I never … I want to. I never have. But one of the things I do in the summer. I love to kayak, and I go on the Potomac River. I got up to upstate New York, and some day, if I get the time, I’ll go out there and kayak up the Missouri River a little bit, so I can say … It might be too long, but-
A Ockershausen: That’s a long way. It’s easier to use the snake because the snake goes all the way to the Pacific.
Patricia McGuire: I’ll do the snake maybe. Yeah … Yeah.
A Ockershausen: One of the things that Janice and I are looking forward to this summer is the chance to go West. We’re going out to places like Mount Rushmore. We’ve never been. To see the American West, and we’re really looking forward to it because this is a great country Pat. We got our divisions. We got problems, but we’ll overcome them. What is it that Churchill said? The worst form of government, except for all the others.
Patricia McGuire: This is true, and we are a great country, and I have to keep saying every single day.
A Ockershausen: Absolutely. I believe that.
Patricia McGuire: We’ve been great all along, and every time I fly to the West Coast, and I look down, and I think, “I want to parachute out there and see what’s going on and all. Flyover country.” There is so much still to be seen, and I encourage our students to get out and travel and see it.
A Ockershausen: Geography.
Patricia McGuire: Geography is important.
A Ockershausen: Make the trip.
Patricia McGuire: And history is important.
A Ockershausen: And education is important. And you’ve proved that.
Patricia McGuire: Indeed.
A Ockershausen: Pat McGuire, we’re so delighted that you’re part of Our Town, and hope you will be for many years to come. Whatever help we can give to you or Trinity, we’re here.
Patricia McGuire: Thank you.
A Ockershausen: 24/7. I think you know that at the Board of Trade, you can go to anybody on that board, and they’ll help you.
Patricia McGuire: Right.
A Ockershausen: I found that out 50 years ago.
Patricia McGuire: And that has been true. That has been true. That’s the best part of making friends with other organizations. Everybody wants to help.
A Ockershausen: Connect the dots.
Patricia McGuire: Exactly. Exactly. Thank you.
A Ockershausen: Pat McGuire, you’re wonderful. Thank you for being on Our Town, and good luck to you and Trinity. I don’t think you all need a lot of luck. You’ve got a good leader.
This is Andy Ockershausen, and this has been Our Town.
Announcer: You’ve been listening to Our Town, Season 2, presented by GEICO. Our hometown favorite with your host, Andy Ockershausen. New Our Town episodes are released each Tuesday and Thursday. Drop us a line with your comments or suggestions. See us on Facebook or visit our website at OurTownDc.com.
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