Today’s Project 100 memory comes from Donna Martello.  She was born in Philadelphia but moved to West Deptford in seventh grade and graduated from West Deptford High School in 1975.  All of her grandparents were born in Italy, while her parents were first generation, born in South Philadelphia. Her mother was a proofreader, primarily for Bell Telephone.  She has older brother who attended the University of Delaware and was the first person in her family to get a college degree.  Their parents were divorced when they were young, and they were both raised predominately by their mother and maternal grandmother in a household very steeped in Italian traditions.  As a single parent, Donna’s mother worked very hard to provide for both her and her brother.  When her mother’s primary occupation as a proofreader of telephone books and other printed materials was altered by the changes brought on by advancements in technology, she worked at various other odd jobs.  Donna played three sports in high schools, and her coaches talked to her mother about her going to college.  It was still a bit unusual at that time for women to go on to college, and she thinks this conversation was important to her mother.  Four years later, in 1979, she graduated from Glassboro State College with a Bachelor’s degree in History and certification to teach both social studies and English.  She was the third winner of the History Medallion Award, created after the passing of Marius Livingston.  She was hired in the Fall of 1979 to teach civics and world history at Gateway Regional High School in Woodbury Heights, New Jersey.  She taught there for sixteen years and also served as varsity softball coach and assistant field hockey coach.  While teaching at Gateway, she earned an MA in Administrative Leadership from what was then Rowan College of New Jersey.  With that degree in hand, she took a position as an assistant principal at Bridgeton High School.  After five years there, she returned to West Deptford as an assistant principal.  She retired in 2012 and enjoys travelling, a passion directly inspired by Dr. Taney’s classes.  Over the years, she has visited many of the historical sites first mentioned by her.  When not travelling, she enjoys gardening, spending time at the shore, and continuing to referee high school field hockey games.

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I graduated 5^th in my class, and I had several options for college, including Penn State and the College of William and Mary.  However, Glassboro State College was the most attractive financially.  My combined scholarships covered all of my costs, including books. 

I was a commuter, and I had often hung out in the history suite in Robinson Hall in between classes.  As a result, I got to know the faculty and the administrative assistant from the beginning.  They always made us feel welcome to come on in and sit in the conference room. 

My first introduction to college history was Professor Mary Taney’s survey of the first part of western civilization.  I was totally fascinated by her knowledge and the fact that I had a female professor.  I never had a female history teacher in high school.  She opened up the world to me.  I ended up taking as many of her courses as I could, including Medieval European History, Renaissance and Reformation, and Senior Seminar.  At her request (and encouragement), I presented my seminar paper at the “terrorism symposium” which targeted the treatment of the Jews during the Crusades, a blatant, organized and effective use of terrorism to extinguish the ‘infidels’ from Christian lands.  What a scholarly experience to be a part of that historic venue.  I remember that she invited students in the Student History Association and Phi Alpha Theta, along with other faculty, to her home for an end of the semester picnic, which I thoroughly enjoyed.   

I took Gary Hunter for several classes.  When I first walked into his class, I saw this young man sitting there in a leather jacket and smoking.  I had no idea he was the professor until he said, “let us begin.”  I ended up taking him for African American history and for two courses in Sub-Saharan African history.  He was one of the first professors that I ever had who did not assign a textbook.  Instead, he assigned four or five specialized books and used his lectures to provide the overall chronology.  One of them, I remember, was Eugene Genovese’s Roll, Jordan, Roll, which I believe I still have on a bookshelf at home.  His classes definitely shaped my political view of the world and highlighted the injustices which have plagued the US throughout our history.   

I remember well Richard Porterfield’s required course in historiography.  His forte was British History.  This class changed the way that I thought about history and how I approached the study of the past.  This in turn influenced my teaching as I later emphasized to my students to think critically and to use a wide array of primary sources in their research papers. 

Robert Harper was another memorable faculty member.  He specialized in the history of New Jersey, and he took those of us in the Student History Association around to various sites, places that we should have known about but did not.  For example, we visited the site of Fenwick’s Colony, the Woodbury History Society, and the Salem Oak.  These local landmarks were a must for any South Jersey history buff and Dr. Harper told the story of NJ History with such pride, and a touch of humor that only he could present! 

My fellow history majors and I were fairly tight during this period.  Many of us were in the Student History Association.  We tried to encourage new history majors by organizing great wine and cheese parties.  These social events strengthened our ties with one another and the department.  I remember the chartering of Phi Alpha Theta during my sophomore year.  Dr. Wanek and Kerry O’Rourke worked diligently to bring this organization to campus.  At first, there seemed to be some resistance from the Student Government Association to approve our honor society and I remember having to appear before them to justify the addition of another honors society on campus.  We did get approval, and I later became a charter member and President of Phi Alpha Theta in my senior year. 

I don’t think that I could have chosen a better place to study than Glassboro State College. I was able to gain the training I needed to become a teacher while playing field hockey and studying two subjects I loved, history and English. The lessons I learned from my professors and the thorough study of history, enhanced my teaching and I was able to give my students first-hand experiences as my professors had given me.  My students were involved in the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, attending events that featured Mikhail Gorbachev, Alan Dershowitz, and Dick Thornburgh. The very best part of my experience was learning from and interacting with the professors, especially in the history department.  Their commitment as professors transcended the normal classroom experience.  They were interested in us personally and clearly invested in our success.  They taught me to be passionate and to love all the many aspects, eras and genres of history, which were the foundation of my success later as an educator.

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This is part of the Department of History’s “Project 100,” the collection and sharing of one hundred memories by Glassboro State College and Rowan University alumni and staff in celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the founding of Glassboro Normal School, later Glassboro State College, and now Rowan University. 

Register for the Reunion on October 20^th:  alumni.rowan.edu/historyreunion2023.

Link to Project 100 on the Web:  https://chss.rowan.edu/departments/history/alumni_highlights/project_100/

Link to Facebook group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/251485937221524. 

Thanks to Laurie Lahey for helping proofread and edit the final versions.  Email carrigan@rowan.edu with questions or corrections.