The unique strength of the Anselmian community can be seen in the link between a current Saint Anselm English student and the late Saint Anselm graduate, faculty member and benefactor Ruth Conley. Conley and her husband, Prof. Austin Conley, established the Conley scholarship in 2001 for outstanding English majors, and this year’s recipient is junior Megan McLaughlin.
Conley passed away on Sept. 19, 2023, just over a year after celebrating her 100th birthday on the Hilltop. Crier coverage of Conley’s centennial celebration by Fr. Jerome Day, O.S.B, described Ruth Conley as “almost everyone’s favorite Anselmian.”
Conley was a Manchester native who graduated with a BS in nursing from Saint Anselm in 1956, who was an RN, a member of the Saint Anselm nursing faculty, and became a College benefactor. Conley met her husband, Prof. Austin Conley, was also a member of the Saint Anselm faculty before he passed away in 2009
Megan McLaughlin ‘25 is the latest recipient of this scholarship and said she is “deeply honored.” She stated that, “the Conley Scholarship is rooted in the beautiful legacy left by two unforgettable St. Anselm College professors.” Though both professors have since passed away, McLaughlin said, “the names Ruth and Austin Conley still echo with a deep sense of generosity and kindness in the St. A’s community.”
McLaughlin had the opportunity to meet Conley in passing a couple of times, in what she described as the “kinds of moments you don’t realize the full importance of until they pass by.” McLaughlin spoke highly of Conley and of Conley’s influence on the school, saying “I’ll never forget hearing Ruth be described as having made the world a fuller and more wonderful place for her kindness.”
McLaughlin met Conley for the first time while working in the Chapel Art Center during her sophomore year. McLaughlin was asked to walk Conley to her car at the end of an evening event, and shared that Conely, “still took the time to talk with me, to get to know me. I was a complete stranger, but Ruth listened to me with a genuine honesty and care that I don’t think I’ll ever forget.”
Despite the cold, rainy night, as she walked with Conley, “it was almost like the warmth of the gallery followed her, a kindness that made the night feel less dark. In just 10 minutes, Ruth made a complete stranger feel important and seen. I’ll be lucky if I can embody even a tiny fraction of such kindness in my own life someday.”
McLaughlin reflected on the significance of the Conley scholarship to herself as a student and as a person. “In a lot of ways, this scholarship feels like a huge comfort for many uncertainties I’ve had in my time at St. A’s. As a freshman, some part of me was always terrified I’d made the wrong choice in becoming an English major. But every moment I’ve spent in this program has whittled that fear away. The support, guidance and endless opportunity I’ve found in the English department has solidified that this is where my heart really lies. Every English Professor I’ve had in my time at St. A’s has seen so much more in me than I ever did, and my life is a lot brighter for their encouragement—and for the love of English they have all relit in me.”
The Conley scholarship is just one part of the impressive legacy left by Ruth and Austin Conley, and is a particularly meaningful way to honor Ruth Conley’s memory. McLaughlin summed up this legacy as follows: “The care that they had for this school—and everybody in it—is intertwined with this campus in so many ways. The Conley Scholarship is just one such way, and I am deeply honored to have experienced its echo in my own life.”
