Name: Sister Diane Capuano (pronounced cap-you-ano)
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
How old were you when you decided to become a sister? “I was 33 years old. In high school I took business courses instead of a full academic course thinking that I’d work in an office when I was older and that I’d get married and have children. After I graduated high school, I went to a two year college and got to work in an office for a week. I hated it! I then went back to school and got a degree in recreational therapy, then eventually got my masters in Special Educaton and went on to teach for over 14 years. I still thought that I was going to get married and have children, until I slowly got more involved in my Parish, Church and service. Prayer had become very important to me. God became a very intrgral part of my life. That was when I thought maybe this is for me and I joined the Dominican Sisters thinking I’d only do this for a year, and here I am almost 25 years later. My neighborhood of Brooklyn made me feel very closed off, because all I knew was what was around me. Joining the Dominican Sisters broadened my horizons. I really just fell in love with God.”
What events have campus ministries done? What do you have planned for the future? “For the past 10 years, we’ve been doing midnight runs where we bring food, clothes and toiletries to the people on the streets. We also work with Bethany House which is a homeless shelter on Long Island for woman and children. That is also where all the funds from the annual Boxtown event goes to. We volunteer at the Mary Brennan Inn Soup Kitchen (5 minutes from Molloy) where they serve about 300 people a hot meal a day, clothes and they can shower there. We go to Camden, NJ to volunteer and go to Appalachia in Kermit, WV. We also run a camp down in El Salvador and we’re going for a second time this break. We also have masses and prayer services.”
If anyone wants to join Campus Ministries, how can they do so? “They can come and talk to anyone here in our office located on the third floor of Public Square room 390.”
If anybody wants to come talk to you, can they do so? “We are here for the students! If anybody wants to come talk to us they can come up to our office and talk in confidence.”
What is Appalachia? “We run a week long camp for teen boys down at the Big Laurel Learning Center in the summer. That is located in Kermit, WV. Molloy College has been running the trip to Appalachia for over 25 years. The boys that attend the camp come from poor families and they go to school but have the reading levels of 1st graders if they can read. They also do not have the best writing skills. The boys at the camp love the Molloy students and vice versa. The boys sometimes drop out to school and get involved in bad things so this is a great motivation for them.”
Do you have any fun plans for over break? “One fun thing is that I’m going on the trip to El Salvador which I cannot wait for! I also plan on seeing all my family and friends who I haven’t gotten to see lately. I’ll go out to dinner a few times with some friends. I also love to sit home and watch movies. I also have a few movie days planned. I have a list full of movies to see both in theaters and on dvd. I love to watch movies! Sometimes my friends and I go see three movies in the theaters and make a whole day of it. We plan on doing that at least once during the break. I’m hoping to see some movies in theatres such as ‘The Peanuts Movie’, and ‘Star Wars’!”