Mary Neville Bielefeld Award
Mary Kay Horton Mark, Bus Ad ’81
Pewaukee, Wis.
Mary Kay Mark credits Jesuit values for shaping her current definition of success. “The people I knew and learned from at Marquette placed a deep emphasis on reflection, service, purpose and ‘being men and women for others,’” she says. “Today, I define success as the opportunity to live in a way that honors my values and allows me to make a constructive difference, however small, not just in my own life but in the lives of others.”
Her career included work with three key organizations. She was first hired by fellow Marquette alumnus Andy Fleckenstein, Eng ’54, to help launch the Fleck Foundation, a private foundation dedicated to improving Milwaukee. She later joined Northern Trust Company, beginning as a vice president and ultimately serving as a senior vice president of trusts and investments. Her final professional role was with the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, where she started as director of gift planning and concluded her career as senior director of gift planning. “Sitting with individuals and families as they opened up about their dreams for giving back was profoundly moving,” she says.
Now in retirement, Mary Kay serves on the all-female board of Friendship House in Milwaukee, a private operating foundation which provides housing for women and families facing housing insecurity. She also volunteers as a medical actor for Carroll University’s graduate programs, portraying a variety of characters in mock telehealth and in-person counseling sessions to build students’ skills as empathetic professionals.
“For me, living the Marquette mission isn’t one brilliant act,” she says. “It’s reflected in the small everyday actions and relationships in my life.”
What is one of your favorite MU memories?
The decision to try out and subsequently represent Marquette as a member of the women’s tennis team in 1978. I felt nervous — but excited — to be part of that first big wave of women athletes after Title IX in 1972. What meant the most was finding a group of women who loved sports as much as I did and to be teammates who pushed each other to play and achieve at a high level. With them, I felt a real sense of belonging.
What insights from your own experience would you share with current students?
Be prepared to be surprised. Life will almost certainly not unfold exactly as you imagine it will while you’re in college — and that’s a good thing. It becomes so much richer, deeper and more meaningful than anything you can picture at this stage. You can’t possibly predict what you’ll face in your life, but you can decide what you’ll anchor yourself to. For me, through many tough times, my steady mantra has been “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
