Saints Helping Saints | About

The Saints Helping Saints mentoring program was established in March 2025 thanks to an idea brought to the Development and Alumnae Office by fifth-generation Saint Mary's legacy, Mary Louise Kasper ’27.

As the daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter, and great-great-granddaughter, cousin and niece of numerous Saint Mary's women, Mary Louise was inspired by the strong friendships and support network her mother, grandmother, and family members experienced to create and foster those same kinds of connections for current students. You can learn more about her story below. 

Graduates from the classes of 2015 to 2025 are encouraged to apply to become a mentor and current students are encouraged to apply and request a mentor using the buttons to the side.

We are thrilled to launch this new, more formalized mentor-mentee program and look forward to sharing our outcomes with you!

Faithful comrades sure,

Emily Smith '01

When Mary Louise Kasper ’27 was in eighth grade, she discovered a Saint Mary’s social media post about a recent Saint Mary's graduate who had been accepted to Princeton. “I thought it was the coolest thing and tucked it away in my mind,” she recalls. 

Later, when Mary Louise enrolled and joined the Class of 2027, she quickly formed new friendships and became actively involved in campus life. At the 2024 Honors Convocation, she received multiple awards. After the ceremony, an older student mentioned that Mary Louise reminded her of a recent young alumna—who turned out to be the graduate Mary Louise had seen on social media. 

Encouraged by her parents, Mary Louise contacted the Development and Alumnae Office to be introduced to her. “She was already in college, and we had never met, but when I reached out, she responded so positively,” says Mary Louise. “We met last summer, and it’s been fantastic getting to know her.”

Inspired by this mentor-mentee relationship and the experiences of her own family members, Mary Louise wanted to create similar opportunities for other Saint Mary’s students. Partnering with the Development and Alumnae Office, she helped establish Saints Helping Saints, an alumnae-student mentorship program.

Launched with graduates in the Class of 2025, the program will soon expand to include all current students and graduates from the past ten years (2015 to 2025). 

“By focusing on young alumnae and connecting them with current students, we create a bridge between young women through shared interests and experiences,” she explained. “This program strengthens the Saint Mary’s legacy and extends our network of lifelong friendships, just as our mothers and grandmothers did before us. I hope graduates from the classes of 2015 to 2025 will be inspired to participate!”

Mary Louise is a member of Vestry, the JV Field Hockey team, Bookmark Club, and is a Mu. She serves as an Admissions Ambassador, a Development Ambassador, vice president of the Historical Society, treasurer of the Self-Defense Club, and the Saints Helping Saints founder.