Donor Spotlight: Mary Sue Hyatt ’70

Mary Sue Hyatt ’70 believes in the power of music and its ability to change lives.

A 1970 alumna of Seton Hill with a major in music education and a minor in religious studies, Mary Sue comes from a family devoted to music with some of her earliest memories of her father playing the violin while her mother accompanied on piano.

Mary Sue won the Garrity Voice Award in her senior year, a testament to her talent.

Her time at Seton Hill springboarded her into a career in which she sang in opera, started a music institute in Italy to train young musicians, and spent 30 years as director of music at Kent State University.

Her firm belief in the importance of giving back to Seton Hill, which prepared her for life, led Mary Sue to establish three scholarships at the University: the Mary Sue Hyatt ’70 Scholarship; the Wilda Weibel Hyatt ’35 Memorial Scholarship established in memory of her mother, also a Seton Hill alumna; and the Margaret Garrity Vocal Music Annual Scholarship, named in honor of one of her music professors and mentors.

“As a student, I did not completely understand the University motto ‘Hazard Yet Forward,’ but its meaning has become more and more clear since I graduated,” she said. “We all have dreams, victories, and defeats; but Seton Hill is the root of our journey, and we need to ensure that the educational process continues at Seton Hill.”