Tucked in an office in the hallway across from the Loo Student Center is a woman with a warm smile on her face and an even warmer heart.
For the past 11 years, Kay Stone, who jokingly said she’s old enough to know it is time to just teach, has been working with Chaminade University as a part-time lecturer and as the director for Campus Ministry for six of those years. However, this will be Stone’s last year as director as she will be retiring in June.
“I try to give 100 percent to my students and 100 percent to Campus Ministry and it gets a little crazy,” Stone said.
Before Chaminade, Stone lived in Maui for 35 years of her life, teaching a second grade class at St. Anthony’s for 16 of those years.
It was at St. Anthony’s where Stone met the Marianists, which drew her to Chaminade, the reason being that she loved working with them at the parish. She then started to commute from Maui to Chaminade to receive her master’s in Pastoral Theology and graduated in May 2000.
Stone made the decision to go back to school for her master’s since she knew that with the degree she had, she wouldn’t be able to advance her career any further than the position she had.
After receiving her degree, she was offered a position as a part-time lecturer of a few religious classes and moved to Oahu in January 2001.
“I just fell in love with Chaminade,” Stone said. “I was willing to move here, and Dr. Coleman offered me a part-time teaching job and I said ‘In faith I will move’.”
In 2007, six years after being given the position as lecturer, again took online and on-campus classes that summer at Gonzaga University because she realized that she could be a better teacher at Chamiande.
Soon after being offered the job as a teacher, a liturgy coordinator position in Campus Ministry opened up. Stone took up the position along with being a lecturer.
As the liturgy coordinator, she was given the duty of taking care of the chapel. She has to perform duties like wash the altar linen, water the plants around the chapel and make sure that there are snacks after both masses on Sunday.
Then about six years ago, Stone was promoted to the director of Campus Ministry and she has been as busy as ever.
Stone kept her duties as a lecturer and liturgy coordinator as her job as a Campus Ministry director added more responsibilities.
“There’s never a dull day, which I like,” said Stone, who is lovingly referred to Mama Kay by many students. “It’s certainly not a boring job. It’s very exciting, and interacting with the students. I love being everyone’s mama.”
As the director, Stone is able to give Campus Ministry a voice in university’s direction and future. She is part of UPAC, the University Planning, Priorities and Assessment Advisory Council, which meets with Brother Bernie Ploeger twice a month during the school year to determine the school’s policies. Currently, the topic of the future five-year plan and budget items are being discussed.
Stone also oversees the other three employees in Campus Ministry — who are Maimoa Fineisaloa, Margaret Uiagalelei and Father John Thompson — to make sure that the programs that Campus Ministry provide are running smoothly. Campus Ministry has a limited budget, and it’s Stone’s job to properly address the complaints from students. Since there are no secretaries for Campus Ministry, Stone is responsible for creating the flyers and taking care of the bulletin boards as well.
“She’s genuine, selfless, generous, so loving, kind, patient, she’s everything I hope to be some day,” said Angela Salas, 21, a senior at Chaminade.
Even with all of the tasks she has to do, Stone is also in charge of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, RCIA, which is a yearlong program for adults that come to church at Chaminade. The program offers baptism, communion and confirmation for all students and adults who attend the program.
However, the RCIA program was nothing new to Stone. She ran the RCIA program for St. Anthony’s on Maui for 16 years before she started working at Chaminade, giving her a total of 27 years of being an RCIA teacher.
Stone is also involved with the Awakening Retreat and Women’s Retreat. She had started her retreat involvement with Awakening 6, which was in Fall of 2001, and started the Women’s Retreat three years ago with Alaina Turse, a Chaminade student.
But with all of the involvement Stone has had over the years, she is ready to retire. With the duties that she has now, she said she goes as long as a month or so without having a day off, but she needs to have more time with her family.
With her soon-to-be newly acquainted free time, she plans on teaching full time, immerse herself in more crafts such as sewing and going to the beach as well.
“Mama Kay was involved in everything that Campus Ministry does, including the Marianist celebrations and Mystical Rose Oratory events,” said Uiagalelei, Campus Ministry’s minister of Retreats. “She will be missed for all that she did.”
