Alumnus of the Year - 2005

 

Miss Joanita Cutten '57

Miss Joanita Cutten '57 was named 2005 Alumna of the Year during the Homecoming chapel held on October 7. Mrs. Jane Brooks Young '57, Cutten's former Covenant roommate, presented the award, and Mrs. Robert G. Rayburn, widow of Covenant's first president, was also in attendance and made some introductory remarks to begin the service. The Homecoming chapel concluded with Chaplain Fred McFarland '71, 2004 Alumnus of the Year, delivering the chapel address.

 

Miss Cutten was a member of Covenant's first student body in Pasadena, California, under President Rayburn. She moved with the College to St. Louis in 1956 and graduated in Covenant's second class with a major in history. For two years after graduation, she served as the women's dorm counselor. Since then, she has had a long and distinguished career in Christian education, teaching kindergarten through sixth grade. She has also held a number of leadership positions in her local church.

 

In the words of Mrs. Young, "It seems appropriate that the award for a distinguished graduate this fiftieth anniversary year should be a person who was in the College its first year. The person we honor today bears that distinction -- one of the first ten graduates of the College, a person who has spent these fifty years in service in Christian education, honoring the Lord with her talents and her desire to serve him in all areas of her life. In that way, she has also brought honor to Covenant College."