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Donor Spotlight:
Madonna (Demma) Ross ’89
“Remember when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that
you have received, only what you have given:
a heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.”
- St. Francis of Assisi
Donna Ross epitomizes this quote from St. Francis of Assisi in her selfless giving of time, talent and treasure to Padua Franciscan. As a member of the
Board of Trustees since 2012 and Board Chair for the last four years, Donna has helped strengthen and sustain the school.
“I have greatly enjoyed serving the Padua community with Fr. Allan, David Stec, and the Padua Franciscan Board of Trustees as we worked to improve both the facilities and educational programming at Padua.
I am proud of our turf field, updated science labs, new lobby, and MyTrack programs.”
Donna has been with Kirkwood Holding Inc. since 1997 where she is currently the Vice President
of Finance. She credits her love for the world of accounting and finance to the first accounting class she took at Padua with Mr. Ron Flachbart ’65.
It wasn’t all numbers and books at Padua though; Donna enjoyed Key Club, Music Ministry, and had a small part in the first Padua musical, Oliver. She still enjoys singing at her parish, St. Matthias.
Though Donna has certainly experi- enced success in her career, her biggest pride are her children,
Jacob ’20 and Hanna ’17.
Jacob is excelling in the Padua MyTrack Business courses which include accounting, finance, and computer science. Hanna is currently studying political science and business
at The Ohio State University.
This Padua valedictorian plans to continue on to law school upon graduation. Clearly both Jacob and Hanna follow in their mother’s footsteps with the
‘numbers’ gene!
“Sending my children to Padua has been instrumental in building a solid educational, social and spiritual foundation. From the premier education in the classroom, to spiritual opportunities like the Kairos retreats, and social and leadership experiences through fine arts and athletics, they have had a well-rounded high school experience where they became part of the Padua Franciscan family. I am so glad I was able to provide my children with this experience.”
As a key benefactor for Padua, Donna feels that when we are in a position to help others we should do so and give other families the opportunity to experience a Padua Franciscan education. “At Padua, we are family, we participate, we give back, and we help each other out. It’s just
what we do.”