An estate gift from an alumna who had a long career in education will help ensure future students can have the benefits of a life-changing Detroit Mercy education.
A Catholic college education was always in the cards for Karen Knoth ’65, who attended Gesu School and Immaculata High School before choosing University of Detroit to pursue a degree in education.
Plus, she said, “U of D had basketball, football and boys.”
But once she arrived, she was blown away by the Jesuit education awaiting her.
“University of Detroit molded my whole life,” she said. “It made me realize I wanted to do things differently than others do, and it prepared me with the confidence to do just that. They stress educating the whole person. It was something totally different than I ever had. It was learning about yourself, rather than being told how to feel — discovery vs. injection. I loved required courses like philosophy because it gives you the tools so you can figure out who you are.”
Knoth figured out pretty quickly that she wanted to be a teacher and what kind of teacher she wanted to be. Immediately upon graduation, she took off for California with two other female U of D graduates to teach. The three friends shared an apartment and taught during the week and spent the weekends traveling up and down the West Coast. When the other two wanted to return to Michigan to reconnect with boyfriends, Knoth came with them and resumed her career as an educator in Michigan.
In 1967, Knoth was on the faculty when Waterford Mott High School opened in Waterford, Mich. She was working on a master’s degree by then, and was tasked with creating a program for the students who struggled in school, even though she wasn’t that much older than many of the students.
She met students where they were, not where they were expected to be and that is what made the difference. She remembers names of students and shares anecdotes that show her students respected her and that she made a difference to many.
“Who I am was formed at U of D, and that formed what type of teacher I was going to be,” she said. “So, I went into this with the thought that I was not going to let these students hate school because I cared about them. These students were my favorite class.”
Knoth work was noticed and she wrote about the successes of Quest for a national teaching magazine, which brought her to the attention of what is now the Wayne Regional Education Service Agency (RESA).
“They were looking for someone to teach teachers and they chose me.”
She began working on her doctorate because “in order to be an expert, you need credentials.” She stayed with Wayne RESA for 17 years, eventually training principals how to better support teachers and students.
She eventually served as a principal and an associate superintendent.
“I had a great career,” Knoth said. “I never looked for a job, people came to me because they liked what they saw. It’s not because I’m smarter than other people, but because I’m better prepared. And I think it was because I had an enthusiasm for people. Whatever I did, I did with joy.”
She retired officially in 2008, but that wasn’t the end of her education career. She was recruited by a company that created curricula in skills for living — such as how to keep a checkbook and anger management. It was a job that took her across the country. Eventually, she worked a little closer to home, creating the curriculum for the Henry Ford Academy, a charter school affiliated with The Henry Ford and Greenfield Village.
“These students had access to everything in the museum and the Village and we wrote a curriculum that took advantage of that,” she said. “It was one of the most challenging and most successful things I’ve ever done.”
When she retired the second time, she looked back on her career and life.
“I retired as this happy, happy person and I kept thinking, ‘How does this happen?’ I had no husband, no kids but a very nice pension and I started thinking about a legacy,” she said.
She saw the basis for her career in her Jesuit education at University of Detroit.
“I had always contributed to the University, but I hadn’t been back in years,” she said. “But after thinking about it, I saw that the person I became started at U of D. I had an opportunity to be a student, a leader. I learned the values and principles of the Jesuits and that took us out of the mold of just being told what to think. They taught us to be the best person we could.”
That’s when the idea of creating a scholarship at Detroit Mercy took hold.
“A scholarship to Detroit Mercy could really change the direction of a student’s life,” she said. “It’s the beginning of an 18-year-old’s real life. That’s the gift. Help young kids who may not have the opportunity to learn who they are through a solid education. Those four years can change the direction of their life, and when that happens, they take that with them forever.”
You can create your own estate gift and designate it to scholarships, programming or let the University decide where to spend it. Contact our Office of Planned Giving at 313-993-1600.
