A Game-Changer for the Mount

Why Capital Campaign Co-Chair Joe Pensabene says the new Athletic Center is about more than sports.

Joe Pensabene has seen the Mount from every angle. As a Capital Campaign Co-Chair, as Assistant Coach for varsity basketball, and most importantly, as the father of three Mount graduates. His perspective is clear: "The primary goal is to just transform the campus in a way that the girls deserve."

An investment that's overdue

As Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Bank Operations at Univest Bank and Trust Co., Joe understands investments. And he sees the Beyond Pearls campaign as an essential investment in the Mount's future. "Nothing of significance has been done to the campus in years, arguably 50-some years," he notes. "And it's needed. It's time."

For Joe, the Athletic Center isn't just about sports — it's about competing for the best students. "We need facilities like this to attract the best and brightest students and also the best athletes," he explains. "Academically, the Mount is top-notch. And we have a lot to be proud of in the athletics area. We need the facilities to provide our athletes and our teams with the best chance to compete and win."

Watching it take shape

As a coach who regularly talks to prospective students at CYO games and summer leagues, Joe is thrilled that construction is now underway. "When I talk to families at games and camps, I can point to the construction happening right now and say, 'This is what you'll be part of. This is the future of Mount athletics.' The excitement on their faces says it all."

His excitement is palpable when he talks about the future. "I can't wait to have our first practice there, to host our first game there, to host our first playoff game, our first state playoff game. It's just going to be an experience. I can tell you nobody else in our league, for sure, and really in the area, has a facility like this. It's a game-changer."

What it's really about

But Joe's commitment to the Mount goes far deeper than athletics or facilities. It comes from watching three daughters flourish in this community. "To see what each of them got from the Mount, what they gave to the Mount, the friends that they have today — my oldest just got engaged, and she was in a wedding in July of one of her best friends from the Mount where she was the Maid of Honor, and almost the entire bridal party was her friends from the Mount. That's special to me."

"The relationships that my wife and I have with their parents and with these girls — they are extensions of our family. And that all came from the Mount."

Those relationships extend to the entire Pensabene family. "That's why the Mount has the place in my heart that it does."

For Joe, supporting the Beyond Pearls campaign is about ensuring future generations of Mount students have the facilities they need to compete, to grow, and to build the kind of lifelong friendships his daughters treasure.

"It's just time," he says simply. "The girls deserve it."

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Be Part of What's Being Built

Construction on the new Athletic Center is underway right now — the first major investment in Mount facilities in over 50 years. It's one of many ways the Mount is growing, alongside the scholarships, academics, and everyday opportunities supported by donors like you.

Ready to be part of it? Make your gift today at msjacad.org/give, or contact the Advancement Office at advancement@msjacad.org or 215-233-3177 to learn more about ways to give.