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Families enjoy annual ‘Egg Dip’ in pool at Wilkes-Barre YMCA

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Lottery numbers for Saturday, April 1, and Sunday, April 2, 2017

<p>DALLAS TWP. &#8212; Lia Ruggerio may sound like a paid spokesperson, but her praise for the institution of higher learning she attends is both real and reproducible. Talk to pretty much any Misericorida student and you hear pretty much the same overarching complements.</p><p>&#8220;The attention I receive as a student from my professors,&#8221; the Dallas native said when asked why she choose the modest campus in the Back Mountain. &#8220;It&#8217;s obvious how much effort they put into you as a student and as a person. They really make sure you know they are there for you.&#8221;</p><p>Ruggerio didn&#8217;t vote in the Times Leader Readers&#8217; Choice Awards that had Misericordia come out on top in the best college/university category, but she was hardly surprised her school won. &#8220;It&#8217;s the atmosphere here,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We have four charisms &#8212; mercy, service, justice and hospitality &#8212; and you really see these charisms exemplified.&#8221;</p><p>Then she offers the unsolicited qualifier: &#8220;I say that sincerely, not becuase I have to.&#8221;</p><p>Misericordia spokesman Paul Krzywicki offered an official comment opening with, perhaps, that &#8220;hospitality&#8221; charism. &#8220;&#8220;Misericordia would like to thank the readers of the Times Leader newspaper for recognizing our institution,&#8217;&#8217; He said in a written statement.</p><p>&#8220;We believe Misericordia&#8217;s time-honored tradition of providing students with the personal attention, rigorous academics and career preparation they need to be successful in life and their careers is attractive to today&#8217;s students and their families. Your readers seem to agree.&#8221;</p><p>Misericordia currently has a total enrollment of 2,879, with the top five majors being nursing, business administration, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology (Ruggerio&#8217;s major) and physical therapy.</p><p>The four charisms are rooted in the school&#8217;s origin as an all-women&#8217;s college founded by the religious Sisters of Mercy. It went co-ed in the 1970s and achieved university status in 2007.</p><p>The university&#8217;s physical imprint includes 15 buildings and an athletic complex on the bucolic main campus, and 10 buildings beyond the iconic arched entry along Lake Street, including the John J. Passan Hall housing the College of Health Sciences and Education.</p><p>Kingston resident Bob Jacobs said he picked Misericordia not simply because the campus is inviting, but because the people were.</p><p>&#8220;When I came here on my recruitment trip &#8212; I&#8217;m a swimmer and swim on the team &#8212; when I came here it was sort of like my high school (Wyoming Valley West). Everybody is really close.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re like family,&#8221; said the senior dual major (government law and national security, and philosophy) &#8220;We&#8217;re like family. No matter where you go on campus, you always know someone who&#8217;s friendly.&#8221;</p><p>As to those four charims, &#8220;I look at those words written on the wall here in the school, and it&#8217;s something we follow and live by. It&#8217;s not even enforced. It just happens because of the nature of the school.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Thomas Hircock , junior at Misericordia University, rides his skateboard on the campus earlier this year. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL022417Weather1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Thomas Hircock , junior at Misericordia University, rides his skateboard on the campus earlier this year. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>Misericordia University</p><p><strong>Founded:</strong> 1924, by the Religious Sisters of Mercy</p><p><strong>Total enrollment:</strong> 2,879</p><p><strong>Academic programs:</strong> 43</p><p><strong>Originally:</strong> All-woman campus</p><p><strong>Went coed:</strong> in the 1970s</p><p><strong>Became a university:</strong> 2007</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

“Charisms,” personal connections propel Misericordia to Readers’ Choice win