This is the third in a series of stories to celebrate Women’s History Month. We had planned to post a story every Tuesday and Thursday throughout March to celebrate history-making women at Bellarmine. But because classes are not meeting on campus at this time, we will save the rest of the Women’s History Month stories and post them when we return to campus in April.
By : Katelyn Norris
Gabriele Bosley’s passion for other cultures and travel began when she was 12 and had a pen pal in Austria. She convinced her family to road trip from their Germany home to see her friend. To prepare for this trip, Bosley arranged hotel reservations and got the information all by herself. This was only the beginning her journey into worlds beyond her own.
Bosley is chief international officer executive director of study abroad and international learning and currently the longest-employed woman at Bellarmine. She began her journey at BU in 1976, which wasn’t long after the university decided to cut foreign language from the curriculum. During her interview with Dean Robert Whitman, she offered to bring back foreign languages to Bellarmine’s campus because she is a native German speaker.
“I started building the languages, first with German and then with French, so I pushed and pushed always a little further and pushed in to having a minor. Then I was on my course to creating a major,” Bosley said.
Bosley crafted the foreign language and international studies major, or FLIS, almost entirely on her own. Building the major became her passion project the moment she got to BU. By 1998, the FLIS major was officially announced and already had 10 students in the program, thanks to Bosley’s advising the students.
“Those were fun times. Building and creating that major was my passion,” Bosley said.
Jane Cantrell, a former administrative assistant in the FLIS department and Bosley’s longtime friend, said Bosley was driven and continually brought out the best in every student and faculty member she met. Cantrell said Bosley constantly challenged her, and in the end, Cantrell grew personally.
“I have never met anyone quite like her. Her charismatic personality just makes everyone around her learn from her,” Cantrell said.
Through the FLIS major, Bosley sparked curiosity among many students and pushed them to embark on their own journeys.
Abby Pitts is a FLIS major and credits Bosley as one of her major academic influences.
“Hearing from her about her travels and about my opportunities completely demolished my former ideas of what my life ought to look like,” Pitts said. “The amazing thing is she wasn’t even trying. She was just being herself and sharing her passion.”
Over the course of her 44-year career at Bellarmine, Bosley said she has seen a lot of change on campus, especially for women.
“In the early days, the department chairs were mostly male. When I was part of the undergraduate chairs committee that was mostly male, but over the years that has shifted,” Bosely said. “And I would say it’s 50-50 specifically in leadership roles now, which is very encouraging to women.”
Within her own office, Bosley said the statistics on study abroad have always remained female-dominated.
“We have a standard 60-40 female to male on campus, but in my business in study abroad it’s dominated by females. It’s 80-20,” Bosley said.
Through study abroad, Bosley had the first female student to spend a year abroad, and many years later that student became the first study abroad adviser.
Hannah Holler-Egea holds that distinction and she said Bosley has been her role model since she was student at BU.
“Working alongside her and witnessing her drive and enthusiasm motivated me to follow her lead. I have carried those traits with me and have brought them to all aspect of my life,” Holler-Egea said.
Bosley also had deep ties to the first female faculty member on Bellarmine’s campus, Dr. Margaret Mahoney.
“Dr.Mahoney came as a young woman, and she was my mentor when I was very young. And she kept telling me don’t let the males get you down,” Bosley said.
Mahoney came to BU in fall 1958 and was the only female faculty member until the Bellarmine/Ursiline merger in 1963. She was one of the pioneering women on Bellarmine’s campus and helped pave the way for all future female staff. She served as professor of history and in 1988 became the chairperson of the history/political science department.
Bosley is not only part of Bellarmine’s rich history, but she continues to inspire students on campus through every interaction she has with them.
“She told me about the FLIS major and introduced me to the study abroad office,” Pitts said. “Her passion for the topic of travel and the programs that she advises sent me looking into the field of study abroad coordinator, and now I can barely picture anything else.”
Cantrell expressed a similar sentiment. “She worked hard to make the experiences BU students had abroad and international student coming to Bellarmine to be the best possible,” she said.
Bosley’s passion for what she does is evident in her longevity and success in her programs. Her love of travel and embracing difference is what brought her to Bellarmine and it is what allows all of her endeavors to continue succeeding.
“I often ask myself why am I getting paid. This is a labor of love,” Bosley said. “It’s all about looking at the world and its differences. It’s about looking and learning to embrace what others reject as difference.”
During her Bellarmine career, Bosley has not only embarked on journeys on her own, but created journeys for others. Through the numerous programs she has founded and the hundreds of study abroad trips she has organized, Bosley has fulfilled the dreams of her 12-year-old self. And soon, Bosley said, her journey with Bellarmine will come to an end
“ My daughter wants me to be around my grandchildren, and she wants me to be there and help her through her own journey,” Bosley said.
Bosley has dedicated her life to helping others find their wings, and one day soon she will retire and her daughter raise the next generation of world travelers.
“You never know where you will end up in the world,” Bosley said. “There are always two sides to it; one that grounds you and one that gives you wings.”
