It was finally all quiet on the 57-acre campus along Knox Lane after commencement sent 85 young women and men last Sunday to whatever their next step may be and Linsly’s leaders hung up their formal graduation robes for another academic year.
But then?
Yup, that’s her. Yes, the pretty one with the big smile. Yes, her – the lady with the flowing dark hair and the really high heels.
And that’s right, she is the writer of that blog, too. Ya know, the one that delves into those topics that men pretend to ignore but never really can. That, ladies and gentlemen, is Stacey Creely, who in fact, seldom holds back when it comes to what she knows something about. Like Linsly, and being an Italian woman, and a mother of a daughter, and a wife of a man who is definitely the Yin to her Yang.
Creely is the director of public relations, the assistant director of admissions, and an educator at The Linsly School, and her professional home along Leatherwood Lane also has become an unpredicted locale for the 1996 graduate of Central Catholic High School and her family. In fact, her daughter, Olivia, will enter her junior year at the college preparatory school come August after earning honors while playing three sports during her second year in high school.
So, unexpectedly, Creely’s life has been a black-and-orange existence as a member of a Wheeling community that’s not understood very well despite its 209 years of history, but when given the chance, she happily offers details so impossible dreams can become inevitable realities.
What did you think of Linsly as a high school student?
When I was in high school, I honestly didn’t think much about Linsly at all until we played them in football because it was a huge city rival, and as we know, one that continues to the present day. I can remember painting my face and going over to the Wheeling Island Stadium with my friends for the big game. My mom went to Wheeling Central when it was St. Joseph’s Academy, my Aunt Doris went to Wheeling Central, and my cousin Kristin was a year ahead of me there, so it was a natural progression for me to attend as well.
I graduated from Central in the class of ‘96, and at that time the rivalry between Central and Linsly got pretty heated – to the point that when I interviewed for my current position at Linsly with then Headmaster Reno DiOrio, he called me out on it. When I was a senior at Central, the night before we played Linsly there was a huge bonfire, and a lot of my friends were going.
It was in October of 1995, and at the time I worked at Oglebay Park on the weekends. I was scheduled to work “Boo at the Zoo” the night of the bonfire and I remember begging my mom to let me call off work and go. Well, my mama knew best, and she absolutely refused to let me go. So, I went to work.
The next day I remember Mr. Duffy, our Dean of Discipline and my golf coach at Central calling a lot of seniors into his office. You didn’t want to make Mick Duffy angry, I”ll tell you that! Apparently, things got really out of hand and some of the seniors made a bad decision and decided to go to Linsly’s campus and deface the football field and The Aviator statue.
From that point on, Linsly and Central didn’t play each other in football for many years. The day I was interviewed by Mr. Diorio, I was very happy that I didn’t go to that bonfire!
My dad was a steel worker – he worked for Wheeling Pitt at the Yorkville mill for more than 30 years, and I guess Linsly was just never in our consideration set of possibilities. I think so many people think that a Linsly education isn’t accessible, and having worked there now for almost 20 years I can tell you that is simply the furthest thing from the truth.
The Linsly Admissions Office works with families individually to help make a Linsly education possible whether it is through need-based financial aid or our named scholarship program that is endowed by so many generous alumni. I was the first in my family to break the tradition to send my daughter to Linsly and it has been a blessing to be able to give her the gift of a Linsly education. She will be a junior there in the fall, and is absolutely thriving at Linsly, taking advantage of all the opportunities they have to offer.
What are the tallest high heels you have ever worn and did you make it through the night without falling?
Hands down, the tallest high heels I ever wore and didn’t fall down (thank God) was when I was a model for Rock the Runway, a fashion show by Bob Bailey benefiting the YWCA. It was a 70s theme fashion show, and my heels were ridiculously gorgeous Jessica Simpson black sequin platform 6-inch heels.
I was rehabilitating from a knee injury and I was terrified that I would fall flat on my face on the runway! Somehow, I made it down the runway and back without falling! It was a great event for a great cause, and I was really proud to be part of it.
What are the main reasons why you’ve decided to write and publish an online blog?
I’ve wanted to write the blog for a long time. When I was in grade school at Corpus Christi, I was the editor of the 8th grade school newspaper. When I was in college, I worked on The Tower newspaper at Bethany College. Today, at Linsly, I have the opportunity not only to do marketing and communications for the school, but I also am the advisor to the school newspaper, The Linsly Line, and I teach Creative Writing as an elective.
I think writing is just part of who I am. It’s my calling. So I decided to start a blog, findyourselfafter40.com, because I really want to use my passion for writing to create a supportive community of women over 40 and give us an authentic voice. What I have found is that most women my age are so busy taking care of their families, running from athletic fields to dance practices, and rushing off to work, that they have set their own dreams aside.
They aren’t taking care of themselves because they are too exhausted taking care of everyone and everything else. We have some AMAZING women over 40 in our local community and I want to partner with them and tell their stories and also tell mine. I am really focusing my blog posts to focus on topics that are important to women just like me – the busy, working moms who want to know hacks on healthy recipes that they can make quickly or the best beauty finds on a budget. I want to support them and lift them up and give them a voice.
My blog is in its infancy, and I don’t know exactly where it will go, but it’s an adventure and I am excited to find out!
As an Italian Mother, what lessons are most important for you to teach your daughter?
SO MANY THINGS.
As an Italian mother, the most important lesson that I can teach my daughter is that family is first. Period. My family is very small, but we are extremely close – almost too close at times! I grew up with my cousins who are like my sisters and now they take care of Liv as if she is their own daughter, and that is such a blessing.
Loyalty is such an important character trait to me and I’ve taught her that as well. I also want to teach her to be independent and strong. I think too many parents fall into the trap of teaching our daughters to be “good girls.” I don’t want Olivia to be a good girl.
I want Olivia to be an independent girl. I want to teach her to be strong, to have values and standards and self-confidence and most importantly, to truly know her own worth. I want to teach her that life is tough, but that she is tougher. I also want to teach her that life is short – that she needs to follow her own arrow and make her own path to do what makes her happy.
I also want to teach her to never leave the house without making her bed and putting on lipstick and earrings.
And meatballs. I want to teach her how to make homemade meatballs. That’s what my Italian mama taught me, and I hope I can instill those lessons in my daughter as well.
If you are asked to prepare the one meal you make best, what meal would it be?
This one is tough! I think if you would ask my family, they would say my chicken parmesan or my homemade Italian wedding soup. But my signature dish is my stromboli!
We have a tradition every Christmas to make homemade meatballs and strombolis with my mom and Liv. It started with my nana, and we honor her memory every holiday season by making meatballs and baking stromboli. Olivia has really taken over the stromboli making, though, so I’m super proud of that.
My house smells like heaven, and my mom and Olivia and I work all day cooking and laughing and listening to Frank Sinatra holiday music. And, of course, there’s a little bit of wine.
