In 1984, Geraldine Ferraro was picked to run as Vice President with Democratic Presidential Nominee Walter Mondale, making Ferraro the first woman nominated by a major political party as its candidate for Vice President of the United States. In her acceptance speech, she spoke of the realization of the American dream: “Tonight, the daughter of an immigrant from Italy has been chosen to run for Vice President in the new land my father came to love…” Although the ticket ultimately lost, Ferraro’s candidacy forever reshaped the American political and social landscape.
Corrine Egan has served as Executive Director for the NW PA Labor-Management Council and director of Special Events and Community Education at Mercyhurst University. She graduated from Mercyhurst with a business degree in 1980. She has served on the Board of Trustees for Metro Health Center, as a commissioner for the NW Regional Planning Commission, and is a past member of the Pennsylvania Commission for Women.