Donor Profile

Joanne DiGeronimo Migliaro '88 and Anthony Migliaro

Students in Emmanuel College’s Maureen Murphy Wilkens School of Nursing & Clinical Sciences receive a thorough education with clinical experience across nursing specialties. Thanks to Joanne DiGeronimo Migliaro‘88 and Anthony Migliaro’s generous gift, students can now develop their skills in a realistic clinical environment. The Joanne DiGeronimo Migliaro and Anthony Migliaro Nursing Skills Laboratory simulates a real clinical setting, giving the students the chance to develop and practice a range of skills such as medication administration, sterile technique, IV therapy, and tracheostomy/nasogastric care safely using “Nursing Ann” models. The Labs host state-of-the-art equipment including IV pumps, medication carts, blood pressure cuffs, enteral feeding pumps, stretchers and vital sign machines.

Joanne is the daughter of Joseph J. DiGeronimo, the former senior vice president and owner of Victory Supermarkets, from whom she learned of the value of giving back at a very young age. Joanne earned her RN from St. Vincent Hospital School of Nursing and landed a job as a nurse anesthetist in the Emmanuel neighborhood, working at what is now Beth Israel Deaconess. Emmanuel College was the perfect fit for pursuing her bachelor’s degree in political science, leading her to complete a law degree at New England School of Law.

According to Joanne: "I've always wanted to be a nurse. It has been my passion. As a little girl, I loved Nurse Nancy: There she was on the front cover with her little wagon and band-aids helping everyone who needed her. I believe in the basics—If you don't have it, you don't have anything. I hope this would bring us back to the basics so that nurses have a chance to understand and follow their intuition. Machines and technology can only do so much. Basics are what make a good nurse and that's why I believe in a skills lab."

The Migliaros have been valued members of the Emmanuel family. Joanne serves on the Emmanuel College Board of Trustees and Development Committee and the Migliaros have generously supported other important developments on campus. “Mr. and Mrs. Migliaro’s investment in this School is absolutely transformative. Our students are getting a facility that is going to make a great difference to their training and we couldn’t be more excited to have the Migliaro name associated with our School,” said Diane Shea, Associate Dean of Nursing and Professor of Nursing.

As Emmanuel embarks on its second century, we are grateful to Joanne and Anthony Migliaro for their dedication to the College’s future. Their generous gift will benefit students—and their future patients— for years to come.