Monique Pilie , Skip of ‘83

1.  In what ways did your Ursuline education prepare you for the work you are doing now?
I think one of the most important things I learned at Ursuline was that ANYTHING is possible for ANYONE.  The fact that we are women doesn’t mean that we have limitations just because we fall in that category or classification.  I believe that the only limitations any of us have are the ones we create for ourselves.  I think that we can all achieve anything we want in life; we just have to believe in ourselves.  My years at Ursuline helped instill that belief in me.

2.  Please describe the most significant value you learned from Ursuline Academy.
Serviam.  I believe that it’s all about helping others.  I know for myself that the times when I felt the most happiness and the times when I felt the best about who I was, were the times that I was being of service to others.  Hurricane Katrina made it very clear to me that I couldn’t continue to live in New Orleans without doing something to give back to my community.  The work that I have been able to do with my non-profit, Hike for KaTREEna, has been the most rewarding and most fulfilling work I’ve ever done; and it is because of one thing… I am being of service to others.

3.  Describe Ursuline in one word.
Serviam

ABOUT MONIQUE PILIE
After graduating from Ursuline, Monique Pilie attended Loyola University and received a degree in Psychology.  Not too long after, Monique got a job as a counselor at New Orleans Job Corps.  Job Corps helps underprivileged 15- to 18-year-olds learn job skills and get their GED.

After doing that for 5 years, she decided to take some time off and travel.  She spent the next 6 months traveling around the United States and camping.  She visited 32 different states from Maine to Washington and was able to experience the unbelievable beauty of our country.  Returning from this adventure and still not sure what she wanted to do with her life, Monique got a job as a courier for Federal Express.  She did that for 14 years and still works for Fed Ex part-time.

When Hurricane Katrina hit, Monique decided to combine her life-long goal of hiking the Appalachian Trail with her desire to help her city.  She quit her job, sold her house and started Hike for KaTREEna, with her goal being to plant one tree in New Orleans for every mile she hiked on the Trail.  She started the Trail in Georgia in April of 2006 and 6 months and 2,175 miles later she made it to the end of the Trail in Maine.

Monique is now back in New Orleans and well on her way to planting 2,175 trees in this city.  As of today she has planted over 1,500 trees.  She was recently selected as the Green Citizen of the Year by the local non-profit the Green Project.  Although she is close to achieving her goal of planting 2,175 trees, her plan is to continue planting trees in New Orleans for as long as she is able.  For more information on Hike for KaTREEna go to www.hikeforkatreena.com.