Where possibility meets purpose: President Mantella shares her story at Women’s Commission event

BY Julianna Schrier
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills

Feb 19, 2026

The GVSU community packed the Loosemore Forum on February 19 to hear President Philomena V. Mantella speak about her life, lessons learned and her journey to becoming a leader as part of the 2026 HerStory series.

Hosted by the GVSU Women’s Commission, the HerStory series gives women in leadership positions at Grand Valley a chance to tell their stories firsthand and share how those experiences led to their success.

Mantella began by speaking about her parents and the lessons they instilled in her growing up. Her dad owned a business when she was a teenager, where she helped out with tax forms and other things. Her mom could talk to anyone – she could “code switch like no one else.”

“My parents modeled love, faith, work ethic, risk-taking and a tolerance for ambiguity,” said Mantella. She attended her alma mater Syracuse as a first-generation college student, where the most important thing she learned in college was the structure of how to learn.

President Mantella and a room full of people stand and stretch their hands over their heads.

Because she said she was nervous, President Philomena V. Mantella, right, asked movement science emeritus faculty member Nancy Giardina to lead the group in a relaxation exercise before giving her HerStory presentation at the Seidman Center February 19.

Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills

A woman sits at a table with others and watches President Mantella give a presentation.

A large crowd, including Inclusion and Equity administrative assistant Ashley Jefferson, center, listens to President Philomena V. Mantella as she gave a HerStory presentation at the Seidman Center February 19.

Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills

“Learning is just a disciplined way of engaging with complexity,” Mantella said. “I think college provided me a rhythm of inquiry, a framework for testing ideas and a community of dialogue that was very different from communities I'd been a part of and a structure for feedback and revision. In other words, not just answers but a way to generate better questions.”

The question of career and family is a big one for anyone, but especially for women. Family is not a single decision: it’s a continuous one. “For me, family is not an accessory to my work life, nor is my work accessory to my family,” Mantella said.

Mantella’s career spans from business to student affairs to higher education, which gave her the understanding and experience needed to be a successful leader. She said there are three keys to be a leader: confidence, clarity and humility.

“You know, no one prepares you to be a university president in a relatively small city,” said Mantella. “No one prepares you for when the fire alarm rings in your building and you're down on the street in your pajamas, and somebody wants to take a selfie with you. You’re a person that people know.”