PHILANTHROPY
11,000 Miles to Albertus
Born in Shanghai during the tumultuous 1930s, Lisa (Cheng) Tou ’56, experienced a childhood shaped by upheaval and resilience. Just before the Communists seized control of mainland China in 1949, Lisa, her parents, and two younger brothers fled to the British colony of Hong Kong where she received a sound education and a good command of English at the Maryknoll Convent School. The Maryknoll Sisters first suggested a college in Kansas to Lisa, but Lisa wanted to be in or near an exciting metropolitan city like New York City. Then the sisters suggested Albertus Magnus. She knew little about Albertus but was willing to go halfway around the world to get there.
In January 1953, she took the big leap and left family and friends in Hong Kong for the long trek to America across the Pacific Ocean aboard the SS President Wilson. Along the way she almost got stranded in Japan. During a stopover in Yokohama, she had such a good time that she missed the ship. Fortunately, the resourceful teenager was able to flag a boat to ferry her to the Wilson and then had to clamber up a rope ladder to get on board. The rest of the voyage, she passed the time learning to play bridge.
After docking in San Francisco, she got to see the vastness and beauty of America by train, passing through Chicago and New York City before finally reaching New Haven. At Albertus Magnus, a very tired young woman, having traveled 11,000 miles alone for a month by ship and train, was warmly received by the Dominican Sisters in front of Rosary Hall.
At Albertus, Lisa embraced academics and campus life. She initially studied chemistry but a near disastrous lab accident convinced her to take Sr. Mary Carmel’s advice and switch to mathematics. She lived in McAuliffe Hall and Mohun Hall, worked the switchboard and the dining hall in Rosary, and in her spare time enjoyed watching movies and live theatre. A highlight for her was watching the legendary Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison perform in “My Fair Lady” before it opened on Broadway.
While at Albertus, Lisa met her future husband Julius, another Shanghai native who earned his doctorate in engineering from Yale. Together they raised four children while following Julius’ career as a professor at universities across the country.
Lisa credits her liberal arts education at Albertus for preparing her for an entrepreneurial career starting restaurants, building and managing apartment complexes, and buying and managing real estate. Most importantly, it was the Dominican Sisters, particularly Sr. Maria Patricia, O.P. and Sr. Mary Carmel, O.P. who taught her resilience, perseverance, and faith—values she still carries to this day and has passed on to her children.
In thanks for the profound influence Albertus has had on her life, Lisa has remained a generous and loyal supporter of the College for decades. Reflecting on her giving back, she simply says “Albertus and the Sisters truly impacted my life and I will always be grateful.”