By Nancy Fowler

In the early 1990s, Elise McCline, ’97, ’15, was set to begin classes at Maryville. Then her father had a heart attack and died, a tragedy that strained the family’s finances.

“I remember thinking, ‘This is never going to happen,’” McCline said.

But her accounting adviser, Jeanette Sanfilippo, told her not to give up, that she could get her basic courses out of the way at a less expensive community college. She also said to stay in touch.

After McCline eventually landed an accounting job, Sanfilipo told her to ask her employer for tuition assistance toward an accounting degree, something usually available only after a six-month probation period. “But after Jeanette got involved, they started paying my tuition immediately,” McCline said.

While attending classes at Maryville, McCline didn’t think much about being one of only a handful of African American students on campus. But Sanfilippo was concerned. She told McCline, “Most of the black accounting students here end up transferring to another school.”

“Then she told me, ‘I will always be here for you, and if you’re struggling, let me know,’” McCline said. “And I looked at her and said, ‘You just challenged me. I’m going to graduate from Maryville.’”

In 1997, McCline did just that. When her name was called during the graduation ceremony, Sanfilippo set her stack of diplomas down to give McCline a hug instead of a handshake.

Nearly two decades later, McCline returned to Maryville to earn her MBA. Now she’s the first African American female to become a vice president in her company, Lockton Dunning Benefits. Splitting her time between Dallas and St. Louis gives her the opportunity to mentor Maryville students and attend events such as Homecoming.

But she knows she won’t run into her beloved adviser during campus visits. Sanfilippo passed away in 2003, though her advice lives on. “If you have a goal in mind, it might not work out the way you thought it would, but the main thing is that you get there,” McCline said. “You just have to be resilient, even if you have to take a few lefts instead of going right.”