Mary Alyce Mccullough

Pace grandparent and member of The Castle Circle MARY ALYCE MCCULLOUGH has included Pace Academy as a beneficiary of her charitable remainder trust (CRT) because of her desire "to give something back to Pace," she says. "I believe Pace has been a perfect environment for my granddaughter KATE ROMERO '23. The resources available at the school are a gold mine. She has just flourished-it's been a wonderful experience."

McCullough chose the CRT as a planned giving vehicle because it was easy to do and for the capital gains tax advantages it offers donors of low-basis stock. "A CRT can benefit both the donor and the charity," she explains. "It's a win-win, providing income to the donor and funds to the institution once the donor passes away," she says.

McCullough's interest in supporting Pace began after Kate enrolled in the Middle School as a new sixth-grade student. McCullough's daughter and Kate's mother, child psychologist DR. JUDITH ROMERO, chose Pace because "she knew it was the best fit for Kate," McCullough explains. "Judith especially valued the quality of Pace's teachers and the school's commitment to global citizenship and character development."

As a Pace grandparent, McCullough has enjoyed watching her now ninth-grade granddaughter develop "right-brain" talents through the arts, and athletic abilities on the soccer field. She shares that Kate traveled on the Isdell Center for Global Leadership study tour to Morocco last school year. "Like everything else, it was a great experience," she says.

McCullough believes that Pace's Academic Resource Center (ARC), available to all students, is a very special feature of the school. "The ARC's tutors are an incredible resource for the students-Kate has benefited in many ways, even learning time-management strategies to help her balance homework and class projects with other activities," she says.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Kate's Pace experience this spring looks very different, as it does for all Pace students. "She misses the time in class and with her friends, but feels her teachers are doing the best possible job teaching online," she says. "She's often told me how much her teachers care about their subject areas and want every student to succeed."

McCullough is no stranger to change; a particularly difficult change came in early 2018 when her husband of 48 years, JOE MCCULLOUGH , passed away. "When Joe was living, being a part of our grandchildren's lives was always important to us," she reflects. Pace's Grandparents and Special Friends day was an occasion they enjoyed together. When the event took place in the fall of 2018, McCullough attended on her own because staying involved in Kate's life remained a priority.

A native of Maryland and a Duke University alumna, McCullough met her husband, born in Northern Ireland, in London as she was completing a nursing neurology postgraduate program and he was working as an industrial engineer. When he accepted a position at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, he encouraged her to complete her nursing graduate degree at Boston University. She did, and the relationship blossomed; they soon married, and she began her nursing career while he obtained his MBA from the Harvard Business School.

In their early years of marriage, the couple moved to Spirit Lake, Iowa, where Romero and their son, Eamonn McCullough, were born. "We loved Iowa," McCullough says, "but when Joe interviewed for a new position in Chicago, and Judith, then 6, called the Sears Tower 'the biggest grain elevator' she'd ever seen, we decided it was time to move."

This launched the family on a path that included Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Montreal and finally Atlanta, now home for more than three decades. Both children graduated from independent schools in Atlanta. "Joe and I always believed in the value of good education and knew the importance of giving our support," she says.

After their children were grown, the couple took the opportunity to travel, journeying "to seven continents after Joe retired," McCullough says. The breadth of their experiences, including those with other independent schools, gives special meaning to her appreciation of the education Pace offers and her plans for a future gift. "I am committed to continuing our support of Pace," she says.

She believes others would choose this way of giving if they realized that "a CRT is a two-way street-you get a benefit and eventually, so do your charities," she remarks.

McCullough is pleased to help Pace through membership in The Castle Circle but says she does not seek special recognition. "The fact that Pace is taking good care of my granddaughter is the only thing that matters."