Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
I’ve had a lot of titles during my time at Creighton but my favorite is when I’m walking on the Mall and I hear ‘There’s Paige’s mom’ and ‘There’s Cate’s mom.'
By Jon Nyatawa
The twins’ stories began at Creighton. Quite literally. They were born at the hospital next to campus and baptized at St. John’s Church.
And now Cate and Paige are delivering a special full-circle moment to their parents.
They will be earning their undergraduate degrees from Creighton this month.
Add that accomplishment to the list of reasons why their parents are overflowing with pride right about now — Anne, BSN’97, MS’00, EDD’19, and Pat Harty, MD’00, are two Bluejay grads themselves who cherished their time on campus and will soon get to celebrate their daughters joining the Creighton alumni ranks.
“Their birth certificates and their baptismal certificates both say ‘Creighton University,’ and now their diplomas will, too,’” Anne Harty said. “Cate and Paige are incredibly dedicated and driven, and it’s been wonderful to see them follow their own paths at a place that means so much to our family.”
Seemingly every corner of Creighton’s campus holds a meaningful connection for the Hartys.
Where Cate lived during her senior year? The Atlas apartment building. That used to be the Creighton University Medical Center, where Pat completed his residency and where he and Anne built many lasting friendships. Plus, the twins were born there. On the same floor, actually, as Cate’s apartment.
When Paige first moved in to the dorms? She lived in Swanson Hall, just a few doors down from where Anne’s sister once stayed decades ago (and two floors above Anne’s old room).
St. John’s Church hosted the twins’ baptismal ceremony. The Mall, where the kids once galloped along as toddlers, is now where they share smiles and hugs with their best friends.
And, occasionally, Mom gets a shoutout.
“I’ve had a lot of titles during my time at Creighton but my favorite is when I’m walking on the Mall and I hear ‘There’s Paige’s mom’ or ‘There’s Cate’s mom,’” Anne said.
Anne’s working on campus as a College of Nursing assistant professor and the director of the Harper Nursing Scholars Program. Pat, an interventional radiologist, is an adjunct clinical instructor for the School of Medicine.
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It was always the hope that the Hartys would end up back at Creighton.
But it wasn’t a guarantee.
After the twins were born and Pat’s residency in Omaha concluded, he took a job in Illinois. Then the family soon moved back to their hometown: Sacramento, Calif. Anne would eventually complete a Creighton doctoral program and join the University’s Admissions Office for several years — but they didn’t move back to Omaha until 2022. Cate actually started her college career at Regis University in Denver.
“I always say, nobody comes to Creighton by accident,” Anne said. “Those Jesuit, Ignatian values, they mean something to us as students, faculty and staff. And they’re not just words on a banner. People here live the mission. You feel it. It’s an energy. It was there when I first came to campus, and it’s never left.”
That sentiment is what drew the Hartys back, and inspired their kids to follow in their footsteps.
Well, sort of.
“When I dropped Paige off, I said, it’s the same college and the same campus – you’re living in my dorm – but your Creighton experience is going to be so different than mine. And it’s going to be great,” Anne said. “That’s what makes Creighton special.”
Paige, an exercise science major, has been a standout performer for Creighton’s rowing team during her time on campus. The team captain was just named the 2025-26 Carl M. Reinert, S.J., Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Up next: joining a team with the Penn Athletic Club Rowing Association in Philadelphia and applying medical school.
Cate has discovered her passion for creativity as she’s pursued a studio arts major at Creighton. But she’s also a talented competition climber and plans to move to Salt Lake City, the headquarters of USA Climbing, to launch a professional career.
As soon as the undergraduate commencement ceremony ends Saturday, Cate will be zipping across town for a climbing competition. Paige won’t even be in Omaha — the Creighton rowing team has the West Coast Conference Championships in California this weekend.
The full family celebration together will have to wait. But they’ll cherish the accomplishments all the same.
“They both have their things and that’s great,” Anne said. “It’s been special to have them here with me these last few years. Just really neat.”
