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Sister Mary Ann Dillon is a giver.

She is "deeply passionate to people's needs" and knows "the gifts of many are greater than the gifts of any one," Sister Carol Gallagher said of her longtime friend.

Dillon dedicated herself to central Pennsylvanians, said Robert W. Montler, who sits on the Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School Board of Trustees with Dillon.

"When asked how to describe Sister Mary Ann Dillon's impact on our community, a [Albert Pike] quote comes to mind, 'What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us, what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal,'" he wrote. "This is Sister Mary Ann Dillon."

As a child, Dillon looked to her parents for guidance.

"They instilled in me a strong faith, a commitment to hard work, to integrity and to loving relationships," she said.

With a foundation in place, Dillon went on to join the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas at the age of 20 when she felt a calling to devote her life to God and helping others.

The Catholic women's religious congregation, with roots back to the 1800s, is also where Dillon met more life mentors in her fellow sisters.

She has found fulfillment on her chosen path but didn't foresee just how much.

"I never could have imagined my life would have evolved the way it did as a Sister of Mercy," she said.

The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas has more than 4,000 members and is broken down into communities. Dillon belongs to the mid-Atlantic community, which covers areas in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey.

Worldwide, there are 10,000 sisters who take vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and service of people who are poor, sick and uneducated, according to the congregation's Web site.

Dillon is now listening to another calling as she prepares to step down as the president of Mount Aloysius College in June 2010.

She says the timing is right and she has plenty to keep her busy. She serves on several boards, including BG and Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown.

Gallagher, the Sisters of Mercy's mid-Atlantic community life and ministry facilitator, is impressed with her friend's ability to step down while still "really at the top of her form in a way," she said.

The decision shows her humility and her role in the big picture, she said.

Dillon showed leadership skills early and was elected to a Sisters of Mercy of the Americas leadership team at a young age, Gallagher said.

The Altoona native and 1962 BG graduate said she is proud of the 12 years she has served as the Cresson college's top administrator.

Keeping the college's mission at the forefront of decisions led to "daring choices," such as the buildup of academic programs offered at the school, she said.

The college, which only offered associate degrees when she came on board in 1997, now offers bachelor's and master's degrees.

"She really epitomizes visionary leadership in my opinion," Gallagher said. "From the time she was very young [it was] clear that she was a leader."

Mirror Staff Writer Amanda Clegg is at 949-7030.