Senior Tea emcee inspires students with Artemis II
Johnna Pro told the Charleroi Area High School students that they can achieve anything they aspire to do.
The room was filled with vintage teacups, floral centerpieces and handmade treats, but the message shared Friday at the 78th annual Athene Club Senior Tea reached far beyond Marian Hall.
Just hours before the Artemis II mission was set to splash down, Athene Club members challenged Charleroi Area High School’s senior girls to do what generations of women before them fought for: reach for the stars.
Nearly 30 members of the Class of 2026 gathered at Marian Hall at Saint Andrew the Apostle Parish in Charleroi for the annual tradition, which honors senior girls as they prepare to graduate June 3.
Decorations throughout the hall reflected the afternoon’s elegant atmosphere, with florals, hats, vintage teacups and tiered centerpieces topped with homemade cupcakes. Each senior also received a handmade decorated sugar cookie, a wristlet with her seating assignment and a lucky penny tucked inside.
Athene Club member Johnna Pro, who served as mistress of ceremonies, opened the afternoon by asking students why Friday was historic.
The answer was Artemis II.
The four-person mission, which includes NASA astronaut Christina Koch, was preparing to splash down Friday night after becoming the first crewed mission to travel toward the moon in more than 50 years. Koch traveled farther from Earth than any other woman in history.
Pro used that moment to connect the Class of 2026 to the women who founded the Athene Club 124 years ago.
“For the very first time in the history of the world, a woman has traveled further SENIOR TEA •A2
“Mabel Mountsier and 15 of her friends believed that you should have the right to reach for the stars or fly around the moon.”
JOHNNA PRO away from the planet than anybody else,” Pro said. “How does Artemis II and the trip to the moon relate to the Senior Tea today? It really doesn’t, but in the bigger picture, it does.”
Pro recounted how Mabel Mountsier and her friends formed the Athene Club in 1902 at a time when women had limited access to education and opportunity.
With no television, internet or even widely circulated newspapers, the women organized an educational club where they could study literature, science, politics and the arts.
“Mabel Mountsier and 15 of her friends believed that you should have the right to reach for the stars or fly around the moon,” Pro said.
Founded in 1902 and named for the Greek goddess of wisdom, the Athene Club became a driving force in Charleroi, helping establish the library, fire department and school district while raising money for countless community causes.
Several decades later, members began hosting the Senior Tea to honor Charleroi Area’s graduating girls and encourage them as they prepare for adulthood.
Athene Club President Mary Oler welcomed the students with a lighthearted story about her orange cat deleting the speech she had written.
“I spent all day yesterday writing the speech in my head, and then I put it down on my laptop,” Oler said. “Apparently I was away from my laptop too long. My cat walked across my laptop, deleted the entire speech, and then autosave came on and saved what was just a little bit of gibberish.”
Despite the missing speech, Oler said the reason behind the tea was simple.
“What it boiled down to, for me, was love,” she said.
Oler told the students she hopes they understand the impact they have already had on the community.
“Whether you excelled in sports, academics or just through being you and your own unique personality, you have left your mark on us,” Oler said. “I hope that as you move forward and remember the tea, you always have a love for Charleroi.”
The afternoon included the Pledge of Allegiance and a reading of the Club Collect by Mary Stuart, followed by lunch featuring tea, chicken salad croissants, cucumber sandwiches, fruit salad, sherbet, homemade cupcakes and cookies.
After lunch, Pro introduced keynote speaker Karen Kosh, owner of Studio K Salon & Spa in Charleroi.
Kosh, a Belle Vernon graduate who 25 years ago opened Studio K, shared her uncertain path after high school and encouraged the students not to be afraid of change.
After graduation, Kosh moved to Florida and worked at Walt Disney World like her sister before eventually returning home and building a business in Charleroi.
“I had no idea what I wanted to do,” Kosh said. “I thought maybe I want to go work for Disney, too. Believe me, I had so much confusion going on in my head with so many decisions.”
Kosh said those years taught her that it is okay not to have every answer.
“You can do anything and be anything you want to be, and you can change your mind all the time,” she said.
She mixed life lessons with Disney trivia, asking students questions about Mickey Mouse, Disney princesses and the meaning of EPCOT. Girls who answered correctly received prizes.
Kosh also spoke honestly about setbacks, including the challenges her business faced after Sept. 11 and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There are no regrets, just mistakes — mistakes that you learn from,” she said. “You will fail at some things. You will apply for something and not get it. You will try something and it will not work.”
Before leaving the podium, Kosh urged the students to embrace life and move forward with confidence.
“Walk boldly, walk kindly, walk confidently,” she said. “You are educated, you are capable, you are powerful and you are ready for the world.”
Before heading home for the weekend, students mingled, took selfies and celebrated together ahead of graduation.
Charleroi Area High School’s Class of 2026 will graduate June 3.
Sponsors for this year’s tea are cfsbank, the International Order of Odd Fellows, the Charleroi Chapter and Knights of Columbus Council 956.
Club members also paid tribute to longtime supporter Ruth Adele Corrin, who died last month at age 97, and to founder Mabel Mountsier, whose belief in lifelong learning and service continues to shape the tradition more than a century later.
