AM THE PRODUCT of 12 years of Catholic education. Each of my children has attended Catholic school from preschool through university. Yet none of this is why I choose to teach at a Catholic school. My choice is the product of two things: a calling and a community joined by faith.
A little over a decade ago, I found myself at a crossroads, the casualty of corporate restructuring. But as I updated my resume and prepared for interviews, I realized I wanted more. More than an 8-to-5 chained to a desk and a predictable grind. That’s when I found myself discussing my situation with my children’s school principal, Mrs. Mary Alvarado. That fall, I was in a classroom as an English Language Arts paraprofessional with the flexibility to explore whether this was where God was guiding me. I had genuinely not understood what it meant to have a career vocation until I stepped into the classroom as part of the teaching staff. Moreover, I was blessed to answer that vocation within a community built on Catholic tenets. At a Catholic school, I am able to fulfill this calling in an environment that encourages the expression of my faith with others who share my core values.
As a parent, I always knew that the community we enjoyed at St. Cecilia was special. Through the years, we’ve come together in celebration and mourning, joy and grief, and every milestone in between. Now, as a teacher, I can be there during the little moments that lay the foundation of our community, from guiding students in remembering that we are all God’s children to celebrating weekly Mass with the whole school. As teachers in a Catholic school, we have the dual privilege of educating students’ minds as well as fostering persons of character and virtue.
Each day teaching at a Catholic school is a blessing. Each day, I learn something new from my students and colleagues. And most importantly, each day I learn a little more about myself and my relationship with God.