A Journey
December 18, 2007

The community “theme” we adopted for the current Notre Dame San Jose school year is Spiritual Journey. This theme is underscored in our first Notre Dame Reads book selection, Three Cups of Tea, as well as our curricular and co-curricular programs, including class field trips, campus ministry events and school liturgies. The school President’s life journey can be included in this growing list as well!

 

At some level, we each know that we are on a spiritual journey, but in most environments, it’s difficult to maintain this awareness in the pull and press of every day demands. One of the things I treasure most about Notre Dame is the strong sense of God’s goodness that is available in day-to-day school life. This awareness is not confined to a chapel, or a retreat or a Religion class—it is evidenced in every aspect of daily Notre Dame life. It can be observed in the concern for others and for our world that infuse our school activities, it can be felt in the consistent acceptance and encouragement students and staff extend to one another, it can be seen on the hundreds of smiling faces that populate our downtown campus. It is a “holy spirit” that we sustain at Notre Dame and it blesses all who journey with us.

 

And while two and a half years is less time than I had planned for this segment of my life’s path, it has been an intense period of significant growth and development for our school and I am honored to have shared it. We have created the first formally incorporated President position for Notre Dame, coupled with a clear governance charter for our Board of Directors. We also have established a professional Communications function for greater community visibility, as well as an Alumnae Relations office to strengthen the ties that our graduates develop in their ND journey. Our school received the highest accreditation status awarded through the WASC process, evidencing the strong advancements we have made in both our academic and business functions. I believe that Notre Dame is now ready to plan and act boldly to become a recognized partner with our downtown community.

 

The Notre Dame experience creates a community that calls forth the best from each of its members, and I have been blessed to have been part of it. As I leave Notre Dame to begin the next phase of my life, I carry warm reflections and profound gratitude. The song Unwritten has become a part of numerous school events and celebrations these past two years and it speaks to my feelings with simplicity and grace: “I’ve been changed.”