6 CORDECHO SPIRIT. MIND. BODY. AN INTERVIEW WITH Our Sisters in Service Sister Connie Sr. Connie Marlowe has done a lot at SHA. From Assistant Principal to teacher to Coordinator of Administrative Services, she has served the students and faculty at SHA faithfully for 41 years. While she has enjoyed all of her roles, she found teaching to be the most fulfilling. It was through teaching that she developed friendships with students that continue today, including many who now count Sr. Connie as a colleague. The sense of family that permeates SHA is what keeps Sr. Connie coming back day after day and year after year. People change, and students come and go, but the sisterhood, support, and family are always present. That’s the real essence of SHA for Sr. Connie. How have students changed, and how have they stayed the same? Mostly the girls have stayed the same. They are outspoken, deliberate, persuasive, and have their own ideas. However, in the past few years, the girls have been more accepting of their own frailty and more willing to seek the help they need to succeed at every level of their life. What’s your hope for SHA’s future? We’ve been blessed with excellent leadership that is grounded in Franciscan values, women-centered, and forward-thinking. I hope that SHA always has a strong leader to ensure the legacy of the Sisters and that the Franciscan values remain embedded in the identity and mission of the school. Sister Pat Sr. Pat’s deep love of SHA is evidenced in her long and varied involvement. Her journey at SHA began in 1959 as she entered the school as a freshwoman, and that journey has yet to conclude. Through the years she has served as a teacher, board president, family member, loyal alumna, and now as the Mission Integration Minister. She is thrilled that she is able to continue to be engaged in the community and present in the building. For Sr. Pat, the value of SHA is its conscious effort to infuse the legacy of the Sisters and the Franciscan values in everything we do. Where do you see yourself in today’s students? In the students pushing the boundaries on the uniform. The boundaries were different – jumper to the knees instead of sweatpants under the skirt – but the adolescent need to push those boundaries remains the same. And so does the need for adults to hold to those boundaries in a loving way. How have students changed, and how have they stayed the same? I was on the cusp of women discovering they could have a career as something other than a teacher, nurse, or secretary. We were looking at colleges and careers that were out of reach for the women a few years ahead of us. Today’s young women take for granted that they can do and be anything they want. When I was in school, women had a much more limited view of their potential and the possibilities of their future. What’s your hope for SHA’s future? That SHA will always be a community of persons who prepare young women academically, spiritually, and personally within the context of Franciscan values.
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