St. Jude Catholic School Distinguished
Alumni Award

The Board of St. Jude Catholic School has named Mary Kay Dance as its inaugural recipient of the National Catholic Educational Association Distinguished Graduate Award.

According to the NCEA’s website, this distinction honors “graduates of Catholic elementary or middle schools who have made a contribution to American life and/or the Catholic Church. The recipient must have graduated from the Catholic school at least ten years prior to presenting the award.” Nominations were solicited from parishioners and school families. The board was unanimous in its recommendation of Mrs. Dance.

“We wanted to find a way to highlight the contributions of people who are raised in our local Catholic schools and highlight the talent that exists in this diocese,” said principal Stephen Donndelinger. “Saint Jude is blessed that its history is still within the living memory of our parishioners, employees, and alumni. These people have both helped to build the school and been built up by it.” 

Mary Kay Dance began her career as a student at St. Jude. She recalls her largest class of 44 students (16 girls and 28 boys), attending morning Mass twice a week—just like students do today, eating Tuesday hot dog lunches and in those days, riding to school with South Bend Community School Corporation busses.

She recalls the Sisters of St. Joseph/3rd Order of St. Francis and Mrs. Irene Pilarski, the first Kindergarten teacher. Mary Kay remembers being a part of the Kindergarten Christmas pageant, where she was an angel. One particular teacher taught her a bit of wisdom that has become the cornerstones of her personal philosophy: “Always look for the positive, no matter how bad things seem. God always gives you something to work with and make good.”

Mary Kay’s parents were very involved in the parish and close to the school’s first pastor, Fr. Szot, who presented her with one of two $100 scholarships to Marian High School, which was a significant part of the $120 annual tuition at that time.

Following her graduation with a teaching degree from IUSB, Dance returned to St. Jude as a 3rd Grade, and later, science teacher. It was substantially different because the school was then staffed by lay, rather than religious faculty. The principal Margaret VanderGracht was also a lay person (by that time). Standards were a bit different in those days, as Mary Kay recalls that her first teaching evaluation was written on a piece of scrap paper. She found it interesting to work alongside her former teachers—such as Kay Lawecki (Social Studies), Shirley Trevino (2nd), and Irene Pilarski, but found it hard to call them by their first names.  A bit later on, Dance became a St. Jude parent as well.  During the time that her son Ben, attended the school from Kindergarten through 8th Grade, she also served on the St. Jude School Board for four years.   

After Dance’s 11 years at St. Jude, she moved into a religion position at Marian High School, where she has now served 18 years, the last decade as the Director of Admissions and Public Relations. Her statement about the role of a Catholic education in her life speaks for itself:

“I am the product of Catholic education, K-12, and I have taught in Catholic schools for 31 years. I am convinced that Catholic education is high quality and continues to grow and improve. Catholic schools and their teachers are successful because they teach gospel values, not just subjects. Only these values fill the desire for God that is written on the human heart and lead to a strong sense of community or family atmosphere in the Catholic schools. Everyone—parents, administrators, teachers, support staff, and students—works together to achieve common goals, which creates a climate conducive to student learning and success.”

Like many working mothers, Dance says her greatest challenge has been trying to keep a balance between faith, family, and her profession. “Teaching is my vocation, not my job. I teach for the glory of God and for the students who want to learn as well as those who have yet to realize their desire to learn.” Her faith has helped her find balance in life. Mary Kay was taught to stay close to God in daily prayer and she makes sure that is part of her schedule.

Outgoing board president Charles Bergman notes that “Mary Kay’s accomplishments speak volumes about the quality of education and early preparation that St. Jude School provides to encourage life-long learning, and we are proud to see the vision of the school perpetuate through such a talented and faith-filled alumna.”

The award was presented during the St. Jude 8th Grade graduation ceremony, the evening of Tuesday June 3, 2008. Following her introduction and presentation with a certificate and medal, Mary Kay addressed the graduating 8th grade students on the subject of faith in God: “Prayer needs to be an important part of your daily experience.  You offer all your day’s joys, works, and sufferings to God,” she said.  Dance encouraged the graduates to build strong, positive relationships with people and “make sure you look for the positive in situations and in people, and you will find God there.”

For more information on Mary Kay Dance and the Distinguished Alumni Award, visit  http://www.stjudeschool.net/alumni/distinguished.html. For more information about St. Jude School, academics, programs and events, please visit www.stjudeschool.net.  

Announced by Stephen Donndelinger, principal of St. Jude, May 30, 2008

 

Home Page
Admissions ~ Calendar ~ Campus Ministry ~ Faculty/Staff ~ Directory
 Alumni ~ Guidance ~ Athletics ~ CoCurricular

  Last Updated: May 30, 2008
 Contact Webmaster
for Questions, Comments, or Suggestions