ACE Advocates News

Since its founding, ACE has graduated nearly 2,000 teachers and leaders. These teachers and leaders have continued to support and transform Catholic education, both directly and indirectly, by living out a commitment to community, spirituality, and professionalism. In an era obsessed with measurement, it is both tempting and worthwhile to quantify the successes and contributions of our graduates. This post, one in a series of stories from our graduates, is an attempt to capture that which numbers sometimes fail to tell: the nuances and nitty gritty details of moments—sometimes small, sometimes large—through which the mission of ACE continues in the everyday lives of its graduates.

Brian Hayes watched President Bush’s announcement of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003, pondering and worrying about how he could discuss the news with students in his history class the next day. He had thousands of facts and details to draw on; perhaps he would talk about the events that precipitated this announcement, the cries for diplomacy that some thought were ignored, the evidence that led to the invasion, or the potential that this decision had to destabilize the region.  

The obvious trappings that signify schooling in Kisumu, Kenya, are absent here: There are no uniforms, no large, hand-painted signs, and very few students. The outside of the school is a concrete, permanent structure and has been painted and decorated by students...

The van wound up and down over mountain passes, but no mountains could be seen in the dark. National Forest and “chain-up” signs signaled that this route was rugged and remote, as Michael and his colleagues traversed from Boise to northern Idaho. “Maybe it was a good thing you were driving in the dark,” he remembers a principal telling him the next day. “It’s a long way down off of some of those roads.” Over the 1,000-plus mile road trip, Michael O’Connor couldn’t help but notice a landscape quite different from the one he had left in Boston.

Since its founding, ACE has graduated nearly 2,000 teachers and leaders. These teachers and leaders have continued to support and transform Catholic education, both directly and indirectly, by living out a commitment to community, spirituality, and professionalism. In an era obsessed with measurement, it is both tempting and worthwhile to quantify the successes and contributions of our graduates. This post, the first in a series of stories from our graduates, is an attempt to capture that which numbers sometimes fail to tell: the nuances and nitty gritty details of moments—sometimes small, sometimes large—through which the mission of ACE continues in the everyday lives of its graduates. This first story explores ACE Teaching Fellows alumnus Alec Torigian’s response to the call to return to teaching.