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When it comes to Catholic education, Susan Hendricks values history.

She values her own winding path to Catholic schools. One of seven children, she was raised in the Catholic faith. Her parents' modeling, she says, "influences me daily with my devotion to the Church and Catholic education." Because her father's Army career required multiple moves, however, only two of the eight schools she attended were Catholic. Later the young activist became a teacher and worked for several years in San Francisco's Mission District. Then she re-located to Maui and, she says, "Divine intervention guided me to a hidden jewel—Sacred Heart School of Lahaina—where I am honored to be principal."

The 150-yr-old school she now serves was founded by the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts and later run by the Sisters of St. Francis. And here Susan's appreciation for history truly shines: "Standing on the shoulders of these consecrated giants and all of the everyday heroes that have gone before us is a gift of grace. We accept the mantel of duty to continue the legacy of preparing ourselves and our school community for salvation."

Now a participant in the Remick Leadership Program, Susan is devoted, "heart and mind to Catholic education." In her studies with the program, she has learned about the Church's strong foundation of support for Catholic schools. And, she says, "I am driven to share this history with my school community."

"I have learned that we do nothing alone, and that the relationships built in community of like-minded souls is a conspiracy of love, truth and action. The academic rigor and spiritual support in the ACE program has lifted my vision of Catholic education to a higher level of personal gratitude and political/social acumen. I am proud to be an agent of change in the movement of improving Catholic education today."

To learn more about the Remick Leadership Program, click here.

This spring, Rachel Hamilton said yes. "Yes" to the ACE Teaching Fellows program, and "yes" to God.

The recent Notre Dame graduate just started her first summer as a teacher in ACE Teaching Fellows. And she speaks eloquently about how two weeks' experience in the program is already beginning to shape her.

"If there is one thing that stands out to me...it is the idea of 'saying yes.' This is not simply because we hear the ACE faculty and staff repeatedly saying 'Thank you for saying yes to ACE.' It is more than that. It is about agency. It is about affirmation.

We are not thanked for 'accepting' a place in ACE, and I think that distinction is crucial. A simple acceptance is passive; saying yes is active. By saying yes we have committed to continue saying yes for the next two years: to our professors, to our supervisors, to the stresses of daily life, to our students, and to God. Saying yes means that we are actively choosing to give of ourselves over the next two years to serve the needs of our nation's children, and that this choice is a response to our calling manifested through our gifts, talents, and virtues."

I know the next two years will be filled with obstacles and moments of great stress. The ACE staff has been honest about that the entire time. Yet, hopefully, this continued affirmation of our own agency in choosing to serve and choosing to give and choosing to follow God's call will sustain us as we embark on our teaching journeys.

Abby Salazar (ACE 16) has long valued the connection of faith and learning.

As a young Catholic growing up in Lake Jackson, Texas, she attended public schools—schools she loved and in which she was academically challenged and morally formed, but which left her spiritually hungry. "I loved my Catholic faith and was fascinated by the Catholic Church. And I craved learning more."

So she attended the University of Notre Dame and, in her first year, took a class that explored Catholic Social Teaching through community service. She tutored at the local juvenile correctional center, a life-changing experience that not only ignited her desire to serve the under-served through teaching, but also deepened her appreciation for the way faith and learning entwine. It was a particular delight for her, then, when she later became part of the ACE Teaching Fellows program and realized, she says, "that I could live Catholic Social Teaching each day in my own classroom."

The freedom to directly link faith with learning was a great encouragement to her as a Catholic teacher. "I loved sharing the Eucharist with my students at school mass. I loved when our middle school science lesson curved into a college-worthy theological discussion led by my kids. I loved starting parent-teacher conferences with prayer."

To Abby, this is what sets Catholic schools apart. "I want all children to get a great education no matter what," says the small woman with the big heart. "And Catholic schools can offer that. Catholic schools especially support those who sometimes fly under the radar in other places. They can give kids the education they deserve, the love and attention they crave—and the faith formation they need!"

Abby Salazar is an assistant director of ACE Teaching Fellows.
To learn more about the program, click here.