Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
January 23, 2002
Three educators to be recognized for 30 years service to archdiocese
Mary Gold, Maureen Broy, Sister Janet Wehmhoff, S.C., to be honored Feb. 1
By Alwen Bledsoe
Accolades will greet three of the Archdiocese of Denver's most experienced educators when they attend the Catholic Educators' Appreciation Banquet Feb. 1. Together Mary Gold, Maureen Broy and Sister Janet Marie Wehmhoff, S.C., represent 90 years of service to the archdiocese.
Many educators will be honored for their years of educating in the archdiocese, but Gold, Broy and Sister Wehmhoff, each with 30 years to her name, hold this year's record for longevity.
"They're all excellent educators," said Betsy Boyle, superintendent and secretary for Catholic schools.
Boyle knows all three personally and had only effusive praise for them.
"Sister Janet and Maureen Boyd are two of the finest Catholic educators I've ever had the privilege of knowing," she said. "They're both very committed to not only Catholic schools, but to the kids and their families and to teaching the whole child.
"And Mary has been a dedicated principal for over 20 years and has made such a contribution not only to Guardian Angels, but to the whole school system," she continued. "A significant reason Guardian Angels has been able to open and flourish is Mary's leadership."
Gold is principal at Guardian Angels where she began her teaching career as a first-grade teacher. At Loyola, Sister Wehmhoff teaches religious education to kindergarten through fourth grade as well as teaching reading to children with learning disabilities. Maureen Broy teaches fourth grade at Our Lady of Lourdes.
"I just think all of these woman are the stuff of which solid Catholic schools are made," Boyle said. "It's them and women and men like them that make our school system as strong as it is. I'm proud to be a part of them."
Maureen Broy
Maureen Broy, a fourth-grade teacher at Our Lady of Lourdes, was once upon a time inspired by her own fourth-grade teacher. Now she has 30 years of teaching in the Archdiocese of Denver to her name.
Reminiscing over her own school girl days, she said she always loved learning and can't remember a time when she didn't know how to read.
"What drew me to teaching was how much I enjoyed going to school," she said, later adding, "I just am a school person I think."
Broy began her teaching career in Houston in 1960 and has also taught in Jefferson County and Germany with the Department of Defense schools. She began teaching at Our Lady of Lourdes 25 years ago.
"It's very satisfying," Broy said of her long teaching career. "It's particularly satisfying to see people who may struggle with something and then that light comes on and they get it. It's a wonderful experience."
And one that happens more often than not, said Boyle.
"Her commitment to excellence in the classroom rubs off on her kids," Boyle said. "You can see their commitment to meeting her expectations. You can see that when you walk in the classroom. They're all about meeting her expectation, all about learning, they're very excited about it."
Broy said one principle that guides her teaching is the truth behind the phrase "self-fulfilling prophecy."
"I believe that if you challenge a child to do his or her best, the child will then rise to the challenge," Broy explained. "I've seen it very often. If you expect less than a child's best then a child will probably give you less than his or her best."
Even with her many years of teaching, each class still manages to find its own particular niche in her heart.
"There's a lot that's very similar in those years, yet each class is unique, each class is special" she said.
Topping her list of highlights are story time, creative writing and the yearly bookbinding parties that bring together the class' creative writing and photographs.
And what has kept her going for all these years?
"It's the Lourdes community," Broy said, later adding, "Many times it feels like a home away from home."
It's a little embarrassing, she confided, to be honored for 30 years of teaching when all sorts of people are teaching every day whether they've had one year of experience or many.
Nonetheless, the honor represents a long and fulfilling career.
"It's been a very satisfying career," Broy said. "It still continues to be. I don't plan on retiring just yet."
Mary Gold
Mary Gold has spent her entire career in education at Guardian Angels. She started teaching first grade there 30 years ago. She became principal of the school six years later.
"I just can't imagine working somewhere where there aren't kids in need," she said.
Though she officially traded in teaching for administration when she became principal, "You never stop teaching," Gold said. Whether it's substitute teaching or working with parents, her teaching skills still make daily appearances.
What has kept and still keeps the job interesting is the immense diversity each day brings, Gold said.
"It's very hard work, but it's very satisfying, and it's never the same" she explained. "So what I enjoy most is that you can never be bored. When you work with people and their journeys, no one's is the same."
Gold said her faith has played a strong role in sustaining her in her work.
"There's a lot of work you're going to be doing, and you're that instrument to do good work," she said. "You're doing God's work. It's through you."
Gold is a Denver native, and a native of Catholic schools. She attended Saint James School and then Machebeuf High School before going on to University of Northern Colorado and finally to University of Denver for her masters. She grew up in a family of educators and business people, Gold said.
As principal, Gold added, "I get the best of both worlds."
Boyle said that Gold is not content with settling into a pattern of administrating, but is always bringing her energy and skill to the school and the job.
"She's an extremely creative administrator, and I just think it's her ability to continually renew the school that has made it a viable and stable Catholic school for our system," Boyle said. "She's always looking at new and innovative ways to do things with instruction and administration in the building."
Asked the highlights of her career, Gold said, "Oh, there's too many."
But the growth of the school certainly makes it onto the list. "We've just grown and grown with more and more angels to fill the space," she said.
Sister Janet Wehmhoff, S.C.
Sister Janet Marie Wehmhoff, S.C., began teaching in the 1950s, but her conversation about teaching reveals no iota of burn-out. In fact, she calls teaching a "great gift."
Though this is her 30th year of teaching in the Archdiocese of Denver, it isn't the only anniversary Sister Wehmhoff's celebrating this year. It is also her 50th year in the religious life.
Born in Cincinnati, Sister Wehmhoff came to Colorado after finishing her novitiate, and has been here ever since, she said. Working with children from Pueblo to Trinidad to Denver has made up the 50 years since then. The last 30 have found her at Loyola in Denver where she currently teaches reading to children with learning disabilities and teaches religion to students in grades kindergarten through fourth.
But Jesus is not confined to the religious education classroom for this teacher.
"I consider it a great gift to be able to put Christ in their lives and give them the presence of Jesus," Sister Wehmhoff said of her students.
Asked what sustains and guides her teaching career, she replies, "the Lord, the love of the Lord."
And despite her many years of experience, she doesn't list dramatic events as the highlights of her career. Instead it's the everyday business of working with children and being challenged by their diverse personalities and learning struggles.
And her greatest triumphs?
"Seeing how far the children progress, especially by the middle of the year or the end of the year, to see how their little minds work," she said. "And, of course, the highlight of my teaching is giving them the knowledge and love of Jesus in their lives."
The children's progress in Sister Wehmhoff's classroom is no coincidence, according to Boyle.
"She's always there for everybody, always willing to help," Boyle said. "She has such a comforting presence and is such a great educator. In her presence kids can't help but learn. I've watched her teach kids to read that people thought would never read."
When Sister Wehmhoff is asked what being honored for 30 years of teaching means to her, she exhibits a seemingly characteristic humility. "I consider it a privilege just being able to be a teacher in the Catholic schools, and knowing that God has given me the gift of being a teacher," she said. "Not everyone can be a teacher."
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