Sinsinawa
Spectrum
A Congregation News Magazine
Sister Monice Enjoys Ministry at Learning Center
by Monice Kavanaugh, OP
From left: Srs. Marilyn Derr and Monice Kavanaugh
This letter from one of our students, a woman who was being honored at a “Night of 1,000 Stars” literacy event last spring, says much about the ministry in which I am involved and even more about the reasons I both value and enjoy it. Gabriela wrote the following to her four young daughters:
I’m writing this letter to let you know how important learning is in my life. And, I am hoping that it will be important in your life, too.
There are many reasons why I decided to come back to school at The Learning Center. But the main reason was you and my parents. My mother―your grandmother―had three boys, and I was the only girl. But unfortunately my three brothers are now gone. They passed away violently. So I am the only one your grandparents have left. I see how my parents each day try to be strong in life so that I won’t suffer as well. They know how close I was to my brothers.
I have always dreamed of being in the medical field. As a child I remember playing with things that a doctor uses―like band-aids, cotton balls, and bandages. To this day I still have a lot of interest in being a medical assistant, and that is the career I plan to pursue as soon as I get my GED. I see myself as being successful and happy in that field. I would love to know that you are proud of me for finishing my education, even though at times the journey seems difficult.
Also, I hope that you see that it can be a challenge to finish your education when you are older. It’s never too late to learn, but I hope that you choose to stay in school and finish the right way.
Love, Mommy
My admiration for our students is immense, as is the strength of my belief that the mission of the Sinsinawa Dominicans to preach and teach the Gospel is lived out here at The Learning Center. I believe that when we preach justice by doing justice, we offer authentic ministry, and that when we offer the respect of a quality education to adults on the west side of Chicago, we offer a liberating journey to personal and educational maturity.
Unlike Gabriela, as a child I moved quickly beyond my flirtation with a medical career. Teaching and learning came naturally, and a commitment to justice just as naturally. My family valued all three. So do the Sinsinawa Dominicans. When I encountered the Sisters at Trinity High School, I recognized that my desire to serve people had found a home.
It is the same home I still find here. In company with Marilyn Derr [OP] and Marie Condon [OP], and all who staff and support The Learning Center, I am able to realize my hope of being of increasingly greater service to the poor. Together we make concrete the Sinsinawa goal of participating in the building of a holy and just society.