Faculty & Administration

Faculty and Administration

B.A., Literature, B.A. Anthropology, Biola University; M.A, Early Christian Studies, University of Notre Dame;  Ph.D., Theology, University of Notre Dame

I am delighted to help students see the world with new eyes, and grow in their capacity to do hard things, as we study and enjoy the beautiful Latin language together.

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B.A., Classical Philology, University of Dallas; Ph.D., Literature, University of Notre Dame

I am excited to collaborate with long-time friends at STMA. I am excited about being involved in my children’s lives. And I am excited about making things like Latin and literature seem magical to young students who desperately need deep loves in this shallow world.

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B.S., Elementary Education, Purdue University Fort Wayne

I’m excited to work in a school that appreciates the beautiful traditions of our Faith and strives to do all for the Glory of God and the salvation of the young souls entrusted to our care.  The Faith is seamlessly woven into the school activities, our school culture, and all subject areas.  Having worked for over four years in Catholic Schools, I’ve found that teaching the Catholic Faith brings the most joy and fulfillment.  I’m thrilled to be teaching Kindergarteners academic skills, instilling a joy of learning, encouraging growth in holiness, and doing so all through the lens of our Catholic Faith and Tradition.

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B.A. Theology, Franciscan University of Steubenville; J.D., Ave Maria School of Law 

I love learning and have developed a deep interest in Catholic education which aims to lead the whole person on the pathways of truth, goodness, and beauty towards God. I hope to contribute to the mission of St. Thomas More Academy where I can help cultivate a sense of wonder, reverence, and joy in response to the love of Our Lord, who, as Gerard Manley Hopkins observed, “plays in ten thousand spaces.”

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B.A., Art Education, Concordia University

I am choosing to teach at St. Thomas More Academy because STMA recognizes that the fine arts are imperative for the development of the whole person. STMA’s Art and Drama curriculum, which I am helping to create, will give students an understanding of the fine arts as skills to be cultivated, rather than innate talents.  I also believe that all people, especially children, are in great need of good stories and images of beauty. Children today are bombarded by messages and stories that show a world marked by despair and insanity in which they have no agency. It is my mission to deliver a message of hope in my classroom by showing that the created world is beautiful, and that my students are called to be co-creators with the Divine Creator.

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B.A., Liberal Arts, Wyoming Catholic College 
Children have a unique ability to wonder, and it is important that they are given the opportunity to wonder at beautiful things. This is why I want to teach math and science at STMA – to provide children with the gift of wondering at the beauty of God’s creation.    

B.A., Liberal Arts, Wyoming Catholic College

I was drawn to STMA because I wanted to share the invaluable gift that my own education has given to me: an appreciation for God and His beauty in spirit, mind, and body. STMA‘s education inspires students to pursue our Lord in all that is Good and True. I believe that there is no profession more important than helping young students to recognize and love what is beautiful, encourage them in the joy of learning, and challenge their minds and imaginations. I am thrilled to be a part of STMA‘s team and to provide children with this gift. 

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A.B. Philosophy, summa cum laude, Princeton University
Growing up, I did not have the benefit of a formal classical education–it was something I had to discover and create for myself. Through God’s grace, my search for timeless truths ultimately led me both to the study of philosophy, and to a full embrace of the calling given to me at baptism. It was these truths that I sought to pass on to my own children through homeschooling, but I longed for community, and for a greater rigor and structure in my children’s education than I was able to provide. Saint Thomas More Academy has truly been a blessing for my children, but also for me personally. I have worn many hats at STMA (founding board member, parent, club leader, event planner), but this year I’m excited to be focusing my efforts on sharing my love of classical languages by my work teaching Ancient Greek to our sixth and seventh grade students.

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B.A. Hillsdale College, M.E. University of Dallas

Growing up, I devoured books. (Literally, in the case of Pat the Bunny). Fortunately, my parents are both Catholic and classically inclined, so my diet was excellent and formed me to love the faith and learning so much that still cannot leave school! I have been teaching for over a decade, most recently at a Charter school, and I am so excited to get back to Catholic education where I can directly order my classes toward God. 

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B.A., Political Science, Eastern Michigan University; Teaching Certificate, Indiana University South Bend

I am very excited and grateful for this opportunity to teach at STMA because it is an opportunity to share in wonder and joy with others.  No education is a true and complete education if it does not get at the nature of things and their relationship with eternity. As students spend time at STMA, they will be habituated in heart, soul, and mind to see the beauty, truth, and goodness in all things. As they grow in wonder and virtue, they, like St. Thomas More and all the other saints, will understand who they are, what things are, and why it matters in the context of all eternity. It is an honor to be a part of this adventure, and I look forward to all the good that will come!

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B.A., Program of Liberal Studies, University of Notre Dame; M.Ed., University of Notre Dame

Education, to quote Blessed Basil Moreau, is the art of helping young people to completeness. I believe that a Catholic Classical education is an incredible way to bring students — and an entire community — closer to Christ while pursuing truth, goodness, and excellence. I am a product of many years of Catholic education — which was often set within a classical framework — and therefore I wholeheartedly believe in the mission and vision of this school. I am not only excited for all the growth and learning that will take place during the school day, but also for the growth and learning that will take place after school as we begin our sports programs this year! 

B.S., Elementary Education, Theology Minor, Franciscan University of Steubenville

I am excited to teach at STMA and join its mission of “forming children in truth, wisdom, and authentic freedom.” Strengthened by the Sacraments, I am passionate about equipping my students to serve God and neighbor as mature, thoughtful individuals in the modern world who can be sent out on a mission to transform our world and build up God’s Kingdom on Earth. Education should form the whole person, body, mind, and soul, and I believe STMA is forming students to become the saints we are called to be. St. Edith Stein said “the most effective educational method is not the word of instruction but the living example without which all words remain useless.” I am so grateful to be part of a community of learners that lives this where faculty, staff and students are striving for academic excellence and personal holiness through discovering the truth, goodness and beauty of God’s world.

B.A., Yale University; Ph.D., Theology, University of Notre Dame

 I am a grateful beneficiary of a K-12 Catholic classical education at Aquinas Academy of Pittsburgh, and I want my children, and the children of South Bend, to receive what I received: a school centered around daily Mass; a familial culture in which learning is easy and friendships can flourish; inspirational teachers who strive for excellence in their work and love their subjects and their students; and a classical curriculum that forms students’ minds to see reality clearly, their hearts to love goodness, and their souls to believe, hope, and love God.  A happy life involves the daily pursuit of wisdom, and I am so grateful to share this pursuit with the whole community at STMA, and help hand down one of the great treasures of the Church, Catholic classical education, to the next generation. 
B.A., History, Hillsdale College; MTS, History of Christianity, University of Notre Dame

To a world which fears that ephemerality and meaninglessness lie at the root of all things, the Catholic Church proposes an alternative: that God sustains created reality, has entered into it in the person of Jesus Christ, and now works through it to bring us into relationship with Him. Catholic education does young people a disservice if it offers them anything less than a vision of this alternative in all its glory and challenge. This requires not only thoughtful and compassionate intellectual work, but also the personal witness of a community and a culture that draw their strength from the graced rhythms of the Church’s sacramental and liturgical life. I am excited to participate in this life alongside my students and colleagues at St. Thomas More, sharpening our vision to more fully see that “all the world is shining around us, and love is smiling through all things,” and equipping us together to witness to our hope to those who know it not.

B.A., Music, Physics, and Philosophy, University of Notre Dame

God created the world in beauty, order, and wisdom, and mathematics is a very powerful way of coming to understand and appreciate this reality.  Not only can mathematics be used to describe the order in the physical universe, but there is a beauty and order to the workings of mathematics itself.  Ironically, there often seems to be a fear that a rigorous understanding of the maths and sciences is threatened by an adherence to faith in a higher reason or Creator.  Much to the contrary, mathematics makes it quite evident that our minds and our universe operate in a reality characterized by a deep order and wisdom.  I am excited to teach mathematics at St. Thomas More Academy so that, by helping students to understand the order and beauty of mathematics, they may more readily perceive and appreciate the order and beauty in the world around them.

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B.A., Psychology, Ave Maria University

I am choosing STMA because I want to form students in the richness and beauty of both the Catholic faith and the classical liberal arts. Students and faculty will encounter God in everything we do at STMA: academics, relationships, lunch, recess, and all aspects of the school community. I am excited to be a part of something far greater than myself, and have the privilege of giving young minds the tools to think well and love God in their ordinary lives.

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B.A., Music & Program of Liberal Studies, University of Notre Dame

I’m thrilled to be a part of an educational community that deeply understands the whole human person – heart, mind, body, and soul – and is committed to forming the saints of today. STMA’s classical curriculum fosters children’s innate curiosity and appreciation of the beautiful, which I believe is the most powerful way of coming to love the Truth and will inspire them to pursue Christ in every endeavor, even after their time here.

B.A., Political Science, University of Notre Dame

I am thrilled to be working at St. Thomas More Academy in the office where I get to know so many of the children at school. My family and I moved to South Bend in the summer of 2020. My husband, Jim, and I met at Notre Dame as undergraduates many, many years ago. When he was given the opportunity to return as a faculty member, we were very excited to be a part of the Notre Dame community again. We had no idea what a vibrant and welcoming Catholic community we would find when we moved back. I am blessed that my little “two day a week volunteer” position ended up turning into full time office work! It is a privilege to meet all the children and have a small part in their school day. 

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Colonel, USAF, Retired
B.S. Engineering Mechanics and Applied Mathematics, USAF Academy; M.S. Metallurgical Engineering, University of Illinois/Urbana-Champaign; M.Ed. Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics, and Assessment, University of Illinois-Chicago
 
G.K. Chesterton says:  “Now secular education means that everybody shall make a point of looking down at the pavement, lest by some fatal chance somebody should look up at the lamp.”  I am proud to be teaching a classical, Catholic school like St. Thomas More Academy because we are very interested in helping our students see the true reality of what they are learning in the light and grace of Him who is all Truth, Jesus Christ.

B.A. Business, Saint Anselm College; M.A. Education, University of Notre Dame; M.A. Educational Leadership, DePaul University; M.B.A, University of Notre Dame

I have worked in Catholic education for over 15 years in various roles as a teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, and consultant, and I could not be more excited to be the Head of School at STMA.  The deep faith and learning here are second to none.  I am grateful to be at a school that is focused on both faith and reason.

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B.A.Philosophy, Antioch College 1991; Ph.D. Philosophy, University of Iowa 2003

I’ve chosen to teach at Saint Thomas More Academy because I’m always going to be a teacher one way or another and because I’m convinced of the primacy of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, of the world’s enchantment by God’s presence, of classical Christian education and the Catholic intellectual tradition, and of the dogmas of the Roman Catholic Church. I’m also convinced a vibrant Catholic community belongs at the center of our children’s moral and spiritual development, so I mean to give what I can to that.

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B.A., St. Mary’s College of Maryland;  M.A. in Secondary Teaching with Concentrations in Visual Arts and credits towards Curriculum and Instruction in Unified Arts. 

In recent years, I became an Art Teacher/Forensics Speech Coach/Dance teacher for St. Jude Catholic School in the Diocese; and prior to that, I was a Unified Arts Teacher in a Catholic school in Vermont.  Some examples of my teaching environments in addition to traditional classrooms of Catholic schools have been in pine forests and mountains of Vermont, the slums and rural fields of the Philippines, and box theatres in Washington DC.  My theatre arts background includes storytelling theatre, performance art, puppetry, and some classical traditional plays.  My educational theatre background consists of teaching workshops that integrate cross-curricular with any subject matter – including social studies and history, classic literature, and biblical stories.

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I am delighted to play a role in the formation and education of the pupils at St. Thomas More Academy. I love sharing my enthusiasm for art and architecture with active young minds and seeing their creativity unleashed. To do these things within a community where our Christian Faith is at the core of our efforts as teachers and parents makes it all the more exciting and rewarding! 

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B.A., Theology & Communications, Franciscan University of Steubenville

Children are the future of our Church and the world, and I believe a Catholic, classical education is the best education we can offer them. I am honored to be able to help the teachers at STMA form children in mind, body and soul.

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BA, English and Vocal Performance, University of Notre Dame
MEd, Curriculum and Instruction, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign


The authentically Catholic curriculum is what brings me to St. Thomas
More Academy.  And, as a music teacher, one of my singular joys is
teaching the tenets of our faith through the rich musical tradition of
our Church.  What better way to do that than at daily mass and almost
daily music classes at a truly Catholic school?  As an added benefit,
STMA is a classical school, a method I firmly believe in.  I am
excited to once again teach in a Catholic classical setting!

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​B.A. University of Notre Dame; M.A. Theology, University of Notre Dame Echo Teaching Theology Program
​
​”That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life…was made manifest…[and] we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete” (1 John 1:1-2a, 3b-4).
​St. John’s testimony to the Light, and we as children of Light, has influenced me greatly in my prayer, work, and studies, to the point that I’ve seen God’s lead in bringing me among the lilies of little ones – students, staff, and parents! – here at St. Thomas More, in tasting and seeing in our concrete reality how God comes to us, and why. I love walking with students across disciplines and along hallways, and look forward to being surprised by joy through salvation history unfolding.

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B.A., Music, Biochemistry, Ave Maria University 
 
In the words of Saint John Paul II, “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.” This is why I am excited to be a part of a school like STMA, which forms students both in the riches of the classical liberal arts and in the saving truths of the Catholic faith. One of the seven liberal arts is music, which forms our passions, feeds our souls, and helps us develop our sense for the beautiful. Sacred music has always been the natural expression of a soul praising its God. I am very excited to join in STMA’s mission by forming students in the art of music, by fostering community and friendships in singing together, and by helping students draw closer to Christ through the riches of the Church’s musical tradition. 

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B.A. University of Notre Dame, Architecture

I am excited to join the mission of STMA in teaching our children to appreciate the beauty of God’s artful creation. I come from a classical background in architecture & art with a B Arch from the University of Notre Dame. Paired with my love for art and history I will strive to help the middle school students form an understanding and appreciation for classical art and studio collaboration. 

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B.A. History, University of Central Arkansas;  Master of Arts in Teaching, University of Central Arkansas; Master of Classics ,University of Dallas (anticipated)

I am very thankful for the opportunity to teach at STMA where I get to daily seek Christ, who lies hidden in all of the good, true and beautiful things that are studied at STMA, who animates the students and faculty of STMA, and who is substantially present in the Eucharist, the pinnacle of STMA’s day. I look forward to sharing my gifts and talents as a teacher to help further the mission of STMA for years to come!

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