The inaugural class of Duc In Altum Fellowships welcomes ten inspiring candidates. This column profiles three of the ten current participants. In the application process, candidates were asked what they expect to receive from the Fellowship, and what they expect to give through this experience.
Grover Green
In addition to his roles at St. Thomas High School and a father of four, Grover Green recently added “Doctor” to his title, completing his Doctor of Education in May. At St. Thomas High School in Houston, Texas, he is a Teacher, the Head of House System, and Assistant Director of Campus Ministry–Retreat Coordinator.
Green has been engaged in a culture-change project on St. Thomas’ campus for four years including designing and implementing a House System and restructuring the campus ministry program as well as formulating a leadership program. He is passionate about increasing the school’s Catholic identity and charism and wants to train and form the lay staff and faculty to be ministers of that inculturation. His fellowship focus will be the implementation of an advisory program involving the entire school including all faculty, staff, and students in the 2021-2022 school year.
Assisting fellow cohort members in their own projects, and increasing awareness of DIA resources and encouraging participation in the Summit are some of Green’s other objectives of participating as a DIA Fellow.
Maura Strickland
As Coordinator of Faith Formation at Hayden Catholic High School in Topeka, Kansas, Maura Strickland is an administrator charged with preserving the Catholic identity of the archdiocesan high school.
Shifting the culture of a 100 year old school has its challenges. Hayden Catholic is the only Catholic high school in the capital city of Kansas and so much of the community has a stake in its success. She has a keen interest in the history and culture of the school and area, and how that affects the decisions made for the good of the school. In her role as an administrator, she’s learned about the subtleties of leadership, decision making, building relationships and the fortitude of hard conversations. She appreciates the opportunity to receive the wisdom to infuse Catholic culture at Hayden from the Fellows cohort, and hopes to learn from their decisions about how to shift a culture.
“I hope to have a place in decisions for the formation and education of students for years to come. I hope to build the prestige of the DIA Schools Collaborative throughout my career,” Strickland stated.
John Angelle
Dean of Student Life in the Middle School and Middle School Social Studies Teacher are John Angelle’s roles at Holy Spirit Preparatory School in Atlanta, Georgia.
Through the fellowship, Angelle is exploring innovative ways that schools/educators are promoting the faith among their students and wider school community, and gaining insights into effective Catholic leadership from other experienced Catholic educational leaders. “I also hope to deepen my faith journey, to learn and to grow, through this experience,” Angelle said.
Angelle expressed the intent to share experiences to help others succeed, and to share ideas and concepts with Holy Spirit Prep students and the community through this opportunity with DIA.
Among his many accomplishments, Angelle was recently recognized with two honors by Holy Spirit Prep:
- In 2018, the Cura Personalis Award for experienced teachers who had a significant positive impact on students, parents, and colleagues, and nurtured the school’s Catholic identity.
- In 2019, the Master Teacher Award for exemplary teaching practices including the skills, knowledge and aptitudes to serve as a model educator for other classroom teachers.
Capstone
The “capstone” for each Fellow will be the presentation of their projects’ results at the DIA Schools Summit in Nashville, Tennessee, October 20-22, 2021. Plan to be part of the Summit, not just to meet these thought-leaders and learn more about their experience, but also for the quality programming and fellowship with Catholic school leaders, teachers and campus ministers.
The 2022 cohort of DIA Fellows will form in the fall, 2021. Watch for details and the application in our October issue of The Cenacle.