Whenever I hear about the Franciscan Sisters, my mind goes straight to Sister JoAnn. Sister JoAnn is a devoted woman to God, her church, and at the Saint John Beloved School. When she was younger, she had been called by God to become an even more faithful follower of the church. Through that she decided to become a sister under Franciscan values and teachings. Just like Saint Francis, she was kind to everyone she met, gave up most of her values to live a life truly devoted to God and would put anybody’s need before her own. Those are just only three of the many reasons of why I admire Sister JoAnn. Let me tell you why she should be chosen as the Educator of the Year.
Besides being a devoted sister to God, she has a busy schedule that not many people can keep up with in their daily lives. Sister will go and help out at Saint John the Beloved with keeping documents in order, organizing who is absent in the school that day, helping out on errands, and my favorite one of all is making all of the students that come into her office either laugh or leave with a big smile on their face. Another thing she will do is help out with the church, like helping to supply the food closet to give the needy a meal, help out with donations for the church, volunteer, and along with all of this she will also have time to pray to the Lord. She also has her duties as a Franciscan Nun, like how she should always preach the word of God, she should never sin, she should always be faithful to God, and should live up to her potential just like Saint Francis did. One thing I noticed over the years is that Sister always has a rosary with her at all times. I asked her one day, and she told me she does it to help comfort her, to remind her that God is near; she prays it when she needs guidance or to help clear her head from stress.
Another reason Sister JoAnn should be picked as the Educator of the Year is that she is literally loved by all. Honestly, you could go up to anybody who knows who Sister JoAnn is and they would have nothing negative to say about her. If you would happen to meet Sister, in only a few minutes, you would have felt like you have known her all your life. This is all just because she is such an understanding, compassionate, and a very respectable person. In my opinion Sister JoAnn is one of those rare people you meet who are actually angels disguised as humans and are put on this Earth, just to make it a better place. She is also the type of person who is friends with anyone.
One of the main reasons why I actually chose to nominate Sister JoAnn for the Educator of the Year award is that I have known Sister JoAnn before I even went to Saint John’s, thanks to my brothers who went there before me. I have actually known Sister for about 11 years now. If that isn’t enough time to see that she is a wonderful role model to me and to others, then I don’t know what is. Sister JoAnn and I have a special relationship between us filled with respect, understanding, and kindness. Some things we would do are give each other a friendly smile and a comforting “hello” or “good morning.” Plus, during the holidays my mother and I would always make up some sort of baked sweet to give to Sister just as a gift to say thank you and happy holidays. In return Sister JoAnn would always send back a wonderful handwritten thank you note for the treat, and sometimes it would also have a small prayer card or a small quote from the gospel in with it. Sometimes I would go and visit her in her office just to see how she was doing; plus, if I was ever having a bad day, I could go to her, and she would give me wonderful advice. She would remind me that God is always watching out for me up in Heaven.
All together I think that Sister JoAnn is a perfect candidate for the Educator of the Year award. Sister is more than just a role model to others but a true friend. A good educator is someone who can inspire people, to be understanding to others, can help get a message through to people, and be forgiving of each other’s mistakes. Plus, a role model should also be respected by others and should be respectful to one another. For me, no one can meet all of those qualities better than Sister JoAnn. That is why I think she is an amazing role model to others and to be chosen as the Educator of the Year.