By Katie Mahon, Communications Manager
When asked to sum up her ministry, Sr. Alice Kirk, OP, a Sister of Saint Dominic of Blauvelt, New York, believes her role with the Archdiocese of New York is one that supports educators.
During a recent episode of the Hearts Afire Podcast, Sr. Alice shared, “I am supporting teachers in something that will help their students, and to me, you can’t get anything more important than education.”
Sr. Alice, who previously ministered at Saint Catharine’s School in Blauvelt for 16 years and Dominican College for ten years, believes that education “will help you grow better.”
In her ministry of 24 years with the Archdiocese of New York, Sr. Alice has supported educators in several ways.
When she first started her ministry, she put her background in computer education studies to good use by educating teachers on the basics of computers.
“Early on, many teachers got thrown a computer in their room and had no idea what to do with it.”
From learning how to turn on a computer to what a mouse was to showing teachers what Microsoft Word was, Sr. Alice worked diligently to “get them to enhance their curriculum” by incorporating technology in the classroom.
During the interview, Sr. Alice recalled that the early days of her ministry involved having to carry a large laptop and a projector to meet teachers at different schools.
Sr. Alice also shared that the “setup varied between different schools” depending on their needs.
As Sr. Alice spent more time in her ministry, teachers became more tech-savvy, which led to Sr. Alice working closely with School Information Systems implementation and education.
“What I’m doing now, supporting school personnel and principals, I’m helping to take burdens off their plate and bring it on to mine. If they have a need, I am helping them.”