For over forty-five years, Christendom alumni have decided to join the educational field after graduation, whether as teachers, school administrators, or even school founders. Three of the college’s newest alumni, Rebecca Kaminski, Rachel Riordan, and Gianna Coffey, are the latest to join their ranks, serving as Seton Teaching Fellows in the Bronx, New York, this fall.
Alumni have been serving as Seton Teaching Fellows for over five years now, joining the program after graduation to work as teachers and missionaries. As Seton Teaching Fellows, Kaminski, Riordan, and Coffey will be serving a largely Latino neighborhood in the South Bronx, where over half of all families live below the poverty line. The three of them will be assisting teachers and teaching catechesis at a school there, providing Catholic faith formation for kindergarten through eighth-grade students.
For Kaminski, she has long had the desire to participate in the Church’s mission of evangelization but was not sure where to start. One meeting with Jack Morgan, a recruiter from the Seton Teaching Fellows, changed that. Morgan visited campus during Kaminski’s senior year, and his witness and stories inspired her to want to follow in his footsteps. Kaminski applied, interviewed, and was accepted into the Seton Teaching Fellows, ready to serve as an assisting teacher beginning this fall.
“I am excited about the Seton Teaching Fellows because it is an opportunity to give back the fruits of my intellectual growth here at Christendom to those in need,” says Kaminski, who majored in theology. “I have been so privileged to be able to learn about our faith from such a great community of faculty members, and I plan to share what I have learned with those who do not have this knowledge of the faith. The children in the Bronx come from culturally Catholic families, but their faith formation is not necessarily complete, and I am excited to give my talents to this mission.”
In the case of Riordan, her heart was moved to join the program after the Seton Teaching Fellows personally reached out to her during her final semester at Christendom. The more she learned and prayed about the program, the more she realized that it was the ideal way to put her passion and talents to good use.
“My Christendom education had taught me the value of a classic liberal arts education and especially the importance of understanding and living the Faith, and I wanted to share that experience with others,” says Riordan, who majored in theology and minored in classical and early Christian studies. “Ultimately, I was looking for an adventure after college and a way to serve Christ, and I found one. I did receive some help and encouragement from faculty and staff during the application process, and with their help I was ultimately able to accept this position as a Seton Teaching Fellow.”
Coffey agreed with Riordan’s thoughts, feeling well prepared to succeed as a teacher thanks to her education at Christendom. She first encountered the Seton Teaching Fellows at SEEK, the annual conference hosted by FOCUS. After speaking to them there, she decided to apply for the program. Kristin Stephens, the college’s Director of Career and Professional Development, helped Coffey prepare for a series of interviews with the Seton Teaching Fellows, ensuring Coffey felt as confident and prepared as possible.
Ultimately, Coffey got the position, putting her on the path to teaching with Kaminski and Riordan this fall. While she knows that her job as a missionary will be challenging at times, Coffey believes that her time at Christendom, both in and outside the classroom, formed her for just this mission.
“I feel really prepared to succeed after graduation because, as a teacher, I know that my education was well rounded enough to allow me to teach a variety of subjects,” says Coffey, who majored in history and minored in English language and literature. “I have a very broad of understanding of many disciplines, which will allow me to incorporate a rich wealth of tradition into any curricula. In addition, the job as a missionary in the Bronx will be challenging, but my faith which was so cultivated and formed at Christendom will give me the strength needed to minister to the children and families I encounter with Christ’s love.”
Every Christendom graduate is called to bring their faith and their education into the culture, working to ultimately “restore all things in Christ.” Kaminski, Riordan, and Coffey are answering that call now as teachers, inspired by what they learned in the classrooms at Christendom and ready to bring that same education to the next generation of students.