Fraternity in Christ Jessica Loria

St. John Vianney School

Fraterinty in Christ

Jessica Loria

At St. John Vianney School, our teachers are all brothers and sisters in Christ who are mission-driven and Gospel-centric as they work in their common interest of educating our students. They are a fraternity.

When we hear the word fraternity, we often associate it with college "Greek" life, and rightfully so, those organizations have been around since the 18th century. However, this is not the only type of fraternity. Fraternity is defined as a "body of people associated with a common interest." A "guild" or "brotherhood," if you will.

A great example of SJV staff fraternal relationship is our 5th-grade teacher, Jim Walker, and our 4th-grade teacher, Lindsay McKaig. Mr. Walker is a 34-year veteran of the classroom with close to twenty years in Catholic education. Ms. McKaig, on the other hand, is a first-year teacher who comes to SJV through Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE). She is earning her master's degree in education from Notre Dame while getting hands-on experience as SJV's 4th-grade teacher. On the surface, these two do not have much in common.

between Walker and McKaig through their shared values and draw toward Catholic education. Watching this fraternal connection through a mentor/mentee relationship has been fun - it has been great to see both teachers grow. Walker passes along his seasoned experience, and he appreciates McKaig's energy and new ideas.

Walker has a way of instilling his experience in a "fraternal" way. He says, "Jesus is the greatest teacher of all, and he would never turn away anyone who needed his help/advice - so I feel because of our SLEs (pray, study, love, serve), we are all connected and committed to helping out one another."

"He's a beacon of peace for me," McKaig says of Walker. Empathy and wisdom are some of Walker's ways of "walking alongside" McKaig after a challenging day in the classroom. Walker tries to remind McKaig they have the same goal of making students thrive and puts her at ease by saying, "I've been through that, too." These two have a "whatever is good for the students is what we want to do" philosophy that further helps them bond.

Both Walker and McKaig are drawn to teaching to help students grow while working toward the student's full potential. Catholic education provides them with a way to "invite God into the classroom" through an "ongoing conversation around goodness" by "walking alongside SJV students to help realize goodness each and every day." Alumni Update

6 Feb 1997: Center David Crouse of the USC Trojans shoots the ball during a game against the Stanford Cardinal at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. USC won the

game, 84-81. Credit: Todd Warshaw /Allsport/ Getty Images

We recently caught up with SJV alumni David Crouse, class of 88. After a stellar basketball career at Cordova High School and the University of Southern California he played professionally overseas for 15 years, including several on the Mexican National team. In 2018 he was inducted into the Rancho Cordova Sports Hall of Fame. He's a world traveler and has visited 108 countries. He has fond memories of his SJV years including being the only altar boy taller than the priests. He still keeps in touch with several alums. "I hope everyone in the SJV family is staying sane/healthy in this weird world we currently live in."