Sisters Patricia Hammond and Donna McHugh were honored by Our Lady of Perpetual Help Mission Grammar School on May 19. At the annual fundraising gala for the school, the Sisters were presented with the "Mary Leydon Commitment to Education Award" for their years of teaching dedication. The award had special meaning for Sister Patricia, who is also an alumna of the school. She shared the following reflection:
As a student at Mission Grammar School, I was most impacted by the excellent education I received, as well as the daily loving concern and care of the Sisters. They instilled in us the discipline of learning that supported us so well in our future education. Also, a lifetime appreciation of music was afforded me as a member of the orchestra and band.
Being a student at Mission was being part of a faith community filled with spirit and tradition. I and others formed lifetime friendships here. So when I happily returned to teach there 35 years later, I found that same spirit of dedication to teaching that enables each student to reach his/her potential.
One tradition from my childhood that touched me when I returned was the recitation of the Rosary by the now interfaith student body during October, and the singing of “O Mother of Perpetual Help” at its end. I was delighted to see that the young “Scholars” of today knew the hymn as well as we did years ago.
These present “Scholars on the Way to College” are being given a vision of themselves and their potential, along with a firm academic foundation, that will make happy, faith-filled and successful lives possible for them, as they did for me.
