Kathy's Story

Kathy’s Story: Living Out My Purpose

Kathy has always felt at home in the classroom. She and her twin sister were the youngest of five kids. Even at a young age, Kathy loved helping others - her twin had been born with a heart issue, and one of Kathy’s ways to show love was to make sure her sister had her toys close by. As they got older, Kathy would help her with school projects and studying for tests. Attending St. Joseph’s Catholic Grade School, and then Lafayette High School, offered Kathy and her siblings the benefits of both parochial and public educations. This combination of educational experiences helped lead Kathy to her position as the Director of Building Blocks Preschool at Good Shepherd.

One of Kathy’s first teaching jobs was as an Elementary School teacher at Parkway’s Henry Elementary School where Suzie Everingham’s (staff member at Good Shepherd) daughter was her student. Kathy and Suzie developed a friendship, and a few years later Kathy bought her first house across the street from Suzie.

Kathy continued to teach as she started her family, but following the birth of her twins, she decided to stay home. When it came time to look for a preschool program for them, Suzie told Kathy about Building Blocks. She enrolled the twins, and then when her third child was two years old, she also enrolled him. It was then that she realized how much she had missed the classroom, and began teaching at Building Blocks two days per week.

In 2010, Kathy developed the music program at Building Blocks and was the music teacher until 2013 when she became the director. Kathy said, “the best part of my job is interacting with the families and the students’ faith and education.”  She loves that she is able to bring awareness to parents and to help the kids learn to take direction from other adults.

One of the first things Kathy does with prospective families is to give them a tour introducing them to the Building Blocks program. “I get to provide love and service, while building relationships with the kids and their families and the staff,” Kathy said, “I have been given this opportunity to use my gifts. This is my purpose.”

Building Blocks Preschool was started as a collaborative Mother’s Morning Out program and has since become a thriving part of the GSLC community. Thanks to the support and generosity of the congregation, Building Blocks is able to offer young children from the wider community with diverse ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds an exemplary education rooted in the love of Christ. Building Blocks sets a strong foundation for the education of these young children and it is in this environment that Kathy and her teachers are able to sow seeds of faith and spiritual development by modeling Jesus, teaching Bible stories, and sharing God’s love.