“Teaching taught me so many things”

“I just love children,” says Sr. Elizabeth Close. That love led her to teach generations of children in different cities and even countries, and for the last 25 years at Incarnate Word Academy here in Corpus Christi.
 
Born in Dublin, Ireland, she was already attracted to religious life at a young age: “I always loved adoration and prayer,” she says. In 1961, at age 15, she entered the Sisters of the Incarnate Word after meeting some sisters from Texas in her home country. “I really loved that their mission was teaching.”
 
When she moved to Texas, she first attended IWA High School, starting her formation as a sister and assisting with the kindergarten students in the afternoons. She then went on to IWA University for her college degree and taught at Sacred Heart School in Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Alice, and Laredo.
 
God even cared for her desire to be a missionary: She went to Kenya for seven years and taught high school: “It was so different from the elementary students I was used to! But I was touched by God’s personal love for me.”
 
After these years, she came to IWA in Corpus Christi and learned the Montessori teaching philosophy: “I like it very much – it’s student-centered. The children are their own teachers; they discover the world and become confident and independent learners.” The teachers are their guides.
 
Reflecting on 56 years of teaching, she is grateful for her career: “Teaching taught me so many things… it is challenging at times, but I love children.” She values their spontaneity and affection. And the students definitely love her!
 
With the end of this school year, Sr. Elizabeth will retire. And what are her future plans? “I will first take a sabbatical, and then discern what God wants from me,” she says.