Sister Mary Kay Moran

Mary Kay Moran was born and raised in Rockford, Illinois. She has one sibling, an older brother. As children, they spent many hours outdoors. Mary Kay loved sports and played football, baseball, and basketball.  Mary Kay attended St. Bridget Grade School, where she was taught by Adrian Dominicans. She liked school and spending time with the Sisters, helping them with things like washing desks. Sister Mary Kay remembers how she would act up in class so that she would get sent out in the hall. The truth was, she just enjoyed the conversations that she would have out there with Sister. Eventually, Sister caught on and changed the punishment to, “If you keep it up, I won’t let you stay after class!”

When it came time to enter high school, Mary Kay wanted to go to Bishop Muldoon, which was also staffed by the Adrian Dominicans. That school was on the south side though, so her parents wanted her to attend a high school closer to home. She was awarded a one-year full scholarship for Muldoon, clinching the argument for her. She graduated from Muldoon.

Mary Kay planned on joining the Adrian Dominicans, but when it was time to enter, a Sister told Mary Kay that she needed to mature and should spend a year in college first. Mary Kay enrolled at St. Dominic College in St. Charles, Illinois, where some of her classmates were postulants with the Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary. They became friends and before long they were skipping classes together, spending the time sitting in the convent car talking about their vocations. When she got to meet the Sisters, she found herself drawn to them. They were open and friendly, welcoming her and inviting her to pray with them. She always felt at home and never worried about stopping in for a visit. Besides, they were fun! Unfortunately, Sister Anne Bridget found out what was going on during class time and told Mary Kay to straighten up if she wanted to join. She did that and the rest, as they say, is history.

There are two Sisters who stand out as mentors in Sister Mary Kay’s memory: Sister Anne Bridget and Sister June Hoffman. They made themselves available to talk about problems in community, helped with her prayer life, and challenged her. They were very much like spiritual directors.
  
Sister Mary Kay has spent the last fifty years teaching. She says that she still learns something new every day and strives to teach in such a way that every student can find success. She begins by figuring out where they are and works at bringing them forward from that point. She says, “Trying to teach students rather than subjects is a real challenge but one that I thoroughly enjoy.”

Sister Mary Kay remembers fondly the twenty-one years that she spent teaching at St. John the Baptist School in Silver Spring, Maryland, where she worked with two excellent principals, Marianne Moore and Peggy Spalding. Sister Mary Kay recalls how they always sought input from the teachers before making decisions that would affect them. Their philosophy was “If you keep your teachers happy, you will have an excellent school.” That style of leadership created a strong sense of community.

Sister Mary Kay’s life and ministry have a firm foundation in faith. She says, “I draw my strength from my prayer and community so that I can go out and do ministry well.” And that she does.

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