St. John’s seventh graders have a new role model. Emily Gorman joined the school this year to teach math to students in grades five through eight. She is also the homeroom and religion teacher for seventh grade, and a shining example for our middle school students that young people can have a deep faith, master a difficult subject and contribute to their communities.

Ms. Gorman grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, and attended Catholic schools up through college. In 2005, she graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a bachelors of science degree in mathematics. She then joined the university’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) service learning program.  Through her work in ACE, Ms. Gorman taught seventh and eighth grade math to students at an under privileged school in Mobile, Alabama. In the summers, she completed her course work for her masters in education degree.

“My high school was an under resourced school in Kansas City,” recalled Gorman. “I decided to join the ACE program to give back to the community. During those two years, I fell in love with teaching middle school.”

Ms. Gorman says her participation in ACE changed her life. “Instead of seeing teaching as a job, I see it as a vocation. It’s something that God really does have to call you to do,” she shared. “You see the students every day, at their best and at their worst.”

She added that she finds it rewarding to share her faith with her students and help them develop their own. “Seeing the students start out with their child-like faith, and helping them shape that into a more adult-like faith…. It can be intimidating sometimes, but the rewards are so incredible.”

Ms. Gorman says she takes a hands-on approach to teaching math to keep the kids interested and make it more fun. “I hate hearing students say, ‘I hate math. Math is no fun,’” adding that her hand-on technique makes math more approachable. “I try to figure out where the kids are, so I can meet them there and bring them further.”

So why did Ms. Gorman decide to come to St. John’s after completing her master’s degree? She says it was the hospitable atmosphere that attracted her. “When I came in the door for my first interview, one of the sisters gave me an ice cream cone,” she recalled. “That hospitable attitude stuck with me when I was trying to make my decision.”

In her free time, Ms. Gorman enjoys reading, dancing, traveling, and all things sports – both playing and watching. We welcome her to our community.