Submitted by Dianne Patnode Seyler
CST Class of 1964
Both Sisters Chiara and Jeremy were intricately involved in my life story. When I began attending St. Teresa’s, I was a History major and French minor. As my freshman year progressed, every time Sister Chiara saw me, in or out of class, she would tell me, “You should be a French Major.” Finally, one day, she said, “Diane, guess what I did today?” I replied, “I have no idea.” She informed me, “I signed you up for a double major.” I was rendered speechless. After considering it, I figured I’d probably take all the courses anyway, so I might as well get the credit for a double major.
Fast forward to graduation…the College of Saint Teresa was hosting an NDEA Institute (National Defense Education Act) in French that summer and Sister Jeremy suggested that I think about applying, but I declined. After graduation, I had no idea what I was going to be doing in the future. So I went home and returned to the waitress job I’d had for several years. One day, I received a phone call from Sister Jeremy telling me that there was a vacancy in the Institute and she thought I should come. I came up with many excuses as to why I couldn’t. I thought I had the definitive argument when I said I couldn’t because I didn’t have a job teaching French. (In order to get paid for attending you had to have a job teaching French). She had the definitive answer: “Don’t worry about it, there’s a job opening in La Crosse. We’ll worry about it when you get here.” At that point, I gave in and accepted the invitation to attend and returned to CST for the Institute. Full disclosure: I had never really considered teaching, though I did the coursework. I had illusions of doing some sort of historical research. I thought if I ever were to teach, it wouldn’t be French and if I were to teach French, it wouldn’t be Junior High.
Sometime early on during the Institute, Sister Romana Walch saw me in the hall and asked me to come to her office for a minute. When we got there, she picked up the phone and dialed the office of the Superintendent of schools in La Crosse and then handed me the phone! I muddled through the call, arranged an interview, and appropriately was hired on July 14, the French national holiday. There you have it. I started teaching, French, in Junior High. I spent my entire career teaching in several schools in La Crosse. I always say that Sisters Chiara and Jeremy knew better than I did about what I should be doing, with Sister Romana providing the final influence. Merci!
