Celebrating Sister Geri
Sister Geri Rogers, principal of Our Lady of Mercy School in Winston-Salem, is known for her unwavering support of students and faculty alike. She is retiring after 40 years as a teacher and principal at Our Lady of Mercy and 50 years as a Sister of St. Joseph (Photos by Krista Hopkins and provided)WINSTON-SALEM — How do you say goodbye to someone like Sister Geri Rogers? A packed Millennium Center in downtown Winston-Salem showed the way April 14, as more than 300 people gathered for a beautiful tribute celebrating her retirement and inestimable contributions to Catholic education in the Diocese of Charlotte.
The evening – filled with laughter, love and a few tears – was a testament to the impact Sister Geri has had on the Our Lady of Mercy community where she has been a teacher and principal for more than 40 years.
Those who encounter Sister Geri sense her singular grace for inspiring others to be the best they can be in all things, especially in the Christian life. Some even call it the “Sister Geri effect.”
“The way Sister Geri treats the children and how she brings Christianity and Catholicism to the students in such a gentle way will always be remembered,” said Nancy Farmer, a teacher at Our Lady of Mercy School in Winston-Salem for 20 years. “She teaches them by example – who you’re supposed to be, how you should act, and how you treat other people.”
These lessons from Sister Geri have had a deep effect on the students, Farmer said.
“All the kids look up to her for the simple fact that when they think about being a good Christian, that’s who they talk about,” she added. “There’s no other person than Sister Geri because she exemplifies it so phenomenally.”
Now, after more than four decades at Our Lady of Mercy School and 50 years as a Sister of St. Joseph, Sister Geri is retiring and returning to be near her family in Philadelphia, where her order is also based. The area is home to her eight siblings, as well as many nieces and nephews.
“It went by fast,” Sister Geri said of her time at Our Lady of Mercy. “I’d like to thank the people at Our Lady of Mercy for making Mercy my home away from home.” She plans to stay in touch with the school community and visit often.
Sister Geri took a moment to pose with many of the school’s current and former teachers during her retirement party April 14.The evening opened with a blessing and a rendition of “So Long, Farewell” from “The Sound of Music,” performed by the school’s faculty.
Sister Geri applauded, stood up and said she thought the teachers were doing in-service training when they were practicing their performance at school, garnering much laughter from the crowd.
Father David McCanless, pastor of Our Lady of Mercy, offered a few remarks before his blessing.
“I want to thank Sister Geri on a personal level for her kind welcome to me when I arrived and her incredible kindness and support over these past three years,” he said. “I really have relied on her probably more than is fair to her, but she’s been such a great help and such a great support.”
Dr. Greg Monroe, superintendent of Catholic schools, was in attendance and offered remarks on Sister Geri’s contributions.
“We don’t always get to see the effects of the teaching, witness and formation we hope to impress upon our students. Tonight is a realization of the hard work and those day-to-day interactions coming to fruition,” Monroe said. “You can rest easy looking out at this crowd today – from that first first-grade class to the most recent graduates – knowing that your legacy is one where every student here, every alumnus here has been affected in a positive way by your leadership and by you.”
Over 60 years, 46 Sisters of St. Joseph have taught at Our Lady of Mercy and each one really enjoyed being in North Carolina, Sister Geri said. She is the last religious sister serving in the Diocese of Charlotte’s schools.
In a recent interview, Sister Geri reminisced on her vocation and explained how she knew God was calling her to be a religious sister.
“When I was in high school, I took a test to go into nursing school, and that’s really what I wanted to do, but then I just got this overwhelming feeling that this was not what God wanted from me,” she recalled, admitting that she became a little angry about it.
“I really wanted to be a nurse, but the feeling stuck with me for so long, so I talked to one of the Sisters of St. Joseph who was teaching me at the time and she gave me some prayers to pray,” she remembered. “I talked to my parents, and here I am 50-some years later.”
Sister Geri took her final vows in 1974 and worked as a teacher in Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey before arriving at Our Lady of Mercy in 1983 as a first-grade teacher, which was her specialty.
School parent Leigh Ann Janjua, who helped organize Sister Geri’s retirement party, has had three children attend Our Lady of Mercy. Two have graduated, and her youngest is in seventh grade.
“Sister Geri has been a huge part of the community for more than four decades. She has been a wonderful asset in every way,” Janjua said. “She lives her life in a way that we should all strive to live our lives. I’ll always remember her kindness and tact in every situation.”
The Sister Geri effect has extended beyond the Our Lady of Mercy community in many ways, whether it’s the impact her students have made in the diocese and beyond or the development of fellow principals.
She mentored Erin Brinkley, principal of Sacred Heart School in Salisbury, for two years while Brinkley was a new principal. Brinkley credited Sister Geri with being “an amazing example of a servant leader.”
“Sister Geri is still not afraid after all these years to step in and do what needs to be done, whether it’s lunch duty or helping with after-school care,” Brinkley said. “She taught me no matter how long you’re in the job, always be sure to keep your boots on the ground and be a good listener.”
Noting that it’s difficult to put into words what Sister Geri means to her, Brinkley added, “Even after the formal mentorship was over, she was always available if I needed anything. When
I’d go to a basketball game, she’d always be there, and I could sit down next to her and talk.”
At the close of the evening, the crowd serenaded Sister Geri with “You Are My Sunshine.” She then received a blessing from Father McCanless, who thanked God for all the years Sister Geri has been with the Our Lady of Mercy community and for her kindness, leadership and love, asking Him to bless her and keep her in the years ahead.
— Annie Ferguson
Sister Geri Rogers Endowment Fund created to honor the legacy of longtime Catholic educator
To recognize her decades of service, an endowment will be established in honor of Sister Geri Rogers, a Sister of St. Joseph and longtime teacher and principal of Our Lady of Mercy School in Winston-Salem.
The fund will provide tuition scholarships for generations of Our Lady of Mercy students to come.
“It’s a way to remember and honor Sister in a very special way, and it’s a great way to change the lives of future students,” said Jim Kelley, director of development for the diocese.
Anyone who would like to honor her legacy at Our Lady of Mercy may contribute by writing a check to Our Lady of Mercy, with the memo line “Sister Geri Rogers Endowment Fund.”
Checks should be mailed to: Attn: Sister Geri Rogers Endowment Fund, Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School, 1730 Link Road, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27103.
Gift of gratitude
Stephen Dey presents a check to Our Lady of the Assumption School leaders and students. The donation will go toward expanding the school’s PACE program, which provides hands-on special instruction to students with learning disabilities. (Troy Hull | Catholic News Herald)CHARLOTTE — Stephen and Jessica Dey are giving back to Catholic Schools in gratitude for the extraordinary support they say the Diocese of Charlotte’s schools have provided their daughter Avery – who was born with Down Syndrome and now is a junior at Charlotte Catholic High School.
Parishioners at St. Matthew, the couple recently donated $1,000 through their Inclusion Rocks Foundation to Our Lady of the Assumption’s PACE program, just one of many inclusion programs the diocese’s Catholic Schools offer special needs students from early childhood through high school.
PACE stands for “Providing Academically Appropriate Catholic Education,” a name that reflects the mission of all of the diocese’s special needs programs. Dey said it is “impossible to describe” all the ways these programs have benefited his daughter.
“The inclusion program has helped her develop social and people skills which will be critically important as she moves into a job-life after school,” he said. “She also just loves school, and life at school has helped her develop life skills like navigating directions and time management, and at the math level she is learning important things like how to deal with finances.”
The Deys established Inclusion Rocks to help schools implement inclusion programs, initially as a private foundation then last year obtaining tax-exempt status. The Charlotte-based foundation provides resources for special needs students in Catholic and non-Catholic schools, and to support educators and administrators who work with these students.
The foundation’s work includes securing grants from other organizations to support special needs education.
“Gestures like the gift from Inclusion Rocks support our core belief that every child, as a unique creation of God, deserves our best effort to help them achieve successful and joyful lives,” said Catholic Schools Superintendent Greg Monroe. “We can only do this in partnership with parents, parishioners and the community.”
Having come through inclusion programs at St. Patrick School and Holy Trinity Middle School, Avery now participates in the Options program at Charlotte Catholic, which provides a pathway for special learners from elementary through high school and into college.
The Deys initially sought out Catholic schools because they said public schools didn’t have programs that met Avery’s specific needs.
Our Lady of the Assumption School’s PACE program is designed for elementary and middle school students. From grades 2-5, students spend time in self-contained settings with daily opportunities to attend classes alongside general education students.
The school also offers the Modified Academic Program (MAP), designed for students who require a modified academic curriculum. Like PACE, this hybrid program offers instruction in both self-contained classrooms and with general education students. Instruction in core subjects is adapted to each student’s ability level.
Occupational and speech language therapy are also offered on a weekly basis for younger students at Our Lady of the Assumption. Students in these programs can continue education via the Options path at Holy Trinity and Charlotte Catholic.
Dey said the diocese’s inclusion programs are a blessing not only because they benefit special needs students, but also because of the understanding and social lessons they offer other students as well.
“That’s a facet that is wildly overlooked…,” he said. “Students who interact with their special-needs peers are starting to develop empathy, compassion and other important social skills. It’s a win-win for everybody involved.
“When you see the kids interact with each other through programs like Best Buddies at Charlotte Catholic, or at dances and football games,” he said, “it’s amazing to see what is happening.”
— Christina Lee Knauss
Learn more
At www.charlottediocese.org/schools: Find schools and learn more about the special learning programs in the Diocese of Charlotte.