Sister Thomas Welder

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I was hesitantly excited when I learned that Sister Thomas Welder was going to be a guest speaker in our Transition Seminar. I do not have much experience when it comes to interacting with the sisters, so my expectation was something out of the movie “Sister Act”. I expected her to be dressed in full habit and be very docile and reserved. My mom, who attended the University of Mary several years ago, spoke very highly of all the sisters, especially Sister Thomas Welder, this made me even more curious to meet her and listen to her speak to our class. When she arrived, I was shocked. She looked nothing like what I had imagined. She was wearing a modest skirt with a jacket. Her hair was pinned back and she looked like a gentle woman, someone …show more content…

According to Sister Thomas Welder, the Benedictine Sisters saw that there was a need for a hospital because everyone would go to the bar and then fights, resulting in injuries occurred, but there was no one to tend to these injuries. The Sisters saw this need, and in turn resolved the situation by founding a hospital, St. Alexius. Once the hospital was founded, they saw the need to implement an educational system by opening St. Mary’s. Therefore the sisters became quite immersed in these two paths, teaching and nursing, that would guide their advancement and achievements for years to come. In 1959, University of Mary held its first classes as a four year university; offering degrees in nursing and teaching. Their dream was to establish a faith community of …show more content…

This has been a big thing for me since I transferred here, wondering if I made the right decision, and trying to figure out what kind of person I want to be known as. The next value, service, has to do with giving back to our community and leaving a positive mark on the world. The Day of Service is coming up and I am excited to volunteer at the Monastery and hopefully get to know the Sisters better while also giving back to the community. It is also my goal to get back into volunteering regularly once I get into more of a routine. Moderation/Balance is another value that the Benedictine Sisters follow. To me, this value means finding a routine and balance in your life, not giving too much time to one aspect while neglecting another. You need to have time for yourself, to self-reflect, but also time for school, work, family commitments, exercise, and the list could keep going. This is probably the value that I am working on the most at this point in time. Moving back home and living with my parents, starting a new school and job, and having to make new friends again has been difficult. If I focus on one aspect, I neglect another, hopefully I will find the right balance soon. An additional core Benedictine value is that of community. We have a community in

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