During the Mass of the Holy Spirit, Jesuit Dallas welcomed 17 new faculty members. One of them is Ms. Wainwright. Ms. Wainwright is the newest theology teacher at Jesuit.
How did your journey through high school and college lead you to Jesuit?
“It’s somewhat interesting because my first degree was in exercise science. So in high school, I was focusing on that and wanted to be a doctor. Then, when I was in college, after I got my undergraduate degree, I decided to get a degree in theology. So then I went to a seminary for that. I got my master’s in theology and then started teaching at an all girls school, which was an interesting experience. Then from there, I just decided that it was time for me to leave Louisiana and I saw an opportunity at Jesuit and I know a lot of people who went through Jesuit schools. I really like the impact that it has on the world, just seeing graduates and living their lives. And I wanted to be part of that.”
Why theology?
“I grew up, it’s called cradle Catholic, so born and raised Catholic my entire life. And then there’s a tragedy in the family. And that experience that kind of, it made me really grow closer to God. And I wanted to know more about the mass. I wanted to know more about, how we relate to God. So, once I got my undergraduate degree, I realized like, ‘Oh, that’s, that’s something I need to pursue a little bit more.'”
What teaching experience did you have before Jesuit?
“I taught there for two years. It was a very interesting experience: teaching at an all girls in New Orleans. It was a theology teaching position. But what is really cool is I taught the same exact content that I’m teaching right now. Over there, it’s just over here is a lot more in depth than it was. It was overall, it was a great experience. It was neat to be able to get to know the students and the teachers in New Orleans. And I’m still friends with a lot of them today.”
How do you approach students in class?
“First, you know, I want my students to know that I’m not there to scold them. I’m there to help them and I’m gonna do that any way that I can and know that. I’m not going to be this very strict teacher that’s gonna make them miserable. I want them to be able to relax and be comfortable in class, comfortable enough to be able to open up to me if something were wrong.”
What are your favorite things at Jesuit so far?
“The camaraderie with other teachers is really something special. You don’t see that in many other schools. The school spirit of the students, that’s a lot of fun to watch. Like the other day, whenever they had the Open Mic, I was like, ‘What in the world is going on?’ Like, you don’t see anything like that in other schools. It’s neat to be able to relax, but still get to experience Jesuit campus life.”
What are you involved in outside of the classroom?
“I just started helping out with the tennis team here, so that’s been a big part. I played tennis growing up. I’ve played tennis now, this is going to pain me to say, for 25 years. I grew up playing tennis so that’s a big part of my life. Outside of any extracurriculars at school, I’m really into LEGO building and video games as well.”
Remember, if you see Ms. Wainwright, be sure to say hello and give her a warm welcome!
