Mrs. Hudec, Latin teacher for Honors Latin 2, Latin 3, and Honors Latin 3, is one of the newest additions to Jesuit’s staff. Her joy and love for the subject has made the first week enjoyable for many students. Recently, I had a chance to interview her about her life and her thoughts on Jesuit.

Interview with Mrs. Hudec

Why did you choose Jesuit?

“I have actually wanted to come to Jesuit for a long time. I heard about what a great experience it was because my sister taught here along time ago, like in the early 2000s. Then when I was teaching at John Paul II, I learned from Miss Jones about what it was like to be a member of the faculty here. So, I’ve wanted to be here for a long time. I also learned the value of that means to be a teacher at Catholic school and that it is a special kind of experience here. So that’s actually what really drove me to want to be here.”

How has your first week been?

“Busy, tiring, and exhausting, it’s a reminder that I took the right move even though changing a job is hard. Sometimes, for a teacher, I felt bad spiritually and personally even though I was you know energetic. So, it was a confirmation that I’m at the right place the way last week was.”

Is there anything that you want to say about your personal life?

“I’m a mom of boys. What makes my career as a teacher valid is the faith journey that I have with it and especially with Latin. I used to study with the papal Latin scribes many summers and something he used to talk about is Latin’s connection with the Church. Latin would be nothing without the Catholic Church. Its history would be nothing without Latin, and so there’s that intertwined relationship that’s always going to be there. That’s actually given me relevance even in public schools or at any other school that I’ve been at. This is my 26th year of teaching in the Dallas area, and I finally feel like I’m at home.”

Why did you choose Latin, and do you have a special joy in teaching Latin compared to other subjects?

“It’s almost hard to put words to it. I think that what we get to do is study about the past and the present. It’s different because every other subject just studies about the present or how it relates to us now. So we get to kind of cross these thresholds of time in a way that very other very few other studies get to do.”

What does it mean to you to engage with your students?

“I think it’s always about reaching every individual where they are and joining in them in their journey of learning and as they make the climb, climbing with them. It can’t be about what we teach it has to be about what people learn. So different people learn at different paces and they learn different things at different speeds and you have to just join them on that journey. Hopefully, they see growth and that’s that’s where you have to look at is where growth happens.”

Since you came from leading JCL at your old school, would you like to change or add anything to Jesuit’s JCL club?

“I know Magistra Jones has done such a great job building this program. I’m used to coming into a school where JCL is like minimal there and building it from nothing. This is a new experience for me to come in and just already have everyone ready to go. Mrs. Jones has built understanding of leadership within students. Then, I’m just jumping on the boat with you right now. I definitely love how Jesuit encourages students to be state officers. I think it’s really important the way Jesuit has hosted area more often than any other school when it comes to the span of time that it has been. It shows how important that experience is for students and the leadership experiences that people can have when you host it. I really haven’t thought about it, I mean I know we’ve talked about bringing in officers, which is a hard thing to do. It really is such a good program on its own.  So I’m going to have and think about how I am going to add more to this program.”

Where is might be her love for national days or her love for the Jesuit education, Mrs. Hudec fits into the Jesuit faculty very well. If you see Mrs. Hudec in the hallways, make her feel welcome and at home.