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Sisters offer helping hand at Viterbo University's Learning Center

Sister Betty Shakal tutors Tiffany Scott at the Viterbo University Learning Center.

The teaching legacy of the FSPA community is undeniable. And while many sisters have moved into roles outside of education, there are still several FSPA who maintain a presence at Viterbo University, continuing the tradition.

Sisters Bernyne Stark and Betty Shakal both devote time to volunteer at the Learning Center at Viterbo, a center for individual and group tutoring, test preparation and workshops. Both sisters have a background in teaching, with experience spanning several decades.

Sister Bernyne says she saw an ad in the newspaper for a part-time writing specialist at the Learning Center in 1995, after she'd retired from teaching French for about 30 years. Because she also enjoyed teaching English, she jumped at the chance. Back then, it was a paid position, but soon funding ran out and Sister Bernyne decided to stay on board as a volunteer. "I don't want to sit in a rocker at home and grow older because I'm doing that anyway. And I still want to be a part of the campus and this gives me an opportunity to do that," she explains. "I've been accepted by the entire staff and they just count me as one of the paid employees. They've been just beautiful to me and that has enriched my aging life, very definitely."

For Sister Betty, the opportunity to volunteer entered quietly as she was working in the FSPA Development Office. A student needed tutoring for a statistics class, so she volunteered to help. "My gift is that I am able to make them understand what is going on now in the course. It's a matter of self-confidence on their part and breaking out the mystery, whatever it is." Today she helps solve that mystery at the Learning Center, where she tutors students in math. In addition, she tutors Western Technical College students in chemistry independently. "It is a gift to be able to open the gates to understanding to somebody."

Both sisters have experience with tutoring international students, which presents a number of other challenges-particularly with students for whom English is a second language. "I try to help them see through it to understand what the lesson is about, to understand what to do with this knowledge, how does it fit together with everything else that they know. It helps them handle a story problem or recognize the method one has to use to get to the answer," explains Sister Betty.

Both teachers agree that success and their greatest satisfaction spring from the same well. Says Sister Bernyne, "Ninety-nine percent of them are there because they want to improve. They're probably doing pretty good work, but they want to make a good paper better. That's very satisfying to me, especially when they thank me or promise to tell me the results."

"All of these students have a common denominator. It's a desire to learn," explains Sister Betty. "If you've got a desire to learn, almost anybody can explain it I think."

Both sisters reflect on what the ministry of teaching has meant to them. Says Sister Betty, "I thank God that I can do it, that I'm able to do it."

"To know that because of the knowledge I've gained through the education the community has given to me, I can help somebody that needs it is rewarding. It's paying back in a way," says Sister Bernyne. "One reads so often about people wanting to give back and Scripture promises a hundredfold in this life for people who live vowed lives and I certainly am experiencing that reward."

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