By Sam Volz—
After a long fruitful life and a rigorous tenure, Mrs. Carol Corgan, religion teacher, claims her arch has been completed. Ever since grade school, Mrs. Corgan has looked up to and even classified St. Ignatius of Loyola as her hero. Her aspirations to live according to his teachings gave her the desire to work with the Jesuits; that is how she found herself at Gonzaga.
She blames her success and life on the work of the holy spirit.
“The holy spirit brought me closer to the Jesuits,” Mrs. Corgan said. “It is a blessing to work in a place like this.”
Throughout her life Mrs. Corgan has done many activities in order to grow closer to the Jesuits. As soon as she got to Gonzaga, she was able to complete the Jesuit spiritual exercises, a religious retreat that lasts 30 days.
“It was a transforming experience,” Mrs. Corgan said, and she attributes this experience to her desire to help faculty and students go on spiritual retreats and grow in relation with God.
Along with her deep involvement in Ignatian spirituality, Mrs. Corgan is a very well educated religious teacher. She has her ABD (all but dissertation) in Ancient Near Eastern Studies, which means she was one assignment away from getting her doctorate. She was initially planning on writing a book on the Akkadian language but later decided she had another plan for her life. The Jesuits had a large influence on her career, and after teaching at Gonzaga for 27 years and through helping her students grow in spirituality, she has been able to give back to them. As Mrs. Corgan has given so much to Gonzaga, Gonzaga was recently able to give back to her.
“It was because of her impact at Gonzaga, and her astounding career,” said Headmaster Mr. Tom Every.
Mrs. Corgan was nominated for the Archdiocese of Washington’s “Golden Apple Award” by her fellow teachers, her pastor and Mr. Every. In order to be nominated for the award, Mr. Every and her pastor had to submit letters to the Archdiocese of Washington and through those letters explain to the committee why Mrs. Corgan was deserving of the award. Mrs. Corgan herself had to write a letter about why she teaches at a Jesuit school.
“I want to see my students flourish as the glory of God,” Mrs. Corgan said were her most important words in the letter.
Mrs. Corgan ended up winning the award, and she was surprised with it during her class a few weeks ago. A camera crew, Mr. Every, and other teachers were among the people who surprised her with the award; she received a check for $5,000.
“The event was truly special, and you could tell Mrs. Corgan was very grateful for receiving the award,” said Bryson Moore, senior who was among the students in that class. “She is an amazing teacher, and she deserved every part of it.”
Mrs. Corgan is putting the $5,000 that she received into the fund for the Camino Naciano, which is a venture that follows the same trail that St. Ignatius walked. Mrs. Corgan claims that the Camino Naciano is the end to the arch that she started in fifth grade when she made St. Ignatius her hero. After living her life in accordance with the teachings of St. Ignatius, Mrs Corgan has made an astonishing impact on her students, community and all the people around her. Although the “Golden Apple Award” is very prestigious, Mrs. Corgan’s impact and amazing life lived can never be given a price.