Education as Resistance
Learning Learning from the Best
It’s graduation season and I’m pumped for all the folks I know who are completing educational milestones this month (shout-out to Percy, Reyna, Christin!). It feels particularly hopeful given the state of learning in the U.S. today—the plight of teachers, the disruption of AI and digital media, the attacks on educational institutions, the banning of books, etc. For those of you who aren’t aware, one of the four pillars of Dominican Life is STUDY (a.k.a. lifelong learning) so these hits to education feel particularly close to home.
I remember a sister early on in my formation telling me: If the Sinsinawa Dominicans have one moral weakness it’s intellectual pride. Ironically, that was a selling point to me at the time! Dominicans are members of the Order of Preachers and our congregation has always preached through teaching—teaching excellence is in our blood1. The Sisters are nothing if not well-educated. And with the median age of my sisters at 80+ years, I can vouch that we wear “lifelong learner” as a mantle. Here are some highlights from the continued legacy of the Sinsinawa Dominicans’ commitment to education, which is alive and well in 2025.
Some of you had the opportunity to visit Dominican University in River Forest for my profession ceremony. This school—along with Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin—is one of our primary “sponsored institutions” of educational excellence.2 DU is particularly devoted to the legacy of the Sisters and they fully recognize this moment in time and the importance of capturing all they can of the Sinsinawa spirit. They’ve been working very closely with our Arts and Heritage Director, Sister Pris, to expose students and staff to the history they share with us. It’s quite beautiful, actually.
While many Catholic liberal arts educational institutions are struggling with enrollment, DU is bursting at the seams. The Hispanic Serving Institute enrolls a strong representation of first-generation and immigrant graduates and prides itself on inclusive and quality education. In fact, the educational opportunities now stretch deep into Chicago via a new satellite campus of social services training in the Pilsen neighborhood. The school is thriving and the Dominican values remain strong.
The most recent issue of their DU Magazine had two articles dear and near to me. The first one was about an initiative at Dominican University to preserve sacred spaces by documenting them digitally. DU learned a thing or two from the sisters about top-notch archival and preservation work! The Queen of the Rosary Chapel at Sinsinawa Mound was one of their first projects, knowing it is in danger of being deconstructed. It gives me comfort to know that if our efforts here fail to find a new life for the buildings, they will at least live on virtually. Feel free to do a tour of the endangered facilities as they were in 2021 or 2022 (scroll down and click the Welcome window). Their Sacred Spaces project also preserving other amazing Dominican and Chicago area sacred spaces.
The second article was an interview they published about my experience as a DU student 30 year ago and my more recent call to religious life. I guarantee there are some shocked 50 year old alumna that picked up this article! The young lady that interviewed me did a wonderful job weaving the story together and graciously omitted the parts where I said Don’t actually put that in the article, ok?
Another key asset at DU is the presence of Sister Christin, who has been ministering there for nearly a year in Campus Ministry. Since our sisters, who had previously taught, staffed and managed the entire institution, are generally not able to be present there anymore, Christin is doing her best to carry the torch and represent the Sinsinawa Dominicans on campus. She’s not only ministering there, but she’s also been modeling how applied education can be spiritual exercise, how study can be a form of prayer. She just finished up her own studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.
Catholic Theological Union (CTU) might sound vaguely familiar. It just experienced a niche resurgence in visibility since it counts the new Pope Leo among it’s alumna!3 My Sister Laurie Brink, OP, is one of the professors there and is always hounding us “young nuns” to get educated in theology. Well, Sister Christin took her up on it a few years ago and just earned a Master of Divinity, a Master of Arts, and a Certificate in Biblical Spirituality in one fell swoop (smarty-pants!). Her classmates at CTU invited her to present the graduate address at their most recent commencement. Here’s her 7 minute address—an inspiring nod to The Questions that stretch us, that form us, and that lure us forward.
I think I’m gonna take a class there this fall because I’m privileged to be supported in doing that and because I’ve always loved school.
In the meantime, here’s a poem I’m passing along from Sister Peggy about education, resistance and the times we live in.
In a time of hate
Love is an act of resistance.
In a time of fear
Faith is an act of resistance
In a time of misinformation
Education is an act of resistance
In time of poor leadership
Community is an act of resistance
In a time like this
Joy is an act of resistance.
Resist. Resist. Resist.
by Loryn Brantz
If you come to the Mound after July, you be able to visit our kick-ass exhibit that really brings to life the extent of our legacy and that of our founder (educational and beyond!).
These days we call our schools “sponsored” because we no longer have the capacity to be present like in the past. We founded, we formed, and we ran them for a very long time; and now we try to support it as we’re able. In particular, we’d like to ensure that the values of the institution remain true to the mission of the Sisters.
Read my hot take from when the new pope dropped.
A beautiful reminder of what is essential, Quincy!