Search
-
Katherine Limon (teaches grades 5-6) has been a parishioner of St. Ann since 2021. Her professional career is rooted in communications and project management supporting workforce development and youth development programming. She served as an Americorp VISTA volunteer in Alaska and a Salesian Lay Volunteer in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Katherine enjoys spending her time with her family, running, hiking, and doing puzzles.
“The COVID-19 pandemic impacted our lives in ways I didn't think possible. Thankfully, my immediate and extended family did not lose a life or become hospitalized, and yet, still we struggled, like so many, financially, mentally, and spiritually. For the latter, I greatly missed going to Church and being in community, especially as a mom trying hard to cultivate my young son’s faith during a time of such uncertainty. My goal became to enroll my son in religious education to receive his First Communion as soon as COVID restrictions began to lift. After researching local parishes (my neighborhood parish did not have a program), I was thrilled to learn that St. Ann was starting one in person. I quickly registered him and offered to volunteer and assist after attending the first class with him. I felt it was a gift. I got to experience the program with him while helping others learn why our faith makes us better human beings. This is now my third year with the program, and while I strive to make the classes engaging and reflective, it is most rewarding to know that I am helping them create the future generation of young Catholics.”
Dean Sands (teaches grades 7-8) lives in DC with his wife and three children. He works for Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) in investment sales in commercial real estate. Dean converted to Catholicism 12 years ago and taught CCD at Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament for four years.
“I volunteer to teach at the PSR because in our public and private schools, in the secular media, and especially on social media, our children are being taught values and ideologies that have no basis in Church teaching. Outside of the Church, there is almost no teaching about God at all. I think that our children are spiritually hungry, and, for many children, the Church is the only place that they will have the opportunity to hear the Truth: There is a God who created the entire universe, yet He loves them and knows them better than they even know themselves. I want to teach our children the beauty of the Catholic faith and the eternal love of God. I want to teach our children about the sacraments, the Gospel, Sacred Catholic Tradition and, ultimately, the path to everlasting life through Christ.”
From Argentina, Natalia Cámpora (teaches grades K-2) and her husband are parents of three delightful kids (Isabella, 8, Bautista, 7, and Jeremias, 4). They moved to the U.S. in 2009 to pursue graduate programs, and stayed. Natalia is an economist, working at the World Bank as a consultant.
“My parents gave me the gift of faith, which helped me live with intensity and gratitude, and has sustained me in difficult times. The Catholic faith, in particular, has helped me become a better person every day. I believe that the example of humility, compassion, and forgiveness in the life of Jesus are the pillars for a peaceful life. Teaching religion presented itself as an opportunity to impart some of these values to our children. Giving them a space for support, dialogue, tolerance and friendship is the basis for them to also find in the Church the embrace of faith and the warmth of a community that wants to live in a world defined by love, peace and forgiveness. I can't express the joy I feel when one of my students meets me occasionally at the elementary school where my kids attend. The innocence and love that children radiate without asking for anything in return is truly heartwarming!”
