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That’s the idea behind St. Catherine of Siena Academy in Wixom welcoming its newest board member, Terry Polakovic.
“Being a Catholic in the world is different,” says Polakovic, who helped to create the program ENDOW — Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Women — in the Archdiocese of Denver. “It’s different than the world proposed. The young people of today need to have deep roots of what it means to be Catholic. What does it mean to be a Catholic woman?”
Through ENDOW, of which Polakovic is executive director, she’s helped promote the truth of the God-given dignity of women across the country. The program provides a faith-sharing opportunity for women and centers heavily on Pope John Paul II’s Letter to Women and Mulieris Dignitatem (“On the Dignity and Vocation of Women”). Started in 2003, it became especially prominent in parishes in the Detroit area, largely thanks to the annual archdiocesan Conference for Catholic Women.
Polakovic says her continuing mission with ENDOW and her presence on St. Catherine of Siena’s foundation board aren’t unrelated.
“It’s a perfect opportunity to teach girls when they’re young, so when they go into the world they understand who they are and who God created them to be,” she says. “That’s what we’re trying to do — lay the framework for that.”
Fittingly — given ENDOW’s reliance on Pope John Paul II’s teachings and writings — St. Catherine of Siena Academy’s mission statement states that the high school’s “challenging college-preparatory curriculum and Catholic student-life experiences are rooted in the Theology and Philosophy of Pope John Paul II, and his understanding of the ‘feminine genius.’”
Naturally, Polakovic and other board members envision some qualities of ENDOW being integrated into the academy’s curriculum.
Patrick O’Meara, chairman of the high school board, says the academy already has a quality curriculum in place, but the board currently is working on ways to integrate elements of ENDOW not only for the students themselves, but also for the school community, including family members and friends.
It was O’Meara that Polakovic was invited to join St. Catherine of Siena Academy. She still lives in Denver, but will make trips to Detroit throughout the school year.
O’Meara alluded to the construction of a permanent high school building, which is currently ongoing, and said it’s representative of how the school is growing in a deeper sense.
“The new home we’re building physically is a wonderful visible reminder of what’s happening much more so at a spiritual level,” he says.
Seeking Polakovic’s assistance with the school was a no-brainer, he said, given what ENDOW has done for thousands of women around the country.
“It is a natural fit for us to seek her guidance, expertise and assistance as we seek to do the same thing for young women locally,” he says.
Polakovic isn’t new to the educational scene, or even to the idea of starting a new school. In Denver, she was on the board of Regis Jesuit high school — which, like St. Catherine of Siena, was an all-girl’s school being started in proximity to an all-boy’s school that had been established for a long time.
She said she considers working with St. Catherine of Siena “an exciting opportunity.”
