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 Sr.
Alvena Ryan, OP
Diamond Jubilarian
60 years (August 14, 1944)
“I live in the present moment,” she says, “grateful
for all God’s blessings.” With these words, Sr. Alvena Ryan
describes her religious life at Mohun Health Care Center, which she describes
as “a place of peace, prayer, and community life.”
Professed in 1944 in the Congregation of Dominican Sisters of St. Mary
of the Springs, Sr. Alvena is celebrating her 60-year Diamond Jubilee
this year. A native of Wilmerding, a suburb of Pittsburgh, she graduated
from St. Aloysius Grade School and Westinghouse Memorial High School before
entering the Novitiate in Columbus. She earned two degrees in Education:
a B.S. from the College of St. Mary of the Springs (now Ohio Dominican
University) and an M.S. from Duquesne University.
Sr. Alvena reflects on a long life in the ministry of education, 20 years
teaching primary grades and 23 years teaching high school business courses.
“Changing levels required some adjustment,” she says, “but
I found many similarities. For one thing, I care about students and their
ability to succeed. Then, too, I needed to use my imagination to motivate
at both levels. All students, children and teens, need a lot of variety,
and they appreciate humor, too. A teacher has to be practical, positive,
and a good manager. Above all, she has to recognize that students learn
best by doing, whatever the grade level. I was able to follow these principles,
whatever the age level.”
After leaving the educational ministry, Sr. Alvena served on the Motherhouse
Congregational Staff in the Health Insurance Office for 15 years before
retiring to Mohun Health Care Center, where she still participates actively
in the ministry of prayer.
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