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 Sr.
Valerie Johnson, OP
Diamond Jubilarian
60 years (August 14, 1946)
From a young age, Sr. Valerie Johnson had a flair for languages. She had taken four years of German in high school, and came to Albertus Magnus College with the intention of becoming a translator after graduation. But with the onset of the war at that time, the college had ceased its German classes. God had something different planned for her!
Sr. Valerie says that she never once felt she had a vocation, until she met the Dominican Sisters at Albertus her freshman year. "I just fell in love with the Sisters," she explains, and soon after, she entered the congregation.
Like most of her Dominican Sisters, Sr. Valerie initially began teaching gradeschool, but her gift for languages eventually brought her to earn a Bachelors and Masters degrees in Spanish, and she began teaching the language at the high-school level and taught for 25 years at St. Mary's High School, New Haven. In 1994, Sr. Valerie returned to her beloved Albertus Magnus College, this time as a staff member in the library. Of all her ministries, she claims this as her favorite. "I had to the opportunity to do so many things, and to learn so much about the computer, and to work with such wonderful people," she reminisces.
Though officially retired, today Sr. Valerie remains active as a volunteer at St. Raphael Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut, where she works in an administrative capacity, "doing whatever needs to be done," she says. She loves working at the hospital, and particularly notes the kindness and dedication of the staff there, who are committed to serving the community in their life-giving ministries.
In her spare time, Sr. Valerie loves to read and do needlework and quilting. Inconjunction with the hospital, she participates with about 20 other women in knitting shawls for cancer patients. "It's one way I can continue to give of myself and do something I love," she says.
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