Very few of us are so blessed in life to have come across teachers who change our lives forever. These teachers live by principles and forever remain examples to follow. Wherever each of us are, any news of these teachers takes us back to the good old days, filled with the best of memories. These teachers always remain an important part of those memories, and we carry what they taught us into the more complicated years of life.
Sister Joseph Mary was one such teacher, and the news of her departure from this world left all of us who knew her with a heavy heart. Every “Crossian” fortunate enough to have had her be a part of their Holy Cross College experience will remember her forever, and will cherish her memories forever. The immense love that her students and colleagues had for her alone is enough for anybody who didn’t know her to understand that she was a very special person indeed.
Sister Joseph Mary was born on February 14, 1930, and took her last breath at 6:50am on July 28 this year. She was a renowned educator and had served in the education field of Bangladesh from 1956 to 2014. In her lifetime of working in the education sector, she had been the director of students’ affairs and the principal of Holy Cross College. She was also the co-ordinator of the Holy Cross Sister’s Association of Asia.
Her personality made her the best person to be around. She had a cheerful, witty disposition and was always seen smiling. She livened up the environment around her everywhere she went. In the few special classes we were fortunate to be taught by her, she made us laugh harder than any other teacher. She had a unique drama-filled style of teaching and that made what she taught us hard to forget. I remember her acting with funny facial expressions to make a point about how watching MacGyver during exam time would negatively affect our concentration in studies.
My mother and aunts, who were also her students, still recall her animated lectures on “Daffodils,” a poem which was in the English curriculum back then. When we were students at Holy Cross College, Sister had grown very old. Yet, she was always there to encourage us and cheer us on, be it on sports day or in cultural programs or science fairs. Her never-ending support meant a lot to each and every one of us.
The most important thing she taught us that I’ll never forget is the approach of looking at life as an uphill climb. We should never stop at the top, she used to say. To stop at the top of the hill meant that we would eventually have to come down the hill to move forward. She taught us to only aspire to reach the top of the hill and to move that “top” to further heights whenever we came close to reaching it -- we would always be moving up in the battle that is life.
We’ll reach for the stars like you inspired us to, Sister Joseph Mary. You were one of the reasons why Holy Cross, instead of being just a name, became a legacy as an institution. We’ll keep you in our prayers, along with Sister Marian Teresa, Sattar miss, and Mitra sir. Our memories of college wouldn’t have been the same without any one of you.
These personalities opened my eyes to how noble the profession of teaching is. Teachers play unparalleled roles in shaping the people we turn out to be, and their greatest satisfaction lies in our triumphs. They feel sorrow with us in our stumbles and joy with us in our leaps.
Inventors get world-wide recognition and writers get prizes, but the greatest prize these teachers ever yearned for was to see us succeed in life. Their names might not be written in the pages of history, but they’ll be etched forever onto our hearts.
I can hear you calling my name like it was just yesterday, Sister Joseph Mary. The skies have gained a shining star and the world has lost one. Sister Joseph Mary, you will be missed. May your soul rest in peace.