Benilde-St. Margaret’s graduates take pride in their alma mater and often return as staff or just to stay connected with the community. Many BSM graduates have returned to BSM as administrators, tech support, and teachers. Now, there are over twenty alumni who now work at BSM.
Many former students who have become teachers love being back in the building and feeling like they can make a bigger impact than others with their experience, having graduated from BSM. Having been in the same shoes and taken the same classes as many students, alumni staff feel like they can make a closer connection to students here. “I learned not to think that the student sitting in front of me is a complete definition of that person. There’s a lot outside the classroom that teachers never get an opportunity to see the student doing, learning, performing, or playing some other kind of non-school sport…You never see that here, but when you hear about a student doing something like that, [it adds] a different dimension to the kid, and that’s a good lesson,” history teacher Megan Kern, said.
With many alumni staff here at BSM, there is also the interesting fact that many of them were formally taught by teachers still here. Many alumni teachers feel like it’s a real full circle experience in becoming colleagues with people who used to boss them around. “I actually think in some ways the tables have turned in some ways, like because of my role and because I work in tech, there are times where the teachers that once taught me certain things are now coming to me to learn certain things about technology,” IT help desk manager Peter Schubloom said.
What brought so many of the BSM graduates back was the sense of community they felt here. Many alumni have said that what they miss the most about BSM is the community they were a part of while they were here and what it means to them. “I would lean into this idea of being a Catholic school and having that faith, and idea of those principles…loving thy neighbor, having a connection to our community around us,” Schubloom said.