Regina Dominican received a grant as part of Hilton Foundation’s goal to raise awareness of the contribution of women religious in the United States. On March 9, five Regina Dominican girls volunteered to offer a day of service. The girls stopped first at Visitation School, sponsored by the Sinsinawa Dominicans. S. Jean Matijosaitis, ministering as principal for 30 years, greeted the girls. Sister drew attention to a visual of all the women from Visitation who entered the Sinsinawa Congregation and all those who taught at the school these last 127 years.

The Assistant Principal and alumna of Regina Dominican, Jena Markoff ’02, related memories of attending Dominican Regina High School and her journey from there into a leadership role in a Dominican sponsored school. The girls were captivated by Jena’s stories about her teachers, some of whom taught the girls on the service trip.

The afternoon included tutoring second and fourth graders with the Camus Ministry Service group from DePaul University. Sarah Pereira, a Dominican volunteer, spoke to us about her ministry at Visitation and treated the girls to an ice cream treat. Before the girls left, they interviewed Zach Moeller and Elizabeth Drake via SKYPE. Zach and Elizabeth are Dominican volunteers whose ministry is assisting refugees and immigrants as part of Catholic Charities’ outreach.

The day concluded at the Adrian Dominican Westchester Apartments to pray, enjoy pizza, and share stories. Prayer began with a message about National Catholic Sisters Week form S. Patricia Siemen, Prioress of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, followed by introductions, and a reading about the call to share our gifts and talents with the people of God, our community The sisters shared their answer to the question what brought you to the Adrian Dominican Congregation.