Three Questions With Graduate Support: Heidi Klosterman
Heidi Klosterman, M.Ed., LPC, NCC
Position/School: Graduate Support Director, St. Cecilia Catholic School & Academy
How long have you worked at Access? Twelve amazing and transformational years, so the bulk of my work history post-college.
What do you find most fulfilling about your job as a Graduate Support Director?
Working with a team of people who are simultaneously compassionate and intelligent. It’s such a joy and privilege to work amongst people that you really respect and enjoy. There is strong sense of integrity and camaraderie that I think is unusual in many places of employment, and regardless of religious affiliations – because we aren’t all Catholic or even Christian – I chalk it up to the Holy Spirit.
How do you define success for your students?
Mother Teresa was quoted as saying that God doesn’t ask us to be successful; He asks us to be faithful. I think this is what separates us from secular institutions. Don’t get me wrong, it feels really good to check boxes off my student to-do list. But in the end, you know, the REAL end when we stand before God, ACT scores and the amount of academic scholarships a student received aren’t going to matter. What’s going to matter is how that person lived, what he or she represented, who he or she was kind to, whether or not they acted with honesty and prudence. I would reframe the original question to inquire how I know I’m being successful in what I’m relaying to my students. We model the faith to our students in how we speak and act. If our students know that they are loved and have been created for a higher purpose because we are actively demonstrating this to them, we are doing our job.
What one lesson do you hope every student you work with takes with them through life?
There’s so much good and beauty in the world! Opportunities and challenges you could not have expected or planned for will find you. Lean on those people who will love, support, and encourage you to do and be better. I spent so much of my teen years and early 20’s hung up on what wasn’t happening or how I thought I was failing in real or imaginary ways. Disappointments and small failures – even big failures – aren’t the end of your story. Get up. Dust off. Ask God for help and He will send it.