YOUR TEACHER
ABOUT MR. WESTRA
I have worked with young people for over 25 years, including the last 13 years as a classroom teacher. Prior to joining the SJS faculty in 2015, I taught high school religion and social studies at Roncalli Catholic, and eighth grade social studies at Lewis and Clark Middle School. I grew up in Lincoln and benefitted from 13 years of Catholic education there. I graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in History, then subsequently studied philosophy and theology for three years as a seminarian (St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, NE and Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD). I moved to Omaha in 2003 to begin teaching while earning a master's degree through the MAGIS Catholic Teacher Corps at Creighton University. I also completed studies in Educational Leadership at Creighton. I have six siblings, thirteen awesome nieces and nephews, a father who lives in Lincoln and a mother who lives on in eternity. I enjoy traveling, the outdoors, reading, and am really skilled at claw games. For the past 27 years I have been a volunteer with Launch Leadership, a Nebraska-based nonprofit organization that provides youth leadership development to junior high and high school students from across the country. I live in Midtown and am a member of St. Cecilia Parish. I was confirmed on March 19, 1981 at St. Joseph's Church in Lincoln. My confirmation name is Jude in honor of the patron saint of lost causes (which I readily admit that I sometimes am). |
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