A lasting gift: Love for students, joy for teaching and faith in God define St. Theodora winner

Her inquisitive nature—and her deep belief in the beautiful design of the world that God has created—serve Leah Massingale well as she teaches science to middle-school students at St. Michael School in Greenfield. (Photo by John Shaughnessy)

By John Shaughnessy

Some moments from childhood stay with you forever, influencing the person you become and impacting the people you come to love.

Even as an adult, Leah Massingale has kept the wonder and sense of beauty for the world that she knew as a child—the wonder and beauty that she first experienced as she stood by the ocean, looked up at the stars and entered a deep cavern beneath the Earth.

For Massingale, that childhood wonder has evolved into her deep belief in “the beautiful design” of the world that God has created. And she especially sees the wonder and beauty of the world in the middle-school students she teaches.

“It’s important that my children see that God has made them in his image, that they are special to him, that he sees each of them as unique,” Massingale says. “Every day, I look around the classroom and see the wonder in their faces, and the joy that comes when they understand something. I wouldn’t want to do anything else. I’m a teacher.”

Her love for her students, her joy for teaching, her faith in God, and her continuing appreciation for the beauty and wonder of the world are all parts of the reason why Massingale has been chosen as this year’s recipient of the Saint Theodora Excellence in Education Award, the highest honor for a Catholic educator in the archdiocese. (Related: Finalists for teaching honor come from throughout the archdiocese)

Oh, yes, she also has a wry sense of humor, as shown by some of the signs that dot her classroom at St. Michael School in Greenfield.

Touches of humor and love

One sign of her humor declares, “No sense being pessimistic. It wouldn’t work anyway.”

Another notes, “I’m not bossy, I just know what you should be doing.”

And a third simply states, “Shed Thy Attitude.”

The touches of humor are an indication that while Massingale loves her students, she also understands that the middle school years can be a difficult time as they make the transition from childhood to adolescence.

“What is most rewarding for me is helping the children get through the rough years,” she says. “Middle school is hard. Kids can be mean. Family situations are difficult. The world tells them they’re not good enough. Jesus has given me a heart for the quiet kids—the ones that try to slip by without being noticed, the ones that look sad or disheveled or disorganized.

“I try to connect with these kids every day on a personal level—just simple things, like an extra greeting in the hallway or a gentle encouragement.”

That ability to connect with students distinguishes Massingale, says Father Aaron Jenkins, pastor of St. Michael Parish.

“The message outside her door provides a gentle reminder to all, ‘You are a child of God,’ ” Father Jenkins says. “She works to recognize each child’s gift.”

St. Michael’s principal Patty Mauer says Massingale is motivated by “the possibility of writing a success story with each child that enters her doorway.”

“She welcomes all with open arms, but she definitely has a soft spot for those who have yet to see God’s gift in themselves,” Mauer notes. “Middle schoolers so eagerly want to fit into the mold of peer expectations, but often measure themselves short for one reason or another. She works hard for them to see the positive.”

Discovering the world’s wonder

Massingale credits her appreciation for the wonder and beauty of the world—and her students—to her first teachers, her parents.

The daughter of Jerry and Pam Massingale grew up with her brother and sister in a family that enjoyed traveling and exploring.

“My dad grew up in Indianapolis, but he didn’t get to see a lot as a child,” she recalls. “He worked really hard so our mother could stay at home with us. He installed telephones. He loved to take us places—to the Smoky Mountains, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky and to the ocean.

“He always had time to take us walking or read us Bible stories. We’d look up at the stars, and listen to the crickets and the cows in the fields. He was always looking for something new you could look at and see. And we’d talk about that. Dad had this big influence on me about wanting to see what’s out there.”

She returned the favor to her father when she received a teaching fellowship from Lilly Foundation, Inc. in 2011, using her grant to visit and photograph a dozen national parks, including Yellowstone, Mesa Verde and the Grand Canyon.

“Before we went on that journey, my dad had a heart attack, and he thought his journeying was over,” she recalls with a smile. “So it was amazing to give that trip to him, and give back to him.

“He nearly broke his neck trying to get down to the Pacific Ocean, which he had never seen before. To see in him what he must have seen in us as children was amazing.”

A lasting gift

While Massingale has a deep sense of the wonder and beauty of the world, she may have an even deeper commitment to all the people and pets she considers as family.

She lives with her parents, taking care of her mother who has Parkinson’s disease and her father who is a diabetic.

She worked part time in a veterinary clinic for 10 years, earning extra income to pay for the bills for her dogs.

And she beams when she talks about her “Christian colleagues” at St. Michael School.

“It’s nice when things get bad that you know there will be people who will rally around you,” she says. “They make a world of difference.”

That’s the world Massingale has strived to share with her students during her 19 years of teaching at St. Michael School. She longs to show them the wonder of the world. And she longs to show them the difference they can make in the world.

“A quality Catholic education places Jesus at the center of the school and the classroom,” she notes. “It focuses on students as whole people, concerned not only with academic growth, but also with spiritual growth. It places importance on family and community.

“I try to serve as a good role model, demonstrating patience, fortitude, self‑control and gentleness in my dealings with them. When I fail, I ask for their forgiveness. When they fail, I remind them of the beauty of grace.”

She has never forgotten the moments from her childhood that have influenced the person she has become, the moments that have impacted the people she has come to love. She hopes to leave that same impact on her students, her “children.”

“I hope they remember that I loved them even when it wasn’t easy.

“I had the example of God’s love at home. My parents are faithful to each other. They put each other first, and they put us first. I hope my students see that kind of unselfish love and connect it to being a Christian. Mostly, I hope they look at me and see the love that Jesus has for them.” †