Joyful Teaching
Sister Janine Braun developed a passion for education early on in life. One of six children, she was raised by faith-filled Catholic parents on a small dairy farm near Spring Hill, Minn. She attended Saint Benedict’s High School in St. Joseph, Minn., after being inspired by her eighth grade religion teacher, Sister Aniceta Drontle, to explore Benedictine life.
After graduation, S. Janine entered Saint Benedict’s Monastery with six of her classmates. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and German from the College of Saint Benedict under the mentorship of Sister Margaretta Nathe, was a Fulbright scholar, and received a master’s degree in administration from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. She is FLES-certified (Foreign Language in Elementary School) and studied at Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa, and St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul.
Her journey as an educator officially began in 1969 when she completed her student teaching at St. Paul’s School in St. Cloud, Minn., and continued to teach sixth grade there for two years. S. Janine has now served in education in the Diocese of St. Cloud for 50 years. “I never felt I was going to work,” she says. “For me, it was always a joyful experience.”
She considers it a blessing and privilege to have held multiple positions through several diocesan parishes including those in the Minnesota cities of Sauk Centre, Meire Grove/Greenwald, Osakis and Freeport. She has served as a director, administrator and teacher of both general and religious education.
Janine was first assigned to Sacred Heart School (SHS) in Freeport in 2003. She then served a six-year term on the leadership team at Saint Benedict’s Monastery under Sister Nancy Bauer, who was prioress of Saint Benedict’s Monastery from 2005–2011. After completing her term, S. Janine was delighted to be asked back to SHS in 2011 and remained there until her retirement in 2024.
Janine’s most treasured memories surround the growth and creativity of students in each of her unique classes throughout the years. She is grateful to have helped develop engaging programs with her colleagues, noting each initiative as a team effort. Projects like the Accelerated Reader program were introduced throughout the diocese, while others such as a Halloween vocabulary parade and One-School-One-Book initiative were implemented at the school level. She also shared a love for theater with students through drama activities. In Sauk Centre, she worked with Sister Philip Zimmer and other faculty to put on a spring musical production with students. At SHS, she oversaw the sixth grade Christmas program, a performance written and produced by students each year.
The time for Benedictine sisters to teach within the diocese has ended for now, and S. Janine looks back on this ministry with utmost gratitude. “I have had many blessings,” she says, looking forward to whatever the next chapter may bring.
Alyssa Tasto
This article was featured on page 8 in the fall 2024 issue of Call magazine.
Photo: S. Janine (center) with two students.
