Walking through Drexel Hall, one might have passed by the newest addition to the building, a Learning Center room created at the beginning of the year. Behind her desk in this rather peaceful corner of Drexel, Mrs. Mary Molitor, a veteran faculty member at Cathedral, is the main helping hand for these Learning Center students. This school year marks the end of her long career, and also the start of her retirement.

Mrs. Molitor has been working in the Learning Center for 12 years ever since she first arrived at Uni (USDHS). In that period of time, she has gotten a chance to help kids who have different learning styles, who need more time to process information, or who get anxiety when taking tests. In her job in the Learning Center, Mrs. Molitor said, “All kids learn differently, and we do have kids with special needs here who I enjoy working with.”

Long before coming to Uni, Mrs. Molitor was a journalist working on the front page of the San Diego Union Tribune and later the LA Times San Diego Bureau. Journalism has always been a part of her life, dating way back to when she was in her youth.

“I just always seemed to be a current events freak, even as a kid,” says Mrs. Molitor. Growing up in a family that always had at least three daily newspapers and five-to-six news magazines lying around the house, Mrs. Molitor was already exposed to news. She would watch political conventions with her dad at eight years-old and always had an interest in what was going on in the world.

“Working for the Tribune was awesome, and I never would have left that. I loved it so much,” she said. Her career soon came to an end, however, when she had children and could no longer hold the hours she had before. The hours were impossible for her to juggle, especially with her husband on the road. It didn’t work out for her family life, so she threw that career away.

With her two sons in public school, Mrs. Molitor soon became accustomed to the system and got an interest in teaching. After consistently volunteering, principals encouraged her to get a credential so she could substitute. This event started her teaching career and eventually brought her around to Uni when an opening occurred. A teacher at Uni went on maternity leave and a spot was left to be taken.

Mrs. Carmen Lonergan, a religion teacher at Uni, knew Mrs. Molitor’s husband and knew that Mrs. Molitor did long term substitutions, so she recommended her to the administration. Soon enough, Mrs. Molitor was interviewed for a position at Uni. “I had not stepped on a Catholic school campus since I was in high school,” said Mrs. Molitor. “It was just so refreshing. I had thought I might enjoy to work there.”

When the teacher came back, the administration liked Mrs. Molitor enough to give her a permanent position, and she stayed. “I haven’t regretted it at all. I love the environment of this place, the kids are so wonderful, and having a faith-based community like this is great,” she said.

In her years at Cathedral, Mrs. Molitor has been in the Learning Center, worked as CSF moderator, and did yearbook for four years. Presently, she is just working in the Learning Center and acts as the CSF moderator. Prior to the start of the school year, Mrs. Molitor started thinking about retirement maybe after a few more years. However, her plans took a major twist when, around the beginning of the school year, she was driving around Poway doing errands and a life changing event occurred.

Mrs. Molitor was in her car when she was hit by a minivan that ran through a red light at around 60 mph. She had seen the minivan, unwavering in its path, driving toward her at the last second, and she said, “I had seriously thought I was going to die.” In the aftermath, her car was totaled, she got a concussion, she cracked her left patella, and she had a sore wrist and elbow. “That was the first accident I have ever been in and I have been driving for 50 years!” she said.

Mrs. Molitor knew right then that she would retire at the end of the year and start doing all the things on her bucket list. “The incident gave me a whole new perspective on life,” she said.

Mrs. Molitor plans on traveling a lot in her retirement. She has a river cruise planned in Europe and plans on embarking on a 9-day bike tour of Burlington, Vermont to Quebec. “I’m going to be an active retiree. I have a lot of family in the San Diego area, so I plan on keeping in touch with them. I’ve made a lot of good friends here, and I’ll still be around,” she said.

Arriving close to the end of her career, and opening a new chapter into her retirement, Mrs. Molitor says she will miss, “the community, the students, parents, teachers, everything. I love how everybody comes together here. I plan on coming around for liturgies and sports, and I definitely don’t plan on giving up this community.”