Mrs. Blackstone-Gardner, better known as Mrs. BSG, is a religion teacher here at CCHS, but also so much more than just that. Mrs. BSG was also the Mission and Ministry Curriculum Chair, as well as a Uni Alumna, graduating in ‘89. Mrs. BSG brings so much of an impact to all students’ experiences at CCHS and is also a wonderful person to be around. 

Regardless of her obvious passion for it, Mrs. BSG did not always think she wanted to be a teacher. “I always thought I would be a psychologist. And then, there was a point in my studies where I realized that I wanted to work with teaching,” says Mrs. BSG. “So I decided to be a teacher so that I could work with students on both their best and worst days.” Mrs. BSG also talks about how she leaned more toward teaching because psychology was like “solving unsolvable problems” and teaching can help solve a student’s problems as well as educate them in the process.

Mrs. BSG is so good at connecting with Dons because she was one. “Uni was great. I think that similar to our campus here, it had so much spirit,” she says. “The whole thing was structured very similarly to how CCHS is now. We had similar rigorous courses, as well as different ‘zones’ for each grade during lunch and breaks.”

You would think that Mrs. BSG has always been in theology, due to her pivotal role in spiritual life here on campus; however, this is not the case: “I didn’t always know I wanted to teach in theology. I started out teaching in elementary school, 4th grade specifically, and one of the moms of my student and I were talking about what I should get my master’s in, and I was trying to decide between so many options,” she says. “She said to me, ‘You should do theology because it’s just like sociology but with God!’ and I don’t know why that kinda stuck with me.”

Owen Fretwell, a junior at CCHS, has Mrs. BSG as his Catholic Innovations 11 teacher. “Mrs. BSG is a really great teacher, and it’s easy to stay engaged in that class,” says Owen. “Mrs. BSG is really good at connecting with students and relating to us. She asks questions of the day every day to get to know us better and it’s a good way to ease into class.” 

Mrs. BSG is an outstanding teacher here at CCHS, and we are so lucky to have her. Her contributions to our school have not gone unnoticed, and to any student who has her, you are definitely in great hands!