Sarah Striemer M’16, S’25 knew she wanted to be a teacher since she was a little girl.
“It’s all I’ve ever wanted to be,” she said, adding that her dream evolved from teaching music to ag education and then to elementary school education and administration.
Currently principal of Saint John Vianney (SJV) Catholic School in Fairmont, Minn., she started working there in 2002, beginning in the first-grade classroom and then teaching fourth-graders for 12 years.
It was by watching other strong female leaders that she was encouraged to become an administrator.
“I had a very good experience with the superintendent of schools for Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Marsha Stenzel, she’s a really positive mentor for me and I loved watching her work and seeing what she was doing as an administrator for the diocese,” she said. “When I was teaching, the principal at that time, Joan Schaffer, also was a really good role model for me. I have four kids and when the twins started kindergarten, after lots of prayer, I felt the pull to go back and get my masters. In Catholic schools, you can be a principal with a master’s degree.”
As she looked at schools, she said Saint Mary’s was at the top of her list.
“Within the diocese, Saint Mary’s is talked about a lot, so when I was looking at different programs, I loved that I could do it all online because of, geographically, where we live. With little kids, driving long distances was not possible.”
She earned her M.A. in Educational Leadership degree in 2016, earned her principal licensure, and returned for the Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) degree, which she will finish December 2025.
“The experience was wonderful. I loved that the majority of us (in the program) were the same people all the way through. We really got to be close. I’m still friends with a number of them from my master’s program. The teachers were great. I learned a ton. It was something that pushed me professionally to grow in being a better educator, and I learned how to research different things to find out the best practice for our current situations in our school.”
Striemer added that the courses helped her come out of her shell and grow in leadership.
“It gave me the confidence to talk to people outside of my school, to grow relationships with other principals and other leaders. I don’t know that I would have done that without this program,” she said.
Striemer also just finished teaching her first course in the Catholic school leadership certificate program at Saint Mary’s. “That was so fun,” she said, adding that because she loves teaching, as well as being a principal, this opportunity allowed her to do both in a manageable way. “I absolutely loved it. I wish I could teach a course every term,” she said.
Striemer said what she loves most about her job and about working in Catholic education go hand in hand. “The best part about my job is I get to talk about Jesus with kids every single day. At the end of the day, that’s the most important thing we do,” she said. “Academic education is super important to be successful here on earth, but my job as a Catholic educator is to help them get on pathway to heaven.
“Teaching at Saint Mary’s, it’s been so amazing to talk with other leaders in our Catholic schools and see the great things they are doing to help their students grow in faith, and to help their parents and teachers grow in faith. It’s so much of what we need in our world today.”
Striemer recommends Saint Mary’s. “All of the professors have been super helpful. I love the way the program is designed; it’s very doable for someone working full time. I think all of the things we learned about in each class were very pertinent to what we were doing. And I love the relationships I’ve built in my class and also with instructors.”
