Catholic School Principal Retiring After Nearly 50 Years
After nearly half a century on the job, the principal of a Catholic school in Lisle is handing over the reins.
Sister Carolyn Sieg has lived most of her life around St. Joan of Arc School; having been a student and teacher there before serving as principal for 48 years.
"Most of my life has been in Lisle, probably since age 2," she said. "I've been from student to teacher to principal here, so it's been the full circle," she said.
She said students now are different from when she started.
"The earlier generations, the children took more responsibility for their actions, and consequences. Now, I think that it is a little more challenging to be able to get the children to accept personal responsibility," she said.
A Benedictine nun, Sieg has decided to retire, but not without a bit of dread.
"It's bittersweet. It's very, very difficult to move on. It's a grieving experience, but at the same time, I put it in religious terms. I have to have the sacrament of letting go," she said.
She said it was the nuns who taught her who helped her find her calling, and she's loved it.
"It constantly changes to meet the needs of the decade of time, where it's really a journey. It's never the same. So I have to say it's always exciting," she said.
Sieg officially retires on June 6, but she'll help train other Catholic school principals, so she's not done working.