A SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION CHAMPIONING OUR LOCAL WOMEN IN BUSINESS. PHOTOGRAPY BY JESSICA WHITLEY.

Mount de Sales Academy

Upper School Division Head Appointee

851 Orange St., Macon

478-751-3240

ebrown@mountdesales.net

mountdesales.net

What is your school’s mission?

Mount de Sales Academy (established 1876), an independent Catholic school sponsored and inspired by the Sisters of Mercy, is a diverse college-preparatory community of learners — students and teachers alike — who are poised to discover, challenged to innovate and motivated to serve. In carrying out our mission, we are dedicated to partnering with parents as they guide their students in the transformation from childhood to adulthood.

How have you shifted because of the pandemic?

I could not be happier with the adaptability, agility and flexibility with which Mount de Sales has responded to the pandemic. Our technology infrastructure was in place long before last March, so we were able to offer students a seamless transition to online learning. We have been able to act with the same adaptability as the pandemic has unfolded and public health guidelines have changed. As such, we have offered families consistent in-person learning without interruption.

What was the best business advice you ever received?

Someone once told me that, as educators, we are planting seeds for a harvest we may never see. I find this encouraging, and I am constantly reminded of the truth of this statement when alumni come back to tell us the role Mount de Sales played in their success.

I hope more women will: Recognize potential in each other and offer to help develop that potential. I am forever grateful to Sister Mary Rosina, the MDS president/principal who was willing to take a chance on a young, inexperienced applicant 21 years ago. She gave me the opportunity to start my career as an educator. I hope that I will be able to do the same for the next generation of educators.

How do you define success? 

I define success as being in a position to help others reach their full potential. This goes back to the core of who we are at MDS. It is the reason why MDS was founded. In fact, I cannot imagine a better example of this than the five Sisters of Mercy who came to Macon to make a difference in the lives of the people here. These women dedicated their lives to helping educate women and the poor so that they could reach their full potential.

You might be surprised that: Our founders, the Sisters of Mercy, operated a free school prior to establishing MDS and before the Bibb County Public School System started. Two of the Sisters were among the first teachers in Macon public schools and taught for 30 years! So, Mount de Sales is not only the oldest college-preparatory school in Middle Georgia, but it also is indelibly linked to Macon’s history and educational system. We cherish that history and we have proudly carried the banner well into the 21^st century.

What is the most gratifying part of your job?

The most gratifying part of my job is in the big moments, to be sure: championships, graduation, college acceptances. But more importantly, I am constantly gratified by the little moments: when the lightbulb goes off and a student “gets it,” when I see students laughing in the hallways or when students stop to help each other. It is both humbling and exciting to be part of such an important time in a young person’s life.