Q&A with Senior Vice President of Mission and Strategic Initiatives Katie Higgins ’99

After graduating from Magnificat, Katie Higgins ’99 studied theology and history at the University of Notre Dame and served as a campus minister and theology teacher at Villa Joseph Marie High School. She joined Magnificat’s Campus Ministry team in 2006, earned a Master of Pastoral Studies from Loyola University Chicago in 2012, and then served as a theology teacher and senior editor. She was appointed Assistant Vice President of Mission in 2019 and Vice President of Mission in 2020.

This year you were promoted to Senior Vice President of Mission and Strategic Initiatives. What does this newly created position entail?

Our Mission and Values are part and parcel of everything we do, and this position carves out spaces to even more intentionally facilitate collaboration among the leadership team members around special projects. For example, this year on the Board level, we looked at our Enrollment initiatives for how we could best support our students and strengthen their sense of belonging in the transition to Magnificat. In partnership with Vice President of Enrollment and Marketing Nikki Clevenger Mohar ’89 and the Enrollment Team, I helped coordinate the collaboration among our leadership team members to revamp our Freshman Welcome Celebration and summer programming into Orientation. In addition, I am focusing on the development and formation of our directors and leadership team by facilitating a series of leadership workshops.

How would you describe your high school experience?

Certainly the strong academic preparation and the expansiveness of the classes I took prepared me for college and life beyond, while also expanding my worldview to awareness about justice issues. Alongside that, the opportunities that I had for service and leadership and involvement in campus ministry were really formative and shaped what I went on to get involved with in college and my career. Being in an all-girl setting was also empowering for me. As a student, I was often shy and quiet, and I think especially into junior and senior year, opportunities here helped me to grow and be more confident. And, while I didn’t have any HMs as teachers, I think the way that their concern for people who are marginalized and their advocacy to care for God’s creation was very much instilled in my time here and subsequently shaped my understanding and practice of faith.

What do you think are some of the most significant changes since you graduated 26 years ago?

One of the things that has been most gratifying to see are some of the student-led initiatives that have resulted in big changes within the school. One that jumps out was students coming back from our immersions in 2008 and really being on fire about our lackluster recycling efforts in the school. So that started with this small group, really trying to spread some awareness around our recycling and then looking at what we can do about it, which grew into the school wide recycling initiative, and then composting, and led to the other sustainability initiatives that we have today. I’m so proud of how our students continue to live Mary’s Magnificat in our school and world.

What are you most excited about for Magnificat’s future?

I am excited about the new life that each year brings with the unique student body we have and coupled with the addition of new faculty and staff. It is energizing and inspiring to see what comes from the ideas and initiatives of everybody here working collaboratively to live out our Mission and respond to God’s call. As a part of our commitment to the holistic education of our students, we both build on the foundation of what came before and strive to respond to the needs and opportunities that arise. It is always a joy to see where this leads!