Alumna Spotlight

Diane Giannini Elkins ‘70 AN EDUCATOR’S JOURNEY

Celebrating 40 years in Catholic Eduction

What was it like being a woman in Education?

The teaching profession is one that has historically been run by women and so being a woman in my space was as easy as being a man in every other space. That isn’t, of course, to say that the job was easy by any means. But just as far as gender playing a role, it really wasn’t much of a factor. Being a teacher is about personal motivations, goals and experiences, about wants and wishes and needs and passions, and about what drives your students and what drives you.

So at a time when a lot of women were going through their choices of professions, it was kind of freeing in the sense that education allowed a teacher to be a teacher. What certainly played a major role in my career and what helped me to be prepared for my career was being a product of the times—in the sense that I was surrounded by incredibly strong women and an age that promoted female individualism and achievement. I was in grade school in the late 50s and the early 60s. You felt empowered from the get-go. Women were beginning to command how they wanted to be treated and the ways they wanted to be seen.

When did you know that you wanted to be an educator?

All the way up until my junior year in high school, my plan was to go to nursing school. I was pretty set on it, but in my junior year at Mercy I took a religion class that required us to volunteer. I chose the Lawrence Daycare Center in San Mateo. We provided a free tutoring service for elementary school kids, and I just fell in love with it. Almost immediately actually, I felt nursing was out and teaching was in. I started taking out all my children’s books that I had lying around the house and started donating them to the daycare center. Soon I was going on my own time, and the kids would get excited when they saw me. I continued volunteering until I graduated a year later.

I had planned on being a nurse for so long and found that I didn’t know what my college major should be. It was actually Sister Marie at Mercy who I talked to about my concerns. She knew that I had a love of reading books and said, “Well, if you really love literature so much, you do know that there’s such a thing as an English major.” The rest, as they say, is history.

What was your road to teaching like?

I had set up 8 different interviews at various Bay Area schools. At first I wanted to teach kindergarten in the public school system, so I wasn’t expecting too much from my first interview which was for a fourth grade position at a private school. On the day of my interview, I arrived early to check the place out and noticed that the Church was open. I was instantly moved by its beauty. I just fell in love with Epiphany’s students, parish, families, staff, and neighborhood. I had no idea that I would spend my entire 40-year career at one school, and then later become it’s administrator.

I ended up getting from Catholic education what I thought I would need to go to a public school for—the sense that there was no separating the school from the community. We had people that worked and volunteered for years after their children had graduated. We also had people who volunteered their time who never had any students but were just invested in the community. I could have retired sooner, but it was just very hard to leave the place that had really become my home away from home—the place that had accepted and adopted me, the place where I was challenged and where I grew as a person, and as an educator, the place where I saw and taught multiple generations within families. I can’t possibly say how thankful I am to the Epiphany community and families.

What aspect of Mercy did you like the most?

At Mercy, all of the student leaders were girls and the school itself was run by women—led by nuns at the time. I loved the fact that it was an all-girls school. At Mercy you could be anything and were encouraged to do everything. I believe 100% that an all-girls school is set up to empower girls in ways other schools can’t. You’re not limited in any way. Leadership and debate were always the undertone of the community and it encouraged individualism.

Mercy was empowering in a time when so many high schools were still male-dominated in sports. At Mercy, the pep rallies were for girl teams. It was a time when girls were being empowered to do anything we could think of, and we were seeing women on the television doing absolutely everything!

Who impacted you the most at Mercy?

As far as favorite teachers, there was Mrs. Rollins, our PE teacher, who was fiery! Sister Suzanne was my music teacher, and she was a strong woman. Of course Sister Marie, without her I wouldn’t have known to be an English major. I also loved Mrs. Gerber who was the PE and Speech Teacher. Her speech class was incredible! She taught us stuff that nowadays it seems many have forgotten—like when you are debating someone, you can disagree with the point that they are making or challenging, without going after the person who is making the point. She taught us that the conversations with the people that you disagree with are important ones. Learning to navigate these conversations with people you disagree with, in search of commonality, it can be hard but is extremely important. What it comes down to is that everyone should be required to take Mrs. Gerber’s speech class!