Little Shop of Horrors

Meet the Priests!

What is your role at Our Lady’s? I am one of the Priest Chaplains of Our Lady’s. My role involves supporting both pupils and staff in their spiritual life in the school and I also ensure that the Catholic life is fully offered to all. I offer both spiritual and pastoral care to the pupils and staff of Our Lady’s. Which countries have you worked in before? I have lived in a number of countries throughout my Seminary Training. I have worked in Ghana and the UK, which was my first major appointment after my Priestly. What were your first impressions of Our Lady’s? Our Lady’s is a very welcoming school which is friendly and amazing. Everybody has made me feel appreciated and welcomed. I see Our Lady’s as a family. What is your favourite thing about working with the Our Lady’s community? The students are very respectful and friendly, as well as the staff. The staff are simply amazing so this makes me love working at Our Lady’s. The support and encouragement I receive from Our Lady’s is much appreciated. Do you have any goals for the next academic year? Yes, in the coming year I am looking forward to having a very strong Chaplaincy Gift team and encouraging as many as possible to appreciate through actively being involved in aspects of life in a Catholic school. I want to continue to support Catholic life, potentially through planning retreats. Do you have any hobbies outside of working at Our Lady’s? Yes, I like listening to music, dancing and playing football. What are your greatest achievements to date? I have just been ordained as a new Priest about 3 years ago and so far I have enjoyed it very much. I have enjoyed my Priestly Ministry, especially working with young people in schools. What is your favourite food? Jollof rice and salad. Where in the world would you most like to visit that you haven’t been to yet, and why? Rome would be a dream. I am hoping to visit Rome next year. This is an important part of my religion and the centre of the Catholic Church. I would love to visit the Vatican on my visit. What is your best piece of advice for a pupil from Our Lady’s? That they must try to be the best versions of themselves to represent Our Lady’s wherever they are. What is your favourite Bible quote? Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” What is your favourite thing about being a Priest? The joy of being there for all and several others.

What is your role at Our Lady’s? I am an Ambassador of Christ at Our Lady’s, I represent the figure of Christ and the life of Our Lady’s. Which countries have you worked in before? I have worked in Nigeria, where I studied and carried out Pastoral work as a Teacher and Head Teacher. The UK is the only place I have done any Priest work. What were your first impressions of Our Lady’s? The hospitality and welcoming spirit were the first things I noticed, I did not feel like a stranger. I felt welcomed as a member of the community which I feel is most inspiring. What is your favourite thing about working with the Our Lady’s community? I have enjoyed going into classes across the school and being able to communicate with a variety of people. I have also loved being someone some people feel they can confide in. Do you have any goals for the next academic year? I wish to continue to build close relationships with both pupils and staff. It is through strong relationships that I can give the best guidance and support. I want to encourage everyone to understand the deeper ethos of the Catholic faith. Do you have any hobbies outside of working at Our Lady’s? I love singing and writing at every opportunity. What is your greatest achievements to date? My greatest achievement is making a link between a school I work with in the UK and the school I worked at in Ghana. This was through the JustYouth Foundation. Academically, I am proud of achieving my Masters in Theology. What is your favourite food? In Ghana I love Rice Balls and Peanut Soup, in the UK I love fish and chips with mushy peas. Where in the world would you most like to visit that you haven’t been to yet, and why? I would like to visit Rome because of its attachment to the history of the Catholic Church. What is your best piece of advice for a pupil from Our Lady’s? Dedication, commitment and perseverance are the core values of life and success. What is your favourite Bible quote? Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.” What is your favourite thing about being a Priest? Celebrating the Mass completely lifts my mood, making me feel very excited and happy.

Our Lady’s Alumni

Miss Olivia Owen, Medical Student at the University of Manchester, 2016 Leaver

My Career Journey from leaving school: After leaving Our Lady’s, I went to Loreto college to do my A-levels where I got 4 A*s in Biology, Chemistry, Maths and my EPQ. I then spent three years studying Medicine at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland where I graduated last year with a first-class honours bachelor’s degree. In September, I moved back to the north-west to finish off my training in Preston and I am on track to qualify as a doctor in 2024.

What do you do now and who do you do it for? Currently, I am in my fourth year at medical school. There is a lot of variety in what I do and it is a very busy world! I spend a lot of time in the hospital seeing patients, observing clinics and I have also been lucky enough to be able to scrub in and assist in theatre. There are lots of opportunities to get involved in research in medical school and this year I had my first piece of research published in a medical journal! I really enjoy teaching, so I also spend some of my time running teaching sessions for younger medical students. I am doing medicine for myself, as it is very fulfilling and rewarding. However, I am also doing it for others – it is an amazing thing to be able to improve (and sometimes even save) someone else’s life! My professional or personal hopes/ aspirations/goals for the future: My aim is to keep exploring the opportunities that are available to me and to keep learning as much as I can. I am still exploring my career options but so far, my favourite areas of medicine are surgery, cardiology and obstetrics and gynaecology. I am excited to explore these further over the next couple of years! Medicine is very demanding, so I am also working on ensuring that I have a good work-life balance and looking after my wellbeing alongside all the studying! In the future, I am hoping to continue to be involved in teaching and research alongside my clinical work. Any values or messages which have served you well from school? I owe a lot of my success to the amazing teachers that I had at Our Lady’s and I am very grateful to have gone to this school! I learned that your teachers are on your side and that they are one of your most valuable resources for your exams. If you need a little extra help with revision on a difficult topic, they are always more than happy if you politely ask. Also, at 22 I am still using the same revision techniques that my teachers from high school taught me! Other than the academic side of things, I also got some valuable life lessons from my time at school. Mrs Gallagher used to always say “Reach for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars”, and it is true! Our Lady’s also taught me to offer help to others, to be kind and to do small things that make other people smile. One bible verse that was read to us on our last day of year 11 has stuck with me for the past six years: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” This was also the moment that made me realise I wanted to become a doctor! Anything you would have changed whilst you were at school? I certainly was not the perfect student throughout all my time at Our Lady’s and looking back, it is not nice to think about how disruptive I was in some of my classes! However, I got my head down in year 10 and 11 and focussed on my GCSEs and that’s what is important. I am grateful to my past-self for being so driven and hardworking as this opened so many doors for me when I left school. If I could go back, I wouldn’t change anything at all because it is all of my past experiences that have shaped me into the person that I am today.