Theodore James Ryken Award Presented to Terry Wood P ’24, ’26

Congratulations to Terry Wood, Theodore James Ryken Award Recipient!

During a schoolwide Mass to celebrate the Feast of St. Francis Xavier in December, Terry Wood P ’24, ’26 was presented with the prestigious Theodore James Ryken Award. This is the highest award in the Xaverian Brothers school community!

The Theodore James Ryken Award was established to recognize an adult member of the school community who, by their commitment and dedication, lives the mission of the Xaverian charism of education and strives to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to participate in the school’s community of faith and to nurture members of the community, to be committed to academic excellence and to celebrate the talents of individuals, to acknowledge the importance of educating the whole person, and to fulfill the Gospel call to peace and justice. “I am honored to be this year’s recipient of the Theodore James Ryken Award,” said Mrs. Wood. “So many of the past recipients during my time at SMR have been colleagues and mentors that I have admired and aspired to emulate. Their compassion, humility and zeal have been an inspiration to me and so many others throughout the community. Words cannot adequately express how much love and support this community has given me over the past 20 years. I am grateful for the opportunity to return that love and support every day to the wonderful students, faculty and staff, and I am truly humbled to join those who have inspired me as a recipient of the Theodore James Ryken Award.” Mrs. Wood has served the St. Mary’s Ryken community for over 20 years and wears many hats, including Spanish teacher, media specialist and educational tech systems administrator. She received her bachelor’s degree in Spanish from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and a master’s degree in educational technology leadership from George Washington University. Mrs. Wood is well respected in the St. Mary’s Ryken community by faculty, staff and students alike. Dean of Academics Brad Chamberlain notes, “Quietly and almost always behind the scenes, Mrs. Wood works tirelessly to correct and change and troubleshoot and edit our new software in ways that most people do not know or understand. She always looks for solutions to help students get as much as they can out of their academic time here at SMR, and I truly cannot thank her enough for her time and devotion.”

Fellow teacher Jason DeLucco said, “I never met someone as dedicated and passionate for the SMR community as Terry. She willingly sacrifices countless hours of her personal time to improve so many programs for her students and co-workers.”

Likewise, Principal Catherine Bowes said, “Terry has been an invaluable support to me as principal. She was my close partner in moving kids smoothly to and from virtual learning during the last school year. She has generously helped me fill skill and knowledge gaps. She is a servant-leader to our faculty. She models the Xaverian values without exception.” Mrs. Wood’s husband Ben, daughter Lizzy ’24, son Connor ’26, her parents and her in-laws were in attendance to celebrate her contributions to our St. Mary’s Ryken community.