Sister Alan died the morning of April 7 at age 62 after a long battle with cancer. Knowing Sister Alan and her love for the church, it's somewhat fitting after all she had gone through over the last decade that she would wind up leaving this world during Holy Week--just a few days before Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter.

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Sister Alan was never defined by her cancer. No--it was so much more that defined her.

She came to St. Anthony's in 1978 and quickly became the first female athletic director ever in the state. Her daily work, though, was to serve the teens who called St. Anthony High School their home away from home.

More than 90 percent of the students who attend St. Anthony's are Black. Most came from some of the roughest neighborhoods of Jersey City and Newark, N.J. Many of the kids come from single-parent households.

These kids went through more in their teen years than anyone should have to go through in a lifetime. And yet, there she was, day after day, this petite figure, looking up to some very tall, very tough kids. And regardless of that amazing difference in stature, she had the most incredible command of each one of these kids.

Why? Because unlike many others who these kids came into contact with, she loved them all--and she believed in them. She never, ever gave up on a kid, no matter how poorly he or she might have acted on a given day or how bad life at home was. She never failed to remember that inside the rough exterior of many of the kids was something very special--a teenager who just wanted to be loved, to be understood, to be respected and to be believed in. They didn't always get that from their families.

It never mattered to Sister Alan that the kids weren't usually Catholic. It didn't matter to her that the kids had a different skin color than she did. It didn't matter to her that some of the kids came from other countries and their parents didn't speak English.

Sister Alan taught those kids a lot of lessons, and she taught me many as well. Though it was innate in me, she taught me, so vividly, how wonderful it is to celebrate the differences in each human being on this earth.

She may be gone now, but her legacy will live on forever--in my mind, in the minds of all who knew her and now, hopefully to some degree, in the minds of all of who read this story. What an amazing example of seeing the value of diversity Sister Alan was.

Rest in peace, Sister Alan.

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