On April 25, following an all school Mass celebrated by the Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, Mrs. Joan Troy was presented with the 2011-2012 Msgr. Gerald L. Lewis Award for Excellence in Teaching. Concelebrating with the Bishop were Msgr. Gerald L. Lewis, Administrator of St. Paul Parish in New Bern; Fr. Scott McCue, Pastor of St. Thomas More Parish in Chapel Hill; Fr. Mark Reamer, OFM, Pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Raleigh and Fr. Romen Acero, Assistant Principal for Spiritual Life at Cardinal Gibbons.

Among those participating in the award presentation were Mrs. Anne Williams Stahel, the founder of the Lewis Award, and Dr. Michael J. Fedewa, Diocesan Superintendent of Catholic Formation and Education.

Msgr. Lewis delivered the homily, explaining that St. Mark, whose feast day it was, was himself a teacher and an assistant to another teacher, St. Peter. Msgr. Lewis challenged students to imitate St. Mark, “who was not much older than many of you seniors when he began following the Lord,” and whose faith in Jesus determined the direction of his life and influenced all his actions, even to martyrdom. Msgr. Lewis said that instilling that foundational faith in students was the reason for Catholic education.

The Lewis Award Committee announced Mrs. Troy as the winner on March 9, 2012. She has been teaching at Cardinal Gibbons for 15 of her 26 years as an educator. High school Principal Jason D. Curtis said Mrs. Troy has had a significant impact in the school community. During her tenure, she has served as chair of the Math Department, encouraged students to start a musical theater club and played a major role in the growth of the school’s spiritual life program.

A graduate of Greensboro College with a B.S. in mathematics and a M.Ed. in mathematics from Campbell University, Mrs. Troy has been recognized as a Distinguished Educator and Mentor by the NCSU College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences and as a Woodrow Wilson Master Teacher by Princeton University.

In accepting the award, Mrs. Troy expressed profound gratitude and love to her students, to her husband and to the teachers and staff of Cardinal Gibbons.

The Monsignor Gerald Lawrence Lewis Award was initiated by Mrs. Stahel in 1992 to honor outstanding educators in the Catholic Schools of the Diocese of Raleigh and to recognize, promote and encourage teaching excellence. The Excellence in Teaching Award honors superlative classroom teachers, grades K-12, who have illustrated strong commitment to their students, colleagues and schools and to their family, church and civic communities. The Award is presented on an annual basis and carries a monetary award to the Recipient and to the Recipient’s school.

Article courtesy of the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh