Living Our Witness: Teri Chudy, Principal, St. Jerome School, OconomowocRead Time 9 min

In Catholic education, Teri Chudy didn’t just find a fulfilling career — she found herself. As the St. Jerome principal prepares to go “back to school” for the 28th year, she reflects on the journey she’s taken — and the providence that has guided it. “I don’t think it’s an accident I am where I am today,” she said.

— A native of West Allis, Chudy graduated from Marquette University and taught for 19 years at St. John the Evangelist School in Greenfield before coming to St. Jerome School in Oconomowoc. She became principal at St. Jerome in 2022.

— She also has a master’s degree from the University of Dallas in Catholic school leadership.

— Married to husband John since 1998, she is the mother of four children and enjoys cooking, doing puzzles, reading and caring for the family cat, Coco.

What was your early life like?

I grew up in West Allis, an only child raised by my mom — not the norm, with all the two-parent families in my neighborhood and school. I always, always had a longing for siblings, and I was so jealous of this family that lived right across the alley from us. They had five children, and I spent a lot of time over there as a kid. It was always chaos over there — but in a joyful way. I always knew I wanted a family of my own someday.

Did you get that joyful chaos?

Yes — my husband John and I have four kids. We have plenty of joyful chaos.

When did you first get a desire to become a teacher?

I definitely felt that tug at a very young age. I have really, really great memories of this wonderful second grade teacher that I had who, despite my home situation being a little bit nontraditional, never treated me any differently. She was somebody who inspired me to become a teacher. You just knew she cared about every single student in her class.

Did you find your path in education right away, or did it take you a little while?

I graduated from Marquette in 1992, and at that time, the teaching field was flooded. There were 500 applicants for every job, and I was not one of the people that got a job. I finally got a long-term sub position in a first grade classroom, but I didn’t end up getting hired for the position permanently. It was heartbreaking, and — to my mother’s horror— I ended up leaving the teaching profession and I went to work at a major retailer in the fashion industry. But the retail job wasn’t what I was meant to do, and I decided after three years to go back to school at Cardinal Stritch to get my reading certification.

How did you find your way to Catholic education?

I always thought I would be a public school teacher, but one of the instructors that I had there was the principal of a Catholic school, and he just had the most wonderful stories about his school and about how things were there. I wasn’t Catholic at the time, so I didn’t know if that would be a possibility for me. But later that year, my now-husband proposed, and he was Catholic, so I started to investigate RCIA and was received into the Church at the Easter Vigil in 1998. I ended up getting a position at Blessed Trinity in Milwaukee. Later, I heard about an open position at St. John the Evangelist in Greenfield, and I applied and was hired. I ended up staying there for 19 years.

Did you ever tell your second grade teacher that she inspired you so much?

My first year at St. John the Evangelist, it was Catholic Schools Week and there were different people from the parish coming and touring the school. And suddenly, I get this tap of my shoulder, and I turn around, and it was my second grade teacher. She was a parishioner there. So, every year after that, she always came back to see how things were going.

What’s the best advice you have ever received about Catholic education?

It was from the very first pastor who interviewed me at St. John the Evangelist. He always held that a Catholic school needs to be so much more than a public school with a cross on the wall. It’s not just that we have religion class, it’s in how we see the world. It’s in why we teach what we teach. There’s a whole different purpose for why we exist.

What do you love about this back-to-school season?

It always feels like “the baby school year,” right? That’s exciting. It’s new and it’s fresh. But I think this year there’s an added excitement with what’s been building with the Eucharistic Revival. It’s a really exciting time to be a Catholic. Our school theme last year was “The Eucharist Is My Highway to Heaven,” and we had a lot of programming anticipating the Eucharistic Congress. This year our theme is “Be Who God Created You to Be and You Will Set the World On Fire.” We’re focusing on the kids and the community here, being who you were created to be in all aspects, in the way you treat others.