From student to teacher: Cavel embodies the spirit of Marian
To spend 35 years
in the same place is really quite an accomplishment.
Ms. Connie
Cavel has devoted much of her life to
Marian. Before beginning her career as
an English teacher here 31 years ago, she experienced Marian first as a
student.
Cavel attended Marian High School from 1964 to 1968. She was active in speech, Spanish Club, Prom
Committee, and Newspaper Staff. She was
also a class officer sophomore through senior year, and was Class President
junior and senior years. Cavel was also a golf team substitute, although there
were “no organized matches, because golf was not yet a sanctioned sport.”
“It is difficult to
pinpoint my favorite high school memory because I had so much fun,” said
Cavel. She enjoyed dances, which
included Harvest Hop, Marian’s fall dance, and Prom.
Prom is one of her
favorite memories. “At my senior prom,
the juniors got a nationally known group, Gary Pucket and the Union Gap, to
play at the dance. It was a really big
deal, they must have paid a lot of money for it.”
Cavel remembers
many Field Days, a tradition still at Marian today, “It snowed on Field Day
during my sophomore year. It was
snowing on May 4! They had to postpone
it until a week later. There were no
restrictions on the mascots, so there were huge floats.”
There was one float
that particularly stands out in Cavel’s memory. “There was a float that was a
giant pink rabbit float made out of wood, chicken wire, and napkins. It was two-thirds the size of the classroom
I teach in now, with ears, a nose, and a tail that wiggled. After that float, they had to start making
restrictions on Field Day mascots,” said Cavel.
Another favorite
memory of Cavel’s was Marian’s February Mardi Gras competition. “Each class would create booths with games
and activities for people to pay to do.
The class that raised the most money would win, and their candidate was
Mardi Gras queen.”
Ms. Cavel was aware
very early on what she wanted to do with her life. Cavel said, before she graduated, “I said that I wanted to come
back here and teach, and to save me a spot.
When I finished college at Creighton, the principal of Marian called my
mother to double check that I was still planning on coming here to teach, and
to tell her that there was a spot here for me.”
Ms. Cavel started teaching
at Marian in the fall of 1972. “The
fact that I knew that this was what I wanted to do for such a long time made
the transition into teaching easier.”
She has immensely
enjoyed teaching here, on a different level than being a student. Ms. Cavel currently teaches a full load of
English courses, in addition to a freshman homeroom and study hall.
“One thing that
hasn’t changed is the statue of the Blessed Mother by the entrance to the
school,” said Cavel.
Ms. Cavel has high
hopes for Marian’s future. “I always
thought I had a great education. I
thought Marian was the best school in town.
Now, I think that it’s the best in the state, perhaps even in the
country. Hopefully it will continue to
promote and uphold the core values of the Servants of Mary. I hope the Spirit of Marian continues to
grow.”