Starting on one career path doesn’t always mean you won’t veer off into a new path all together. Two teachers at Bishop McDevitt High School, Dr. Dorothy Burdziak and Michael Newns, can attest to this. Both started out with different career paths, but found themselves drawn to teaching.

Dr. Burdziak, formerly a practicing pediatrician, teaches Spanish at Bishop McDevitt. Dr. Burdziak had a natural talent for the language when she was a high school student, and chose Spanish, French and education as her area of study at La Salle University. However, at her part-time job in college as a receptionist and a medical assistant at a doctor’s office, she learned students with a Spanish degree could also go into nursing. From here, she decided to apply to medical school. Dr. Burdziak attended Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, but said that she “never felt like that was where she was supposed to be.” She worked hard, and found success with this career path, but never felt happy. 

Burdziak returned to La Salle some time later to work on a master’s in education while still practicing medicine. With changes internally at her medical employer, she found herself needing a new direction to go, and one thing led to another and spent the last 18 years teaching Spanish at Bishop McDevitt.  

Michael Newns, an alumni of Bishop McDevitt felt the desire to teach and mentor young people. Newns earned a business degree at West Chester University, and worked in investment banking for a year. He enjoyed this work, but longed for social interactions and the ability to mentor. Mr. Newns decided to go back to school to earn his master’s degree in education for business and technology. During this time, he took substitute-teaching positions in the Archdiocese, and was offered a full-time position at Bishop McDevitt.

Both teachers felt a call for teaching. From their stories, we can learn to commit to the the paths we find ourselves on, but when God creates a new path for you, follow it. In doing so is how we learn and grow. 

“Jesus calls us all to serve,” Newns said. “I try to call them to be … servant leaders. That’s the goal that we look at for society.”

At Saint Cornelius, our goal is to help each student find their path, but to also be open to change and adapt.