Dear St. Elizabeth's Community, 

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the space between stimulus and response—the space that Viktor Frankl describes when he says:

"Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our responses. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."

It can often feel like the pace of the stimuli coming at us demands an immediate reaction, that we must have an answer, an opinion, or a solution right away. But I’ve learned—both in my work in education and in wildland firefighting—that slowing down is sometimes the most important thing we can do. Out on a fire line, if you don’t take time to read the weather, you can put yourself and others in danger. The same is true in our daily lives.

That space between what happens and how we respond is where our greatest power lies. It is where we choose poise over panic, curiosity over certainty, and community over isolation. It is where we live out our values.

As we navigate the days ahead, I encourage all of us—our students, our families, our faculty and staff, and ourselves—to honor that space. Let’s do what we do best: stay in community, help each other, and remain curious.

Thank you for being part of this community that values human dignity and connection, kindness, and the thoughtful shaping of the world we want to see.

Best foot forward,