Sister Jean’s ‘Wake Up With Purpose!’ Offers Religion and Reflection

In collaboration with American sportswriter and broadcaster Seth Davis, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, BVM’s memoir “Wake Up With Purpose!: What I’ve Learned in My First Hundred Years” begins just as it ends — with belief.

The first chapter starts with Schmidt’s earliest memory — the recovery of her younger brother Ed from whooping cough after visiting their grandmother’s grave. Her mother told her he was cured by their grandmother.

“This is how it was for our family,” Schmidt writes. “Everything started with belief.”

At just over 200 pages, the memoir closes with an eager confidence in the Loyola basketball 2022-23 season and an anticipation for the future.

In between the opening and concluding paragraphs of the book, Schmidt recalls her life through the turn of the century. 

The beginning explores her childhood during the Great Depression in San Francisco. The middle chapters follow her cross-country travels teaching for the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary convent. In the end, the memoir settles in Chicago, chronicling her time at both Mundelein College and Loyola University Chicago. 

Throughout the book, Schmidt is witty and charming in her narratives. Her delightful anecdotes range from an attempt to popularize the nickname “Bionic Nun” after her hip surgery to sarcastically seeking penance for eating her brother’s donut as a child.

Her memoir is infinitely entertaining as she divulges secrets. In one example, she reveals she always knew when students at Mundelein College were hiding alcohol, but chose to ignore it. In another, she shares that her brother once got in trouble for unnecessarily ringing a fire alarm. 

Her courtside memories of Loyola basketball games are wonderfully insightful. Younger readers may laugh at Schmidt’s unexpected use of modern lingo such as “Big W” to describe game wins.

Schmidt’s sharp memory provides fascinating personal details of historical events which might otherwise be lost, especially regarding the history between Mundelein College and Loyola.

Interspersed amongst these stories are pieces of philosophical wisdom — some theological, others social and a few on the profession of teaching. 

Schmidt addresses difficult topics with compassion and sensitivity. She reconciles with religious faith after loss, racial and gender discrimination in the 20th and 21st centuries and the advantages of considering students’ perspectives in education.

In the face of grief, Schmidt places trust in God’s plan. 

“I believe it’s God’s purpose to help us through the suffering, not avoid it altogether,” she wrote.

She rejects the idea that faith is always happy and kindly affirms the anger, hurt and sadness that accompanies loss. 

“It’s okay to get mad at God,” she said to a young couple grieving the death of their newborn. “You can talk to Him any way you want.”

Continuing her empathetic affirmations, Schmidt graciously accounts for students’ interests, wants and needs in her comments on the art of education.

During her years teaching unruly elementary and middle schoolers, she developed a principle of gentle discipline in order to make the children more receptive to learning. 

“I could be tough when I needed to be, but I never wanted to rule my classrooms through fear,” Schmidt writes. 

While teaching at Mundelein College, she believed in the importance of students having a voice in meaningful discussions on campus.

The college’s philosophy was “it’s the job of a school to empower its students rather than just setting standards and expecting the students to meet them no matter what,” according to Schmidt.

Schmidt’s memoir is a pleasant and interesting read. It’s satisfactory both for the simple enjoyment of the adventures of a 103-year-old Catholic sister and for the exploration of personal philosophies refined by decades of experience.

“Wake Up with Purpose!: What I’ve Learned in My First Hundred Years” is now available at most major bookstores, and the author herself is accessible for autographs and selfies at her office in the Damen Student Center atrium.

Featured image courtesy of Harper Select