Sr. Valerie Marie Roxburgh
First Profession, July 2007

Sr. Valerie Marie Roxburgh came to religious life after careers as a dance instructor, businesswoman and administrative assistant. In 2001, she returned to the Catholic church and met Sr. Mary Teresita Keliher at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Ventura. Sr. Teresita guided her spiritual journey and helped her respond to the wake-up call she received from the tragic events of 9/11.

“I realized my security was in God,” she explained. After a long discernment process that included a discernment group, archdiocesan vocations days and live-in experiences, Sr. Valerie was accepted as a candidate for religious life.

During Sr. Val's initial formation, she lived at Providence House, taught religious education and a Body and Soul class, and participated in an inter-community novitiate as well as the national novitiate of the Sisters of Notre Dame. She will serve as an office manager at Notre Dame Academy while studying for a religious studies degree from Mount St. Mary’s Weekend College.

“[I felt] in awe of God’s boundless love, patience, goodness, and grace,” she said after her profession. “I also felt extremely grateful to my community, family and friends for their loving and prayerful support these past four years.”