In 2001, a moment of opportunity confronted the faculty of Creighton University’s Department of Education. Twenty-three years later, after responding to the enthusiastic advocacy of longtime Creighton benefactor and alumnus, John Micek, B.S.’50, hundreds of Catholic school teachers in 10 dioceses or archdioceses across eight states have pursued their careers armed with graduate studies, training, professional support and Ignatian faith formation through Creighton’s Magis Catholic Teacher Corps program.
It began in Summer 2001 after Micek approached leaders of Creighton’s Department of Education in the College of Arts and Sciences with a proposal to build a program similar to one he had observed at the University of Notre Dame. Not only did Micek bring the idea, his generous monetary gift helped seed the dream.
Today, the two-year program, in its own words, seeks to “form a corps of talented, highly motivated, and faith-filled educators to teach in Catholic elementary and secondary schools.” Participants earn a graduate degree while living in community and engaging in “ongoing spiritual, professional and personal formation.”
Mary Margaret (Leonard) Dennell, M.S.’20, felt compelled by the prospect of joining the Magis program and journeyed from Massachusetts to Omaha. “I knew Magis was where I was supposed to be,” she says. “I could never explain it at the time and still cannot, but I knew God was calling me to join Magis and come to Omaha.”
Although Dennell attended Catholic schools throughout her life, the possibility of teaching in Catholic schools did not occur to her until the Magis teacher program placed her at Sacred Heart School in historically Black North Omaha, NE, where students are accepted regardless of income. Today, she serves as the assistant principal for All Saints Catholic School in heavily Hispanic South Omaha. Both schools are part of the CUES School System, which consists of three urban elementary schools serving low-income students and families.
The Magis teacher program, which she participated in from 2017 to 2019, “helped me grow in my love and desire to serve marginalized communities,” Dennell says. “Magis truly shaped who I am as an educator and person. I have taken all that Magis has graciously offered and helped it form me into an educator who works through God first.”
Magis has thoroughly shaped both John Bell’s academic career and professional pursuits. He earned an undergraduate degree in history and American studies from Creighton in 2023 and is a current Magis student scheduled to graduate with his Master of Education in 2026. He is not just a Magis student, but also a Magis teacher.
He currently serves at Mercy High School in Omaha, where he teaches English, history, speech and drama, and directs school plays. The long reach of Creighton’s Magis program became clear to him when he discovered that his mentor-teacher at Mercy was a graduate of the program, as were the teachers who guided his childhood.
“During my time in primary and secondary school, like all students, I had favorite teachers,” he recalls. “It wasn’t until I went to Creighton that I realized all of them had one thing in common: They were in the Magis Catholic Teacher Corps program at Creighton. That’s what led me to apply to the Magis program.”
Rev. Jeff Dorr, S.J., M.Ed.’09, has covered some ground in the priesthood since he participated in the Magis program between 2007 and 2009. His path to his current position at the University of Detroit Mercy ran through the Jesuit Maȟpíya Lúta | Red Cloud Indian School in Pine Ridge, SD, where he taught middle school social studies.
“The greatest influence that the program has had on my life’s direction has been a recognition of my need to be oriented to loving and trusting in God,” says Fr. Dorr. “Both in my Jesuit formation and in my life in the priesthood, I’ve continually asked where God is calling me in love and how can I trust that I don’t have to have it all figured out.
“Just as my Magis experience helped me to see that trusting in God and acting from love could be sufficient from one class to the next, so to I have come to believe that this can guide me in my life as a priest.”
A more recent graduate is Christopher Smith, Ed.D., BA’15, M.Ed.’18, who studied in the Magis program between 2016 and 2018. Like Dorr, a veteran of teaching at Maȟpíya Lúta, Smith served as principal of Our Lady of Fatima School in Seattle until July 2024. He is now the founding director of the Seattle University Catholic Schools Teacher Corps, a new sister program to Magis at Creighton.
“Magis not only prepared me to be a Catholic educator, but also provided a rich sense of community,” he says. “Some of my closest friends, including my wife, Maddie, came from Magis, and the experience shaped my professional and personal life in profound ways.
“Founding the Seattle University Catholic Schools Teacher Corps feels like the culmination of everything I gained from Magis. I’m excited to lead this new program, dedicated to recruiting, forming and retaining teachers who will inspire and educate the next generation in Catholic schools.”
Contributed by Creighton University’s Office of Communications and Marketing