Commencement Weekend in ACE: Traveling and Searching for Wisdom

by Tom Betterly (ACE 31, Phoenix)
ACE Teaching Fellows

From left to right: Tom Betterly, Kate Jensen, and Sean Kelley in master's regalia holding their M.Ed. diploma in hand jumping up.

Image of the sand volleyball court filled with ACE teachers playing volleyball at Ronora Lodge in Watervliet, MichiganThere I was: standing outside my broken-down car on the shoulder of the I-17 just north of Sedona, Arizona. This interruption to my journey home from my ACE placement sparked a reflection on my two years as an ACE teacher. As my dad and I found our way to a car mechanic and to an Enterprise Rent-A-Car, I sought to capture moments of wisdom from my time in ACE. In this two-year experience, I did so much. I taught high school Algebra I far away from my home. I laughed with my community members. I cooked community dinner. But, unlike my car, my ACE experience will not be left in Arizona.

In the final month living in Phoenix, I took advantage of every moment. Sean, Donna, Kate, Speedy, and I did it all—making final visits to our favorite coffee shops, floating down the Salt River in an inner tube, celebrating my 100th visit to Raising Cane’s, and eating one last community dinner. Gathering around the kitchen table before my dad and I started our drive to Pennsylvania, I knew one thing was for certain: I would be deeply saddened if I never saw my community mates—my friends—after moving out of Phoenix.

For this summer, I decided to work for ACE as a Teacher in Residence, and one of my roles was to co-coordinate the Commencement Retreat. This event was the singular opportunity to reflect, to share, and to experience one final ACE retreat. Image of Tom Betterly in his master's regalia in front of the Notre Dame Library and the Word of Life mural holding his diploma in his hands.While masses, receptions, and ceremonies filled the following days of Commencement Weekend, I traveled to Ronora Lodge in Michigan for a weekend of small group reflections, games of volleyball, and moments around the campfire. There, I realized that my car’s breakdown was a fitting metaphor for Commencement Weekend.

You see, as I unpacked my car and reloaded it into our rental, it marked the official transition from one experience to another. The end of my ACE experience is also a commencement of sorts into a new professional career. I will continue to be an educator. I will be a proud advocate of ACE teachers. Even today, I support current ACErs during the summer session, and I will continue to hold every ACEr in prayer as the year begins.

The greatest wisdom I learned is this: “Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things.” Through each photo, each conversation, and each memory made, I am confident that I will be forever grateful to this program. My ACE experience was truly an opportunity for traveling and for searching, and I am proud to say I have found that wisdom within the people I met along the way.