Mrs. Whitten grew up in Peoria, Illinois, and earned her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois, graduating in 2003. She taught first grade from 2003-2005. She took time to start her family and then returned to teaching in 2017, in preschool. Mrs. Whitten began her training in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program in 2019 and has taught in a level 1 Atrium for 5 years.
Mrs. Whitten’s favorite saint is her confirmation saint, St. Bernadette. Her favorite prayer is the Memorare.
Mrs. Whitten’s faith journey has been shaped by her Catholic education, both as a student and as a teacher. She loves helping to pass on the prayers and traditions of her Catholic faith, introducing young children to the wonder of God’s love for each of us and helping them to recognize that we are all God’s precious children.
In her free time, Mrs. Whitten enjoys spending time with her family and friends, as well as cooking, reading, and taking pictures. She loves the beach, the pool and summertime.
Her favorite meditation is from St. Teresa of Ávila:
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which He looks Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are His body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.