Presentation Sister Elvera Sesta walked arm-in-arm with student leaders through a sea of cheering students recently after 60 years of teaching and “not a day worked” at St Rita’s College, Clayfield, reports The Catholic Leader.

“I love teaching,” she said.

“It was never a job to me.”

*A guard of honour was formed for Sr Elvera Sesta’s final day at St Rita’s College. PHOTO: Joe HIggins/Catholic Leader.*

The renowned leader in Catholic girl’s education and former columnist for The Catholic Leader said St Rita’s took the Presentation Sister’s charism of hospitality seriously.

“What I love about (St Rita’s) now and what I loved about it then was the friendliness,” she said.

“I think it’s a very down-to-earth, very homely (college).”

It was her last day at St Rita’s – officially at least.

She said like a “bad penny”, she expected she would turn up again soon enough.

Sr Sesta’s life with the college goes back to 1947 when she first walked through the gates as a student.

She did not want to go to St Rita’s – she was sent there as a Year 4 boarding student after her father died.

“It was the first time away from my mother and … I’d never seen a nun in my life… and it was all regimented, and I wasn’t used to regimentation,” she said.

She had also been happy at her previous school, the Central Practicing School on St Paul’s Terrace, even recalling a bit of the school fight song.

After a difficult first year, Sr Sesta found a place to call home at St Rita’s College.

She did well in her schooling, earning the college’s highest award, the Prix d’Honneur.

She even confided in her parents that she wanted to become a religious sister.

“That was the last thing my parents wanted,” she said with a laugh.

They wanted to “dissuade” her from joining the convent and so, they all went on a world tour.

But the tour did nothing to stop Sr Sesta from joining religious life and she joined the Presentation Sisters in 1960.

As a religious order focused on teaching, Sr Sesta could have been sent two places – St Ursula’s College, Yeppoon, or back to St Rita’s.

It was the latter, “a bit of providence”, and it was at St Rita’s where Sr Sesta taught for almost her entire career and eventually took over as principal.

She led as principal for 20 years, which ended in 2008.

She retired from leadership with many accolades – longest-serving principal, strong academic results and a generous handful of building works to her name.

It did not take too long for her to step back on campus.

She has continued teaching religion since 2010 and has helped out as an archivist, too.

She was awarded with the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2017 for her contribution to education and in the same year received the title of School Leader of the Year at the Community Leader Awards, hosted by The Catholic Leader.

This article by Joe Higgins was published in The Catholic Leader, the publication of the Archdiocese of Brisbane.