The 2019 The Reverend John E. Wise, S.J., Medal Recipient

Pattie Holy-Ilenda is the 2019 recipient of Loyola’s School of Education’s The Reverend John E. Wise, S.J., Medal. Each program within the School of Education nominates a graduate student who is graduating, and the winner is selected by the nominating committee. Pattie, a resident of Columbia, Md., graduated from Loyola’s educational technology master’s program in January 2019. She is currently a gifted and talented resource teacher at Elkridge Landing Middle School in Howard County.

The educational technology program at Loyola is solidly based in research and scholarship. “The faculty are outstanding, and I knew that my tenure in Loyola’s educational technology program would overflow with in-depth studies that would help me better serve the needs of our ever-changing demographic of students who eat, sleep, and breath technology as they search for meaning in their young lives,” said Pattie, who also serves on the educational technology advisory board.

While studying at Loyola, Pattie forged invaluable bonds with her professors and those within her cohort, thereby growing her professional learning network exponentially. In addition to serving on the advisory committee, she assisted in the planning and preparation of the annual Loyola Edcamp—a participant-driven professional learning opportunity hosted by the educational technology program. Furthermore, she has presented at many conferences. With the support of Loyola’s faculty, she has been able to move outside of her comfort zone and participate in scholastic and professional opportunities beyond her wildest dreams.

Pattie is always present for her students and colleagues. She works countless hours beyond the school day to support her students. She prides herself on being a safe haven for students who need a listening ear or who have difficulty navigating through middle school. She loves to serve and help others from keeping a closet stocked with food and juice in her classroom to contributing to holiday gifts and food baskets for the less fortunate.

Pattie is involved in many groups at her school. Alongside some of her students, Pattie formed a new group called Students of Color Achievers (SOCA). Its mission is to combat racism, encourage one another, learn about varied cultures, races, and ethnicities, and send a powerful, positive message throughout the school community. She also works with a group called Ability Awareness that brings awareness to individuals with disabilities.

Along with her many other involvements, Pattie produces her school’s daily news show, Thunder TV, coaches the school’s debate team, leads the robotics and coding seminars, supervises the production of the school’s yearbook, runs a film seminar, and mentors the creative writing group called Writers’ Circle. She is the co-editor and co-adviser for the Howard County Public School System’s annual, middle school magazine called Our Voice, which publishes original student writing and photography each spring. In her spare time, she writes creative fiction and has been published in Howard Community College’s annual publication of creative works called The Muse. She also studies and is certified to teach Spanish with the intention of becoming fully fluent one day. 

“After years of service in public education, my scholarship, dedication to my students and colleagues, and my drive to create safe and nurturing learning opportunities has been recognized by my professors and peers. I am proud to represent Loyola University Maryland in this manner,” said Pattie.