When Lisa Corrigan and her husband moved to Denver in the early 2000s, they were looking to plant new roots. A Regis football game became the unexpected turning point that connected them to lifelong friends—and eventually to Escuela de Guadalupe. Among those new friends were Debbie and Ronnie O’Dwyer. Debbie, already deeply involved in service and education, recruited Lisa’s husband to serve on the board of Boys Hope Girls Hope, where Debbie was president. Years later, when Debbie turned her energy toward Escuela, she didn’t hesitate to call Lisa. “You’re a teacher,” Debbie told her. “We need you.” Lisa agreed, and that simple invitation opened a new chapter of joy and purpose.
A Lifelong Teacher
Lisa brought to Escuela a rich teaching background. She began her career in Ohio, teaching third grade in public schools, before moving to Virginia where she worked with students with learning disabilities. When her family returned to Cleveland, she served part-time in Catholic schools, helping children in reading and math, and then she later became a librarian. Her favorite project was helping to design and launch a 4,500-square-foot school library at St. Albert the Great School—a dream come true for a lifelong educator.
Her personal life has been just as full of stories. She and her husband met at Kent State University, where she studied education and he pursued graduate work in broadcasting. Their careers carried them from Ohio to Virginia and back again before Denver became home. While Lisa poured her heart into classrooms and libraries, her husband made his voice heard far beyond the city—he is now the radio announcer for the Colorado Rockies.
A Faith Journey of Discernment
Faith has also been central to Lisa’s journey. Raised Lutheran, she was surprised when her own pastor gently suggested that she consider becoming Catholic since her husband was Catholic and their children were being raised in that tradition. He thought it would be better for the family to share the same faith—a remarkably generous recommendation coming from her Lutheran pastor. That counsel set Lisa on a thoughtful path of discernment, one that deepened when she and her husband later returned to Cleveland. There, she entered RCIA, drawn by the warmth of a parish priest and the beauty of Catholic tradition. Her husband’s Catholic formation, shaped by Jesuit schools, created another thread that ties their family to the Ignatian values so central to Escuela. Today, Lisa embraces her faith community with gratitude, even singing in the choir with her husband at Regis’s First Friday Masses.
Joy in the Classroom
At Escuela, Lisa has found a place where her love for teaching and her love for faith come together. She works alongside Kindergarten teacher Miss Stephanie, offering support in whatever way needed—helping children read, assisting with classroom tasks, or simply being a joyful presence. What touches her most are the small moments: “When I walk in the room and the kids smile at me, it makes me feel good. Watching a child learn to read—seeing that growth from the start of the year to the end—it’s incredible.”
Lisa also treasures the school’s dual-language mission and its commitment to shaping not only smart students, but kind and faith-filled young people. She is especially inspired by the eighth graders she meets at the annual breakfast, impressed by their confidence, poise, and bilingual fluency. “These children are our future,” she says.
Looking ahead, Lisa dreams of Escuela growing even more—perhaps expanding to serve more children with additional classrooms. “It would be wonderful for more kids to experience Escuela,” she reflects. “The foundation they get here—the academics, the faith, the life skills—it will serve them well wherever they go.”
