Tammy Schefers attended a Catholic elementary school when she was a child. When she had children of her own, she knew she wanted the same for them.
Tammy and her husband, Brian, are crop farmers in St. Cloud with 250 head of cattle. Brian also owns and operates an excavating business. They’ve been blessed with three children – Tyler ‘21, Clara ‘23, and Laura ‘25.
When the kids were young, Brian and Tammy faced a difficult decision regarding their children’s education. Tammy desired a Catholic education like she had, while Brian preferred the public school environment where he was raised.
The financial implications of a Catholic education made the decision even more challenging and made Brian’s public-school preference more attractive. But Tammy knew in her heart that she wanted a faith-based education experience. As a compromise, they agreed to try St. Katharine Drexel School for one year. After that first year, they were both confident that a Catholic education was right for their three kids.
When their oldest child Tyler was headed into junior high, Brian and Tammy faced another dilemma. They knew they wanted to send their kids to Cathedral but felt it was cost prohibitive. Tammy heard about The Cathedral Education Foundation and applied for any scholarship she could to help ease the financial burden. With the help of these scholarships, Brian and Tammy were elated to be able to send Tyler to Cathedral.
“You can just feel the difference in the community in a Catholic school versus a public school,” Brian says. “Your kids know all of their classmates, you know the families, you just see a greater sense of pride and community.”
“It’s not all about preparing kids for their next step academically, it’s about all the other things that make them good, kind people,” Brian and Tammy Schefers, parents of three Cathedral students.
Two years later, Clara joined Tyler at Cathedral, thanks again to financial scholarships from The Cathedral Education Foundation. Now, all three of the Schefers kids are thriving at Cathedral. Brian and Tammy love that Cathedral provides a high level of academic standards in a smaller, more personal class environment. Their son Tyler especially loves the engineering and art classes.
“Cathedral is well-rounded with the soft-skills, too,” Tammy says. The Schefers kids stay busy with Cathedral’s extracurricular activities as well. The girls are incredibly involved in theatre, and last year Clara was the lead in Anne of Green Gables. Tammy volunteers throughout the year at events like Celebration of Seasons and can often be found making costumes for theatre or working backstage.
“A good school is more than a building, it’s a community,” Tammy says. “It means parents are involved and engaged; everyone has to work together, and that’s what it is like at Cathedral.”
The Schefers family has been changed by the education that was made possible by The Cathedral Education Foundation. Brian and Tammy know that their kids’ experience has set them on a strong path for the future. “Together with Cathedral, we are instilling strong values that will stick with them as they build their lives after graduation.”
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The Cathedral Education Foundation exists to help Cathedral School fulfill their mission of providing a quality, Catholic education to all who desire it in the St. Cloud area. For more information on how you can make an impact on families like the Schefers’, contact Chris Schellinger, Director of Advancement, at 320.257.2139.