Holy Child Faculty Spotlight: Lydia Arguelles, Science Teacher
Lydia Arguelles came to Mayfield Senior School as an athletic trainer, working as subcontractor through a local physical therapy practice. She worked closely with the student-athletes who came to trust her and developed an interest in her work, and eventually it was student interest in her subject material that brought her on to the Mayfield faculty. She has been teaching on staff for the last 6 years instructing two very popular courses, one in Sports Medicine and the other in Anatomy and Physiology. She feels like teaching has transformed her life in all the best ways, but she never intended to become a teacher. And a daughter of a well-known Protestant minister, she never imagined that she would work at a Catholic school either. But being inside of a Holy Child school has expanded the way she approaches education and spirituality in general.
This interview appeared in January 2021 on the Faculty Spotlight page on the Holy Child Network of Schools website.
This interview appeared in January 2021 on the Faculty Spotlight page on the Holy Child Network of Schools website.
Do you think you have a teaching philosophy? Or guiding principles?
I honestly have to say that I never sat down and thought of the nitty gritty details behind it. But being a mom has taught me there's stages or phases, where there's a time to rest and recoup and, you know, start thinking about and prepping for what's coming up. You're not going to remember everything your teacher taught you. The teachers that have had the biggest impression on me, were the teachers that I remember how they made me feel.
I love—and I think most teachers who have a really big impact on students—they love what they teach. And they love having their students learn about that. And I think that comes off as very, very intriguing.
You have had some mentors who have made a strong impression on you at Mayfield, haven’t you?
Of course. What got me to where I'm at today would be Sister Barbara (Mullen, SHCJ). Oh, I'm going to cry. I miss her so much. That woman is just a wealth of wisdom. When I was first hired full-time at Mayfield, we had a great conversation and she said, “I would love for you to be part of the senior retreat program.” Little seeds of inspiration have kind of put me into this point.
How does your upbringing inform the way you look at Catholic education? And education at Mayfield specifically?
I'm a missionary kid. My dad is ordained and has taught at Fuller seminary. I don't know if you've heard of the Christian outreach organization, “Young Life”—evangelical Christian outreach for high school students. And my dad has worked for Young Life for over 40 years. You know, I came in Protestant and I never identified myself as Catholic. But what Mayfield has given me on the Catholic perspective has changed my life and, I have to say, has broadened my view of the world. I wasn't expecting that. My mom grew up in parochial school in the, like I would consider the dark Catholic ages, you know? Words that I heard in my house about Catholicism weren’t nice and shiny. But I feel completely different now because of the people at Mayfield, because of what I've learned at Mayfield, because of the generosity of Mayfield families. The generosity of Mayfield families and the generosity of Mayfield students. I'm still taken back by it.
Mayfield's changed my worldview about so much. I mean, I am not the person I was. I attribute a lot of that from coming from Mayfield. When you're a part of Mayfield, you are part of a much larger family, and you don't even realize how deep it goes until you been there just long enough that it starts springing up on you and you're blown away by it.
Do you think these strengths come through because it is a Holy Child school?
I don't think I could have been open to Catholicism any other way than through Holy Child. You can see it almost on the physical and practical level initially. And I think that's where it starts. Educating the “whole child” meeting their needs and coming to them where they're at. And that was the philosophy of “Young Life” too. Young Life was like—if you want kids to come to Sunday school, don't have it on Sunday, and don't have it at church. I feel like the Holy Child philosophy has opened that gateway for me to Catholicism.
What I love about Holy Child philosophy? Yes, academics is part of it, but education is way more than academics. I think now in these times people are really starting to understand that. With kids being home and having to serve them on the academic side, and realizing that a lot of what their needs isn't not just “one plus one equals two.” That they have this social need—
and parents understand the importance of the community that happened at school, the friends that they had at school. It's very evident that education is more than just academics.
Have you had any surprises along the way? And what do you want your students to walk away with?
With my mom's experience of her Catholic education, I had some preconceptions in my mind of how it was supposed to be. And it was not at all what I thought it was going to be! It was a joyous, beautiful surprise. And it kind of fits in with my whole philosophy, on what I want the students to get out of the classroom: the joy of learning.
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Established in 1931, Mayfield Senior School in Pasadena, CA is a Catholic, independent, college preparatory school for young women grades 9-12. Noted for its rigorous academic program, which includes 28 Advanced Placement and Honors courses, Mayfield’s curriculum is underscored by a philosophy of educating the “whole child,” which also encourages commitment to and excellence in the arts, athletics, community service and spiritual growth. The nurturing environment at Mayfield Senior School allows each student to flourish in an atmosphere of personal attention.
