As Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Nashville, Rebecca Hammel has a unique and important job, one that involves a convergence of faith, education and business. 

Speaking to the Catholic Business League last Thursday for the first meeting of 2019, Rebecca spoke about how education has a transcendental power that is not dissimilar from religion. “Education is about learning who you are, much like faith,” she said as she spoke to the packed Fleming Center, all eyes transfixed on her. 

At St. Simon the Apostle, in rural Indiana, (her home-state) is where Rebecca first worked as a teacher in a Catholic school and it was here that she was formed in her faith. She learned that if “we let God in, He will help us to do His work on Earth.”

Rebecca quickly became a school principal, and immediately before coming to Nashville, she was the Associate Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Atlanta. She’s a firm believer in the Catholic school effect and believes that a Catholic education is a journey, as much about learning in the classroom as it is about learning introspectively and interpersonally.

In Nashville, Rebecca is intent on four initiatives: improving the vitality of operations, knowing the audience, enhancing the product and programs, and making a Catholic education affordable for all. 

Catholic schools are elite options for both Catholic and non-Catholic families in Middle Tennessee, and with Rebecca at the helm, it will not be long before everyone knows this.