Page 13 - MidWeek - March 10, 2021

MARCH 10, 2021 MIDWEEK 1320
Sometimes, even good shepherds need a little nudge when it comes
for doing so were under- standable. As the principal of St. Joseph School at the time, Young had grown so fond of his little flock in Hilo that he simply did not want to leave. In fact, he even had plans to hang up the proverbial staff and settle down in the east- ernmost part of the Hawaiian Island chain once his work- ing days were over.
accept the offer because help was needed on campuses from Kekaha to Hilo, Young dutifully heeded the call.
schools community, which has been a model in planning, preparation and perseverance during the pandemic. Much of the credit goes to Young and his ability to convince faithful followers that not only can they survive these challenging times together, but create safe environments where both students and ed- ucators can thrive, too.
Heaven is never too far away for Dr. Llewellyn Young, superintendent of Hawai‘i Catholic Schools, whose office is located in the glorious surroundings of St. Stephen Diocesan Center, which is nestled in the Ko‘olau Mountain Range.
campuses still operating on a hybrid schedule. During this period, the schools have flourished under faculties empowered to come up with their own plans for curricula, methods of instruction and protocols to ensure healthy learning conditions. Among the safety measures they’ ve religiously followed are daily home wellness checks, man- datory use of face masks and/ or face shields, no-touch tem- perature readings on cam- pus, sanitization procedures at hand-washing stations, staggered arrival and dis-
By relying
upon faith and evidence-based science, Dr. Llewellyn Young, superintendent of Hawai‘i Catholic Schools, is confidently leading his flock through these challenging pandemic times.
to doing what is best for the entire flock.
“I have a love for Catholic schools. It is where my pas- sion is,” he confesses. “So I said, ‘OK. I’ ll go wherever the Lord takes me.’”
Such is the case of Dr. Llewellyn Young, superin- tendent of Hawai‘i Catholic Schools and the man tasked with shepherding nearly 7,000 students in the islands, as well as about 800 teachers and administrators.
But the Lord moves in mysterious ways, and when former Hawai‘i Catholic Schools superintendent Dr. Michael Rockers gave him a little nudge, asking that he
That path would ultimately lead to the full-time superin- tendent’s role in November after Honolulu diocese Bish- op Larry Silva named Young as the successor to Rockers, who retired last summer.
Since August, almost all of the 33 Catholic schools in Hawai‘i have provided full-time in-person learning to students — with the ex- ceptions being a couple of
Just two short years ago, he was on the verge of de- clining an offer to serve as the schools’ associate super- intendent, and his motives
The move turned out to be a godsend for the Catholic
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