Liliana Edwards

1st Grade Teacher

I firmly believe that being a teacher is a call from God. I started teaching in my teenager years while I was pursuing my first degree in Economics in Lima, Peru. I tutored several students and enjoyed it very much. My eagerness to pursue a business career abroad opened various opportunities to grow both personally and professionally in Scotland, the United States, and Brazil. It was on this journey that I discovered my faith. Even though I am a cradle catholic, and my parents have been outstandingly loving parents, my encounter with the Lord took place in Glasgow, Scotland, where I did my master’s in international marketing. Holding Our Lady’s hand, I persevered in my business career until I realized that I was always meant to be a teacher! 

In 2007, I came to the University of St. Thomas here in Houston and did my Master in Bilingual Education (PK-4th). I worked in Houston ISD (HISD) for sixteen years, mainly as a Kindergarten teacher. Being a teacher is a call from God. We educate His children and report to Him in the first place. We are entrusted with their innocence, their hearts, their precious time, their individual potential and talents. He holds us accountable. Leaving my 11 years job at the Rice School (HISD) was in response to God’s call to teach the doctrine of the Catholic faith. I was truly blessed to teach in the Rice School, and those memories will always have a very special place in my heart. However, I feel even more blessed to have been given the opportunity to teach here at Corpus Christi Catholic School! 

I love my faith. I believe in the True Presence of God in the Blessed Sacrament. As a daily Mass attendant since 2002, I have been nurturing my faith, holding firm to the vine, making sure that every day He is at the center of my life. In 2009, I met my wonderful husband Tito, and we got married a year later. Together we continue growing in our Catholic faith, serving God wherever He chooses. 

If I could highlight the top three factors that I consider of vital importance in my job, the first one would be to teach my students to love who they are and where they come from. The second one would be to value the truth and defend it. Even in the smallest of things, truth makes us strong and lies make us weak. The third one would be to choose to be kind always. This latter one comes attached to humility and the capacity to ask for forgiveness and to forgive. As a teacher, I know that five-year-old students understand these three things very well and by doing so the classroom becomes a safe place to learn and make mistakes as part of the natural process of learning. Consequently, the joy of learning has room to grow. As it is said, education is not preparation for life but life itself. Therefore, only when a student discovers the joy of learning, one can affirm that this person is on its way to reaching its maximum potential. 

As a teacher in Corpus Christi Catholic School, I aim to provide my students with an exceptional educational experience that empowers them to discover and further develop their Catholic faith, to be lifelong learners, and to become confident and mature leaders ready to serve wherever God calls them.