Honor presented to educators serving students with special needs or in underserved communities
Southern Nebraska Register
Villa Marie School teacher Anena Rolofson has been named the 2025 recipient of the St. Catherine of Alexandria Award, recognizing an educator serving students with special needs or in underserved communities.
Villa Marie Home and School for Exceptional Children in Waverly is a peaceful setting, providing a loving, home-like atmosphere for both day students and boarders in need of special education services.
For Rolofson, the path to education was not always obvious. Growing up in Indiana, she considered careers in social work or speech therapy before a high school English teacher inspired her to look toward the classroom.
“I briefly thought about becoming a Deaf education teacher,” she said, “but because of a slight disability that limits my ability to use both hands for sign language, I chose speech language pathology instead.”
Her early work as a speech language therapist in Hastings opened the door to a lifelong mission: helping students with disabilities find ways to thrive. That mission carried her back to Indiana for a master’s degree in learning disabilities and into a 34-year career as teacher, administrator, and district special education director. In that role, she oversaw programs, mentored teachers, and even trained as a mediator, guiding families and schools through challenging Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings.
Again and again, Rolofson said, she witnessed the resilience of students. She recalled Stephanie, a former student with a severe learning disability, who grew and built a joyful life as a mother and as a member of her community.
“She has an incredible sense of humor about her learning disability,” Rolofson said, “and she has found ways to compensate so she can live fully.”
Three years ago, Rolofson and her husband Ken returned to Nebraska, and she found herself once again in a classroom—this time at Villa Marie School in Waverly, where she works alongside the Marian Sisters to support students with special needs. She also partners with Pius X High School in Lincoln, helping Villa Marie students take special classes there, and continues to offer speech therapy.
Rolofson treasures the distinctive mission of Catholic schools, which she said form both mind and spirit.
“Catholic education integrates faith with academics and prepares students not just for careers, but for lives rooted in compassion,” she said. At the same time, she carries a deep respect for public education, having served in both systems.
For Anena, receiving the St. Catherine of Alexandria Award is less about personal recognition and more about shining a light on the mission of Catholic education and supporting students with disabilities in both learning and faith. She is quick to express gratitude to those who have walked with her: the Marian Sisters at Villa Marie, Msgr. John Perkinton, Sasha Kelly who nominated her, her colleagues and staff, and her husband Ken, who she said has been her steady support through more than 41 years of marriage.
Although she retired from administration, Rolofson is not finished serving. This fall, she begins as part-time student services coordinator at Blessed Sacrament School in Lincoln—returning to the very school where she provided speech services in the 1980s.
Looking back, she offers three pieces of advice to new teachers: flexibility, humor, and community.
“Lesson plans are important,” she said, “but you must be ready for the unexpected. Humor lightens difficult days, and colleagues make the work joyful. If you can’t have fun with the people you work with, you won’t be very fulfilled.”
Reflecting on her decades of service, Rolofson said, “I’m still not done yet.”
The St. Catherine of Alexandria Award celebrates her steadfast dedication to helping students discover their potential and grow in independence, compassion, and faith.
Rolofson will receive her award Oct. 12 at the third annual “Saints & Scholars” dinner to celebrate Catholic schools, educators and benefactors in the Diocese of Lincoln. All are welcome to attend. See www.goodshepherdscholarship.com for more details.
