Alberta’s Adriana LaGrange has been elected as the CCSTA Vice President and it couldn’t be a more fitting role.
Following the passing of Vice President Tony Sykora in January, the CCSTA felt the void of Tony’s passion for education. Sykora, who hailed from Alberta, played a big role in Alberta’s Catholic education platform – as does LaGrange.
“It’s such a meaningful fit to have Adriana accept the Vice President role to fill Tony’s spot,” says CCSTA Executive Director Julian Hanlon.
Adriana LaGrange was first elected to the Board of Trustees of Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools in 2007 and has spent three of those years as Board Chair and Vice Chair for another two. She has long been involved in Catholic education and her community taking on numerous volunteer and committee opportunities. Adriana currently lives in rural Red Deer with her husband of 32+ years, is a mother of seven children and a grandmother of three. She holds an honours diploma in Rehabilitation and Disability Studies and also owns and operates a family farm in addition to managing the trucking of a large hog partnership.
Adriana was elected to be the President of the Alberta Catholic Trustees’ Association (ACSTA) in November 2015 and re-elected to the president’s position in November 2016. This put her in to serve as the Alberta representative for the CCSTA Board of Directors.
Coming on as Vice President
This winter, Adriana was approached by a couple of her fellow CCSTA directors asking if they could nominate her for the CCSTA Vice President position.
“Though very honored, I felt I needed to take some time to pray and discern God’s will,” she explains. “Following this discernment process, I let my name stand. I feel very blessed to be called to serve the CCSTA in the capacity of Vice President.”
She says she’s interested in working with CCSTA as it’s important to her to have a strong national organization to celebrate, promote, preserve and enhance Catholic Education in Canada.
“I feel it is a natural extension of the work I have done as a local trustee in Red Deer, Alberta for the past 10 years and as the president of the Alberta Catholic School Trustees’ Association over the last year and a half,” she say. “I look forward to contributing to CCSTA in any way I can so that the faith-filled legacy of Catholic Education will remain strong for generations to come.”
She adds that it’s important to have a national voice as decisions that can affect the constitutional rights of Catholic Education are often decided at the national/federal level.
“It is important as a community of believers that we understand and support the unique successes and challenges of Catholic Education in each of our provinces and territories,” Adriana says. “The CCSTA provides the structure to support this type of sharing, as well as, the ability to advocate for Catholic Education at the National level.”
While serving as Vice President, Adriana has a vision for her time with CCSTA.
“I hope to focus on strengthening CCSTA’s national voice through proactive advocacy and sharing the great news of Catholic Education with all Canadians.”
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