A local science teacher was recognized as one of the Top 5 in a group of more than 2,000 colleagues.
Seton Catholic High School’s Dan Reichley was a finalist for the highest honor for Catholic educators in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis — the Saint Theodora Guérin Excellence in Education Award.
The award is named after the French Catholic religious sister who came to Indiana in 1840 and established schools, including what is now Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.
These sisters taught at many Catholic schools throughout Indiana and the world, including at St. Mary’s School in Richmond, Reichley said.
“I have been blessed to work with many talented and hardworking educators, students, and families in the area,” Reichley said. “The finalist recognition simply represents all the people who give time, talent, and treasure to education.”
He is in his 22nd year of teaching science and math, specifically chemistry, physics, algebra, precalculus and calculus. He began teaching at Seton when the school opened in 2002, and this has been his only teaching job.
Reichley graduated from Ohio University (Athens) and The Ohio State University (Columbus), earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering. After moving to Richmond, he received a bachelor’s in education from Indiana University East in 2002.
Reichley can cite many reasons he likes teaching at Seton.
“One enjoyment is to simultaneously engage students in the educational task at hand and in the bigger, spiritual things of life,” Reichley said.
A version of this article appeared in the March 6 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.