After more than a decade of dedication to Cardinal Gibbons High School, the Director of Professional Development and educator, Amy Ernenwein, has said goodbye to the Gibbons community. Even though her departure is the end of one very important chapter in her life, her legacy at Gibbons will live on for many years to come.

Ernenwein first came to Cardinal Gibbons in 2014 as a social studies teacher. In this capacity, she taught AP U.S. History, Psychology, and Sociology. However, after a year away, she returned to Gibbons in 2018 as Director of Professional Development and helped other teachers become the best educators they can be for their students.

“I teach teachers,” she explained. “I do everything I can to support them, so they can be the best they can be for you.”

Throughout her 11 years at Gibbons, she has played an important role in many of the school’s biggest changes. From helping implement the switch to an A-B schedule and selecting Schoology as the school’s learning management system to guiding teachers, the growing use of technology, and artificial intelligence in classrooms, she has helped Gibbons evolve with the times.

“Change is the only constant,” Ernenwein said. “If you stand still, you sink. You have to keep moving and be willing to shift.”

Even in her leadership role, she never wanted to be far from students. In 2022, she returned to the classroom, teaching either AP U.S. History or Sociology each year. Being with students again has been one of the most rewarding parts of her job.

“It’s my breath of fresh air every day,” she said.

Among her proudest professional accomplishments is creating a full-onboarding program for new teachers, ensuring they felt prepared and supported from day one. She also launched “Lunch and Learns,” a weekly professional development program where teachers gather to learn new strategies and ideas together, something that has grown significantly over the years.

But beyond programs and initiatives, what she treasures most are the relationships she built at Gibbons.

“I wanted to work in a good place, with good people, doing good things,” she said. “And that’s exactly what Gibbons has been.”

She described the school’s welcoming culture as one of the biggest reasons she stayed so long. 

“I can walk down the hallway, wave at a student who doesn’t know me, and they’ll smile and wave back. That’s special,”  she said. 

Personally, one of her most meaningful experiences was watching her son attend Cardinal Gibbons and graduate in 2025, an experience she called “amazing.”

Now, she is leaving for a new opportunity as a Learning Design Director at a global educational technology company, an unexpected opportunity she says she “couldn’t turn down.”

“It’s bittersweet,” she admitted. “I’m both happy and sad.”

Her longtime colleague and Director of Studies, Treve Lumsden, said Ernenwein’s impact on the school reaches far beyond the classroom. The two have worked together for years, first as teachers and later as members of the school’s academic leadership team.

“She loved this place. She loved the people who worked here,” Lumsden said. “She spent so much time making sure that everybody in this building who worked in a classroom felt as supported as they possibly could.”

Ernenwein worked behind the scenes to ensure teachers had the resources, training, and encouragement they needed to succeed.

“There’s a level of care there that she took very seriously,” he said. “She wanted to make sure people didn’t have to worry about those things, that they just happened.”

He also emphasized how her work ultimately impacted students, even if many never realized it.

“In any given year, she taught about 50 kids out of the 1,600 walking around,” Lumsden said. “But all 1,600 of them in some way were impacted by the work she did. They just didn’t know it.”

As Ernenwein prepares to leave, Lumsden said the transition has been emotional for many faculty members.

“It is a little sad to walk past the office,” he said. “That’s my friend.”

Still, he believes the systems and programs she created will continue long after her departure.

“There are many things that will happen for years because of something she put in place,” he said.

Ernenwein hopes her legacy will be one of servant leadership, always putting people first and being available to support others.

“My hope is that mindset continues, that helping educators, supporting people, and putting relationships first remains part of what makes Gibbons special,” Ernenwein said.

Though her office door may soon close for the last time, her influence will remain in every classroom, every teacher she mentored, and every student who benefits from her work behind the scenes.

Ernenwein may be leaving Cardinal Gibbons, but her legacy there is permanent.