Incorporating her African-American heritage, Sister Sandra processed toward the altar before which were arrayed African drums and instruments, a tree of life and a circle of life resting on striking African cloths, dressed in an African turquoise gown with matching headpiece.

Just before Sandra pronounced her vows, her immediate family, sisters, brothers and her mother, gathered around her, laying hands on her and praying.

Fr. Fernand Cheri III, OFM, a priest at St. Benedict the Black Friary in East St. Louis, IL, celebrated the Mass. In his homily, Fr. Cheri reminded us we are all called to say yes, “Sandra, it may be your moment, but it is our day.”

Sister Addie Lorraine Walker, SSND, Provincial Leader, received Sister Sandra’s vows. In her reflection, Sister Addie Lorraine spoke of how fitting it was that Fr. Cheri and she receive those vows since they were at Sandra’s side at her reception into the Catholic Church in 1989 and at her first profession in 2002. “We too say yes and we welcome you, Sandra,” concluded Sister Addie Lorraine.

An interpretive dance by Lauren Causey to Order My Steps and music by the St. Peter Claver choir director, Veronica Downs-Dorsey, and her students of McDonagh 35 High School kept all in the spirit and theme Sister Sandra had chosen for the day, “My Soul Says ‘Yes.’” The SSND community added their voices in a reminder of their own vow days in the singing of the Suscipe Me and the Magnificat.

At ceremony’s end, her voice choked with emotion, Sister Sandra thanked God and everyone in attendance, singing “I need you and you need me. We’re all part of God’s Body.”

A native of New Orleans, La., and a convert to Catholicism, Sister Sandra is the daughter of Delores Jefferson and the late Rev. Mallie Jefferson, Jr. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, La., and her teaching certification through Xavier University in New Orleans, La.

Born into a family of the Baptist faith tradition, Sister Sandra grew up with an awareness of God in her life. As she entered early adulthood that awareness became more of a gnawing. “Every time I got up in the morning the same desire kept coming to me. I wanted to serve God to the best of my ability. I knew I had to keep investigating. I looked at the moments in my life which had been most important to me. I came to see that it was when I was giving to others that I felt more myself and fulfilled.” She met Catholic nuns who inspired her with their commitment. She knew that this was the answer she had been seeking.

Prior to entering the SSND community, Sister Sandra taught on the elementary, secondary and university levels in Catholic and public schools in New Orleans, La., and Canton, Miss. In 1998, she joined the community as a postulant, living in the Formation House and teaching in San Antonio, Tex., and then as a novice at the Interprovincial Novitiate in St. Louis, Mo.

From 2002 to 2004, Sister Sandra taught at John R. Davis Elementary School in Phoenix, Ariz. Since the 2004-05 school year, she has taught at Lenore K. Hall Elementary School in Dallas, Tex. Sister Sandra has thirty-one years as an educator, experience that she also considers part of her religious vocation.