Thursday, September 15, 2016

Simple Resume Link for those wanting more information


       
Mary Kloska
  B.A. Theology, University of Notre Dame –Class of 1999
    312-771-0359
Elkhart, IN
maryelizabethjesus@yahoo.com
After graduating from the University of Notre Dame, I spent 18 years serving the poorest of the poor in the missions as well as in a life of prayer as a Catholic hermit. At this point I need to gather funds for the next stage of my journey and small children are my specialty.

Work Experience

Certified Practitioner in Art Therapy

(Certification completed in March, 2022)

Published Author

I have published seven books, most recently including one about the spiritual formation of children.

Full Time Weekend Family Nanny

Hinsdale, IL –Winnetka, IL

January, 2022- Present

Responsibilities:

•               This is a family who had four young children under the age of 5 when I started. I work Thurs/Fri-Sun/Mon to help support Mom and other household staff in caring for the children, following routines, preparing meals, doing light laundry and pick-up in the house. We enjoy playing together, doing art and music, cooking, reading and time spent outside. The parent is a widow and has a very full schedule and so it is my responsibility to keep the house running and the children happy and well cared for. I have also had full charge of the children when their Mom travels for longer periods of time and have spent weeks down at their home in Sea Island, Georgia as well. 


Part-time Family Nanny
Mishawaka, IN
October, 2021 –December, 2021

Responsibilities:
•               This is a family with twin infant girls. I work 28 hours a week taking care of the babies while their parents work. This is a temporary position helping fill in while they wait for a daycare option to open up. I feed, dress, play with, change diapers, sing and comfort babies doing everything needed for them during the time I am there. I also do light housekeeping such as cleaning/preparing bottles, and help folding/organizing clothes. When their two-year-old sister is at home from daycare I also play with her.


Family Nanny
Goshen, IN
August, 2021 –January, 2022

Responsibilities:
•               This is a family with four young boys (12, 10, 8 and 5) whose father died of cancer a year ago. I work 40 hours a week –mostly evenings and overnights on weekends –to help support the Mom. I cook, bake, clean, do laundry, play sports, read, do art, music, help with homework, organize the house and simply spend time together.


Stavole Family Nanny
South Bend, IN
August, 2020 –August, 2021

Responsibilities:
•               This is a family with a 14-month-old when I started, and with a baby sister added after two months. I take care of both children full-time, including dressing, feeding, sleep schedules, reading, crafts, music, playing and enjoying long walks to the park. I also help with kitchen dishes and laundry. 


Miller Family Day and Night Nanny for Infant Twins
Goshen, IN
December, 2019-August 2020

Responsibilities:

•               I cared for infant twins for 9-10 hours during the night hours as needed. I made formula, fed, diapered and rocked them and helped them to sleep.  I also have helped them during the day when they were too sick for day care or when their day care was closed -helping full time during Co-Vid 19.

Kloska Family Nanny
Bristol, IN
September, 2019 –March, 2020

Responsibilities:
•               This is a family with 10 children between the ages of 15 and 5 months. The mother homeschools. I work two mornings a week primarily helping with the three youngest children (3, 2 and 5 months). I do simple pre-school papers, reading, crafts, music, playing and enjoying long walks to the park. I also help the older children, on occasion, with their schoolwork. 


Benoit Family Nanny (with both natural and foster children)
Niles, MI
September, 2019 –March, 2020

Responsibilities:

•              At times I helped them full time and other times  I worked only 1-2 10 hour days caring for their three children (who are 5, 2.5 and 8 months old). I help to homeschool the oldest boy and provide pre-school activities for the 2.5 year-old-old girl. I do simple school, crafts, go to parks, play, read, light housekeeping and meals. I also care for their 4-year-old foster child, as well as other foster children when they have a placement.


Downey Family Nanny
Granger, IN
September, 2019

Responsibilities:
•               This is a family with 8 children between the ages of 13 and 18 months. The mother homeschools. I work one morning a week primarily helping with the three youngest children (5, 3 and 18 months). I do simple pre-school papers, reading, crafts, baking, music, playing and long walks outside. I also spend time on occasion with the older children doing crafts or playing (sometimes teaching) guitar.

Comeau Family Nanny
Mishawaka, IN
September, 2019 –November, 2019

Responsibilities:
•               I work 18 hours a week helping with the famiy’s 6 children between the ages of 2-13-years-old. I help with cleaning, laundry, meals, driving, playing (including crafts), bathing and bedtime routines. The children lost their father to cancer in January of 2019 and I am just a physical, emotional and spiritual support to them and their mother.

Night and Day Nanny for Newborn Triplets (Mathew Family)
Chicago, IL (Streeterville area)
August, 2018-July, 2019

Responsibilities:
•               I worked 80 hours a week as a night/morning and then day nanny for newborn triplets. I had care of them alone, providing love and for all of their needs, including rocking, diapering, bathing, feeding, playing with them, etc.; My job also included work such as making all formula (even in advance for all times I wouldn’t be there), cleaning bottles, organizing and laundering clothes/bed sheets/towels, etc, emptying dishwasher and diaper pail, keeping a log of the children’s schedules, diapers and food intake and helping them learn to sleep.

St. Joseph’s Children’s Home                                                                          
East Chicago, IN
March/April 2017

Responsibilities:
·         I volunteered with their abused/abandoned babies a handful of times. They wanted to hire me but I could not find housing nearby.


Schmidt Family Night Nanny                                                                                   
Elkhart, IN
6 months

Responsibilities:
·         I spent about 6 months helping a friend with night-care of her adopted newborn twin grandbabies -they were sickly and on heart and breathing monitoring machines. In her 70's she and her husband received full custody of them and were exhausted -so I would come from about 5 until after midnight so she could get some rest.


Family Nanny                                                                                           
South Bend, IN
Three times over seven years

Responsibilities:  
·         I also was the full-time caregiver (on and off) for  5 young children as their father struggled with cancer 3 times over 7 years. I fully ran their home –food preparation, laundry, driving, school help, everything that their Mom/Dad would have been doing for them. I lived with them (overnight) during this time.


Diocesan Hermit of Crucified Love Diocese of Fort Wayne -South Bend
Elkhart, IN
August 2011 to August 2014

Responsibilities:
·         A life of primarily prayer with increased silence/solitude, but including welcoming those seeking spiritual support/counsel, as well as children.


Mission Work and Hermit Life -all over the world
Siberia, Russia, Poland, Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, Israel, England, Ireland, Bosnia, Italy, France, Mexico, the Philippines
August 2003 to August 2011

Responsibilities:
Prisons
troubled teens
homeless
victims of concentration camps
orphans
street children
retreats (for children, women, seminarians, parishes, young people)
conferences and individual counsel for priests and religious sisters
childcare
prayer ministry in areas of violence
spiritual counsel
 prayer meetings
 hosting AA groups and pantomime theater
pro-life work
family formation
pilgrimages
cleaning
rehabilitating street women
deliverance ministry
normal mission upkeep (includes pretty much anything needed from doctoring simple wounds, gardening, cooking, braiding hair, playing sports to 'make-do' plumbing problems) and simply loving those who nobody loved.
Also time was spent studying (and teaching) Theology and Languages.


Upendo Children’s Home                                                                               
Moshi, Tanzania
September –October 2010

Responsibilities:
• Changing clothes/diapers, feeding, playing with, soothing –complete care for infants/toddlers (usually up to 10-15 children at a time, often alone.)


St. Joseph’s Hospital for Chronically Ill Children             
Capetown, South Africa
November, 2010

Responsibilities:
• Changing clothes/diapers, feeding, playing with, soothing infants/toddlers;
• Organizing closets/clothes, odd cleaning, chores and food preparation with the sisters


Open Arms Orphanage for Children                                                           
Kumga South Africa
December 2010 –January 2011

Responsibilities:
• Sports, art, playing with, baking, gardening, teaching, personal interaction with all of the children (including outings to the store, plays, movies, etc.,) ages newborn- around 13-years-old.


Founder of Catholic Mission -Eastern Siberia
 Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity/ in Diocese of St. Joseph/Irkutsk 
Krasnoyarsk and Kansk, Russia
May 2001 to May 2003
Responsibilities:
My time was spent in a myriad of ways:
simple catechesis
work with youth
retreats
establishing AA meetings
pro-life work
homeless ministry
traveling up to 7 or 8 hours to visit Catholics
The people we served were either themselves or children of those sent to the gulags many years ago. The older babushki simply needed visitors and many children of the streets simply needed love. I returned on a month visa yearly for about 7 years to visit these friends.


Volunteer Teacher 6th-8th Grades
St. Anthony’s School 
Robstown, TX
August 2000 to June 2001
Responsibilities:
I taught Math, Science, Literature and Religion to 6th, 7th and 8th Grade students. This was a very poor school in a border town and the classes were small with half of the children I had having learning disabilities and so I was told to 'modify' their work. I was given room and board nearby and paid a small stipend. I also spent the weekends visiting Youth City (a juvenile prison) nearby to teach Sunday School.


Volunteer Teacher Youth City Jail (a juvenile prison)                                       
 Robstown, TX
August 2000 to June 2001

Responsibilities:
·         I also spent the weekends visiting Youth City (a juvenile prison) nearby to teach Sunday School.


Wood Stacker
American Millwork Factory  
Elkhart, IN
May 1996 to August 1999
Responsibilities:
I only worked the summers of 1996, 1997, 1998 and briefly 1999 (I did simple accounting/paper work the latter summer in an office). The manual labor was stacking 8'-16' 2x4's and sometimes grading the wood for molding.


Infant and Toddler Caregiver
Child Abuse Prevention Center 
Elkhart, IN
September 1993 to December 1998
Responsibilities:
I was in charge of caring for all of the infants and toddlers while their parents were in parenting classes. For the last hour of the session I facilitated a parent/child interaction activity.

Hostess/Waitress
Harry's Restaurant 
Edwardsburg, MI
June 1996 to August 1996

Responsibilities:
•Hostessing and waiting tables


Golf Camp Counselor                                                                                           
Notre Dame, IN
University of Notre Dame Golf Camp                                                            
July 1995 to July 1995

Responsibilities:
•I was a camp counselor who had to be on-site to supervise the visiting female campers.


Housekeeper, Maid
Holiday Inn 
Elkhart, IN
June 1995 to August 1995
Responsibilities:
 •I cleaned hotel rooms.

Merchandiser/Sales
321 Interior Design  
Elkhart, IN
September 1991 to August 1995 -(I continued to work on all of my breaks during my time at Notre Dame as well (1995-1999).)
Responsibilities:  
A small business owner of an Interior Design store hired me to come in after school, weekends and breaks to help run the store for her. I stocked and priced high-end interior decorating items, helped people choose gifts and with simple interior decorating, gift-wrapped, cashier work and simple accounting for her books.


Golf Camp Counselor
University of Notre Dame Golf Camp 
Notre Dame, IN
July 1995 to July 1995
Responsibilities:
I was a camp counselor who had to be on-site to supervise the visiting female campers.


CCD Teacher
St. Thomas Parish 
Elkhart, IN
August 1993 to May 1995
Responsibilities:
(The dates may be off) -I developed and taught a Preschool CCD program for young children on Sunday mornings.

Corn Detasseler
Elkhart County, IN
June 1993 to August 1993
Responsibilities:
I rode on large machinery and picked tassels from corn.
EDUCATION
BA in Theology (concentrated in Philosophy, Russian and Italian studies as well).
University of Notre Dame 

Notre Dame, IN
AWARDS
Elkhart Young Woman of the Year
May 1998
I was nominated by Child Abuse Prevention Services (where I worked throughout High School) for this award for being an exceptional example of service.
Links
 A helpful summary of my life can be found here:
http://fiatlove.blogspot.com/2017/03/my-sister-hermit.html
http://www.todayscatholicnews.org/2011/09/mary-kloska-is-first-hermit-in-diocese/ 
Additional Information
My name is Mary. I am 43 years old and was raised in a huge Polish family (12 brothers and sisters) along with a lot of foster babies and other needy people in and out of the house. I presently have 70+ nieces and nephews, most of whom live close to our family ‘headquarters’, so children are simply part of my life. In addition to family and plenty of outside babysitting, I worked for 5 years at Child Abuse Prevention Services supervising infants and toddlers and helping in child/parent interaction. They nominated me for our city’s ‘Young Woman of the Year.’ I’ve lived a very unique life. Upon graduating from Notre Dame in 1999 I spent almost 20 years in the missions serving the poor (including orphanages) as well as praying as a consecrated hermit all over the world –Siberia, Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, Philippines, Mexico, the Holy Land and all over Europe as well. These included Upendo Children's Home, Moshi Tanzania; St. Joseph's Hospital, Capetown South Africa; Open Arms, Kumga South Africa; orphanages in Poland and Russia and lots and lots of street children (including those living the trash dumps of 'Smoky Mountain' in the Philippines). I also spent quite some time caring for my friend's small babies/children in Poland. Although I spent a lot of time away in silence praying, ironically I love children and am very fun and outgoing when it comes to the little ones. My sister wrote an article on my life that explains me well: http://fiatlove.blogspot.com/2017/03/my-sister-hermit.html

Infants and toddlers are my specialty, although I have experience with children of all ages, cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds. I volunteer taught 6th, 7th and 8th grade for one year in South Texas, including children with disabilities. I developed and taught a Pre-school CCD program at a church as well as taught Sunday school to troubled teens at a juvenile prison. I also was the full-time caregiver (on and off) of my brother's 5 young children as he struggled with cancer 3 times over 7 years. And I spent about 6 months helping a friend with night-care of her adopted newborn twin grandbabies -they were sickly and on heart and breathing monitoring machines. I was volunteering at a Home for Abandoned Babies and Children the past few months and they offered to hire me full-time, yet I could not find safe housing nearby (they lived in a very dangerous area.) I have spent the last year working 80 hours a week as a night and day nanny for newborn triplets. My entire life has been with small children.

I am a very clean person (which made the missions difficult at times) and prefer organization, although I am flexible, patient and laid-back, especially with children. Love was always my rule. I speak Russian and Polish pretty well after spending 2 years in Eastern Siberia and many years back and forth from Poland. I studied Italian at Notre Dame and so when I find myself in Italian company I usually understand. I understand Spanish and could pick it up again rather quickly. Languages come and go for me –when I lived in Africa I picked up the Bantu languages and Swahili. When I lived with the French I was able to communicate. And pretty much any Slavic language I understand. I love to paint, especially icons. I love to cook and bake, although I rarely follow recipes exactly. Because good doctors and medicines were rarely available all of those years I learned quite a bit about natural remedies and herbs. I garden, play guitar and always have a book. Usually I read Theology, although I enjoy the Classics. I write (especially on spiritual topics or about the experiences I've encountered) -most of it was published simply on our family blog or shared one-to-one with those interested. And I love to be outside, especially exercising –this time I use to really think and pray. My heart is very sensitive, especially to anyone suffering. These are all parts of my life that I share with the children around me (crafts, reading, singing, outdoors, baking, etc.) My approach with children tends to be the attachment parenting style –babies cry because they need something. I don’t ever remember not being able to calm a crying child. In fact, sometimes parents would give me their children when they were upset because ‘Aunt Mary’ has ‘her way.’ 


As my application says, I need to collect funds and so work with children seemed the perfect fit for this time of my life. I am willing to relocate. Most places request a picture so I will include a few here: