October 4, 2016 // Local

Dr. Eric Grekowicz leads new school at Our Lady of Good Hope

Jeannie Ewing

Freelance Writer

By Jeannie Ewing

Dr. Eric Grekowicz

FORT WAYNE — Our Lady of Good Hope School, Fort Wayne, is no ordinary primary educational institution, and Dr. Eric Grekowicz is no ordinary principal. Having a background in postsecondary education and teaching as a university professor for 17 years, Dr. Grekowicz felt “strongly called to Catholic education,” which led him to a previous position as a Catholic elementary school principal.

As a lay Dominican, Dr. Grekowicz felt drawn to converting his previous school to a classical model, “back to our educational roots as Catholics,” he said. “The school had been slowly dying, but with the conversion to classical [education], its vitality returned.” Dominicans are typically led to preach and teach, both of which fit in perfectly with Dr. Grekowicz’s professional and spiritual life.

He describes landing the job at Our Lady of Good Hope as entirely providential. “I was perusing various postings and ran across the advertisement for Our Lady,” he explained. “When I read it, I couldn’t believe it. I had a clear sense that it was written specifically for me. When I showed the ad to my wife, she also couldn’t believe how closely it matched my expertise, beliefs and personality.”

As a new parochial school in the diocese, Our Lady of Good Hope follows a Catholic classical liberal arts model. “The purpose is to teach from Christo-centric educational practice and materials, with the specific intention of exposing our children to the best literature and thought of the past and present,” Dr. Grekowicz elaborated. His hope for his students is “that they will become great saints. That is our primary mission,” he continued. “We cannot see and measure the heart, so that is where my prayer and hope is focused.”