Saint Joseph's College (Indiana), a Catholic college founded and sponsored by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, pledges itself to a tradition of excellence and to a liberal education that is a united endeavor of intelligence and faith.

Saint Joseph’s to Create State of the Art Academic, Business, and Mentoring Center

Saint Joseph's College is pleased to announce the creation of the Academic, Business, and Mentoring Center opening this fall.  Through the Center, students will take online classes, be guided by tutors, and interact with business mentors who will introduce them to the world of work—including possible internships with local businesses.  The Center will provide computers as well as facilitators to help students navigate the classwork, interact with fellow students, and network with potential employers.

Why the Center? The traditional classroom is characterized by a community of learners in close physical proximity to one another. The teacher serves as the conveyor of information, mentor, and career guidance.  While these characteristics may be available online, the past year has demonstrated that the online experience is often lonely and harsh.  The Academic, Business, and Mentoring Center will provide the benefits of online learning with the communal advantages of traditional liberal arts learning.  The Center will also seek to bridge the technological gap between those who have ready access to technology and the internet and those who may not be so fortunate.

What separates liberal arts colleges and universities from complete online learning is not the curriculum but the communal associations that are engendered on the traditional campus. The proposed model captures the best of both worlds.

The Center will include the following elements:

• a state-of-the-art computer classroom with internet connectivity at SJC,
• degree and certificate programs offered by Saint Joseph’s College’s university partners,
• credit programs offered by university partners are transferable to other institutions,
• introductory workshops for individuals seeking to explore career opportunities or to hone business skills,
• safe and comfortable communal space for students to interact with one another,
• discipline-specific tutors to assist students in their educational journey,
• local business people to serve as mentors and career enablers,
• affordable tuition for state-of-the-art programs.

For more information or to find out how you can help, please contact Beth Graf at bgraf@saintjoe.edu or (219) 866-6000 x2014.

 

New Certification Program:  Medical Billing and Coding

Beginning this fall, Saint Joseph’s College will be offering certification in Medical Billing and Coding.  Billing and coding specialists are responsible for processing health insurance claims and have an expansive range of opportunities for employment, including hospitals, physician offices, surgery centers, nursing homes, dental offices, home healthcare agencies, mental health facilities and even insurance companies and consulting firms. Earning the certified billing and coding specialist certificate with Saint Joseph's College and the NHA shows that you have the knowledge and experience needed to transition into a rewarding and meaningful career as a sought-after billing and coding specialist.

The average salary for medical coders in Indiana is $49,358.  Indiana provides job opportunities for developing medical coders. As with many other states, the main cities will serve as the primary hubs for the majority of these opportunities, with strong possibilities in Fort Wayne, South Bend, and Indianapolis.  Most coders in Indiana work on-site, but roughly 35% work remotely. These remote employees earn $54,056 on average, just above the state-wide average salary. Employers tend to offer higher compensation for remote employees because remote employees tend to have more years of experience or multiple credentials to validate their expertise.

Currently, Saint Joseph’s College is offering certifications for Certified Clinical Medical Assistant, Certified Nursing Assistant, Phlebotomy, and EKG.   With a 100% pass rate, Saint Joe has graduated 25 medical assistants and 3 phlebotomists since the program’s beginning summer of 2020, with a majority of the graduates employed in a medical facility.

Another great addition to our medical certifications is CPR training.  Saint Joe has begun offering CPR training, especially for CPR, AED, First Aid, and BLS.  CPR classes are being offered to current SJC students, local health care and nursing home facilities, local schools and businesses and the local community. 

For more information about the certification programs or CPR training, please contact Hali Chapman, Health Sciences Program Coordinator at hchapman@saintjoe.edu or (219) 866-6000 x2022.

 

Come Visit Campus

Beautiful flowers are in bloom on campus and we invite you to come take a walk with us!  Our physical plant crew has done a tremendous job of keeping the campus beautiful. Over the next several months, we will be hosting campus tours of the grounds and the Core Education Center.  On the 2nd Saturday of the month from 11:00 am until 2:00 pm central standard time you can schedule a time to come and take a walk through campus.  The first opportunity will be June 12th.  To set up your tour of campus and the Core Education Center, please contact Beth Graf at bgraf@saintjoe.edu or (219) 866-6000 x2014.  Due to liability constraints, a waiver will need to be signed upon arrival.  Additional dates and times may be available upon request.

 

 

Fr. Ralph Verdi, C.PP.S., Beloved Music Professor, Passes Away

Fr. Verdi was born on September 21, 1944, in New York to Ralph C. and Inez (Gregorio) Verdi. He entered the Society in 1962 at Saint Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Ind., and was ordained on June 19, 1971 at St. Charles Center in Carthagena, Ohio.

After his ordination, Fr. Verdi returned to Saint Joseph’s College as part of its music department. He later attended Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. for graduate studies in music. He then continued in music and education ministry at Saint Joseph’s.

In 2005, he was appointed parochial vicar at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Cleveland. In 2010, he served as sacramental minister at St. Rita and Precious Blood Parishes in Dayton, later becoming part-time chaplain for the Sisters of the Precious Blood in Dayton.

Fr. Verdi retired to St. Charles Center in 2015. With his health declining, he launched his search for a kidney transplant, which took place in late 2017. He faced numerous and dire medical obstacles during his recovery, but eventually made his way back to St. Charles Center, where he spent his last years.

Fr. Verdi wove music into his ministry as a priest. He was an accomplished musician and composer. He composed several hymns to the Precious Blood as well as a Votive Mass for St. Gaspar del Bufalo and the Precious Blood Founders Hymn Collection. He had a number of compositions published by GIA Publications of Chicago, including what is probably his most popular, “Come, Let Us Adore.”

His later years plagued with health issues, his strength fading, Fr. Verdi maintained a sense of mission, believing that God was calling him to something more. His own suffering made him even more attuned to the suffering of others. He once said, “All those people who were sick in the Gospels and came to Jesus—it’s easy for me now to say the same thing they said, ‘Lord help me.’ It teaches you empathy; it expands your ability to love. Suffering is a way of getting to the real truth of things: that we’re all fragile, that we all need each other. Bishop Sheen used to say, ‘So much suffering is wasted because it is not offered up to God,’ as a way of expressing one’s love for others. I try not to waste my suffering. I offer it up for myself and for anyone who needs it.”

Contact Us

Saint Joseph’s College
PO Box 300
Rensselaer, IN 47978
saintjoe.edu

Beth Graf, Director of Communications and Development
Email: bgraf@saintjoe.edu
Phone: 219-866-6000 ext. 2014