Recipient’s Name:  Chris Lowry

School:  Monsignor Doyle Secondary School

Subject Area:  Phys. Ed.

Number of Years Teaching:  29 years

Chris loves teaching.  He said that “I don’t see any other occupation where you can work with kids, make a difference in their lives and continue to learn yourself.”  His message to his students is “Give the best with all you have been given.”  He pours himself into his students with the hopes of making successes happen.  If a student has been inactive for two years when they come to phys. ed class the goal is being persistent with them so they get active.  Phys. Ed is not about professional athleticism but about daily effort and activity.

Chris enjoys being with his students and says he gets a lot back from them.  He learns about relationships from them and they make him better by challenging him to be his best as he challenges them.  One fun part of his job is being the wresting coach to 50 plus boys.  He wrestles them, pushing them hard to success.

John, one of Chris’ students and wrestlers, wrote this about Chris:

Mr. Lowry has been a teacher for some thirty years.  I got to know him through the last four years as my coach and mentor.  Monsignor Doyle is a relatively small high school so it is quite surprising that our wrestling record is 17 straight years as champions in our league.  How did we do it?  Mr. Lowry has an incredible way of motivating each and every student to give their best.  He builds relationships with his students.  It doesn’t matter to him if you are gifted in athletics as long as you give your best.  Each student is treated equally.  His favourite motto is “if you go to the wall for me, I’ll go to the wall for you.”  He commits himself personally to every student in his care. 

When I was wrestling for a team in Guelph, Mr. Lowry found out that I had dislocated my elbow.  Even though he was on vacation, he phoned me 3 or 4 times to ask me how I was doing.  When a student chipped his tooth, Mr. Lowry offered to pay for the dental work because he knew the student could not afford to do so—his father had passed away the previous year. 

In a gentle manner, Mr. Lowry encourages and inspires students to be successful in life.  He will not give up on students.