Contributed by USC School of Education

Catherine "Cay" Kessler was a dedicated educator of 30 years in the Columbia area. She retired from her position as physical education teacher at Airport High School after touching many students' lives and coaching state championship teams in gymnastics, softball, and volleyball.

During her career as an educator, Kessler worked in partnership with other professionals to develop and run the Physical Education State Assessment Program for S.C.. Her ties with the College of Education come from her work as a clinical model teacher, supervising the college's student teachers in the area of physical education, and over 30 hours of post graduate work through the college.

After retiring from teaching in 2000, Kessler was still committed to education. She substitute taught for five years, but at the beginning of 2006, the calls requesting her as a substitute had dwindled down to one per month. Not ready to quit working, Kessler decided to apply with the government for a special job. Within 24 hours, Kessler was hired. After a brief training period in Texas, Kessler left on June 23, 2006, for Tikrit, Iraq.

At Camp Speicher, a U.S. military base larger than the state of S.C., in Iraq, Kessler serves as supervisor for one of four recreation centers. As supervisor, Kessler is in charge of organizing activities and keeping the recreation center's operations running smoothly for American Air Force, Army, and National Guard soldiers. She sets up tournaments, marathons, karaoke, and quilting sessions. Kessler works at least 12 hours per day, seven days a week, to ensure accommodations for all recreation activities are available. She will be working at Speicher for one year but will receive one week off for rest and relaxation in December when she will travel to Jamaica for a vacation with her sister.

Kessler has gone above and beyond the call of duty while at Speicher. When she noticed the quilting club's supplies were low when she first arrived in Iraq, Kessler called home to her sister and requested supplies. Kessler's sister, Cindy Kessler, along with other members of First Baptist Church of Columbia, promptly sent thread, cutting boards, rulers, and material to Iraq.

According to Cay Kessler, "The soldiers, male and female, enjoyed receiving the new supplies, commenting 'this is like Christmas' and immediately picked out their choices to make new quilts for their families and friends."

Kessler reports the soldiers' quilting and other activities at the recreation center help them relieve stress and take their minds off their environment. Kessler says she loves working with soldiers and finds her work very rewarding.

Kessler's request for quilting supplies and other extra efforts have not gone unnoticed. In fact, the Army's 101st Airborne Division of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, honored Kessler with accommodations, a 101st Airborne flag, and a 101st Airborne coin to show their appreciation for her hard work.