Stella Maris Explorers

Mrs. Rodriguez is a wife and homeschooling mother of four starting her fifth year as a home educator. She has dedicated much of her own life's work to furthering catholic religious education and believes the best way to grow children in the catholic faith is by living out the liturgical year. Mrs. Rodriguez holds a professional bachelor degree in architecture from Mississippi State University and a post-professional master degree in architecture from the Catholic University of America. Her master degree work specialized in catholic architecture and through her thesis and several courses, Mrs. Rodriguez has had a wonderful opportunity to study, in depth, the Catholic faith. Before becoming a full-time homemaker, she worked as an Associate Architect in two Mississippi firms and a Teaching Assistant at both MSU and CUA. In addition to the fourteen years she has spent as a catechist, Mrs. Rodriguez has given papers at conferences, been an invited conference moderator and reviewer, travelled internationally, and holds an American Institute of Architects Award for Excellence for a 2011 built project in Nepal. Her experiences have given her a comfort presenting to and leading groups as well as fueled her self-driven, independent, organized work style and ethic. Mrs. Rodriguez relishes the opportunity to serve as president on the Stella Maris Explorers Board of Directors and lead as the organization's chief volunteer. 

 Mrs. Worland is a homeschooling mother of one: a 9-year-old son with autism and asynchronous educational needs. She is passionate about child development. After earning her bachelor degree in German language and literature from the University of Alabama, Mrs. Worland worked in early literacy intervention in NYC tenement childcare centers. Later, she met her husband while taking graduate courses in education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. After the birth of her son, Mrs. Worland dove headfirst into the world of entrepreneurship. She owns her own company, Books Faith Life, where she is the lead designer and artwork developer. Mrs. Worland is also the creative genius behind the popular digital marketing collaborative: Catholic Mom Bundle. In her parish, she is honored to serve young families as a faith formation catechist and also founded a weekly preschool music and art ministry. Mrs. Worland believes that all persons, regardless of age or ability, are called to be co-creators with God. Her personal motto comes from Pope St. John Paul II's Letter to Artists: "Through his artistic creativity man appears more than ever in the image of God..."

Mrs. Pazdersky is a grateful convert to the Catholic faith, a wife, and a mother of six boys. She has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master of Business Administration from Mississippi State University. As a former Sites Coordinator for Excel By 5, Mrs. Pazdersky collaborated with city and county officials and members of the central and northern Excel By 5 Mississippi communities. She helped to aid communities in successfully achieving or maintaining certification in order for them to better support the 0-5 year olds, their families, and their schools. When Mrs. Pazdersky moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, she took on a new position as Small Business Specialist for the Early Years Network with Mississippi State University where she taught business classes to child care directors and provided one-on-one consulting pertaining to business plans, financials, marketing, etc. Her most important work, however, has been to stay home and homeschool her six children, teaching them to know, to love, and to serve God. 

Mrs. Carey is a creative craft-loving mom of two: an eight year old daughter and a three year old son with Downs Syndrome. She is in her sixth year of homeschooling. Mrs. Carey epouses the Charlotte Mason Method and embraces play based learning. She strives to make Catholic faith based education the bedrock of her children's education as she and her husband both cherished their own traditional Catholic education. Mrs. Carey met her husband, Dr, Carey, at Spring Hill College, a Jesuit institution in Mobile, Alabama. She embraces attitudes of loving the whole person as a child of God and prayer through work (ora et labora). In addition to her bachelor degree, Mrs. Carey also holds a Master of Business degree from Spring Hill College. She is the owner of TM Recruiting and Consulting. Founded in 2010, this business endeavor has allowed Mrs. Carey to utilize her economics and finance background and grow her knowledge of organizational behavior, logistical efficiencies, fundraising, and corporate meeting management. She is passionate about the sciences. And is honored to serve in the Stella Maris Explorers organization where she has the privilege of seeing tiny scientists light up while learning about God's world. "Go forth and set the world on fire!"