Welcome Rochelle Madden!

Rochelle Madden’s journey has taken her to many different parts of the United States, including working and living in Missouri and Virginia for some time.

But recently, Rochelle – who was born in Terre Haute – felt the tug to come closer to home and she did so when she accepted the position of coordinator of Well-Being Engagement and Education with the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods – a place she is quite familiar with.

When she was an infant, Rochelle and her family moved to Danville, Indiana, where she went to public school. After graduating from high school, she attended Indiana State University to obtain her undergraduate and graduate degrees.

“My parents retired in Parke County and have lived there for 23 years. Terre Haute is like home to me and I have been returning to visit family and friends throughout the years,” Rochelle said.

And what of her familiarity with the Woods, you ask? It’s where she and her husband were married!

“We were married in the small grotto on the north side of campus and have enjoyed the peaceful environment at the Woods for years as we returned to visit family,” Rochelle said. “A fun fact about me is that my husband’s great aunt was a Sister of Providence – Sister Miriam Loretto Wonderly.”

Rochelle and her husband have four children, along with a cat and dog.

After graduating from Indiana State with a bachelor’s degree in graphic arts and a master’s degree in industrial technology, Rochelle worked in higher education in Missouri and Virginia. She also worked for the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. During her time in Missouri, she earned an education specialist degree from the University of Central Missouri with a specialization in career and technology education.

Since coming to the Woods earlier this year, Rochelle has already made her presence known as she ministers on the Helping Ourselves Meaningful Engage (HOME) Team and will also help facilitate the monthly Memory Cafés with Clinical Care Coordinator Elizabeth Collins.

Rochelle said her time at Longwood University – located in Farmville, Virginia – will benefit her when it comes to ministering with the HOME Team.

“I was blessed to be a part of an initiative in launching lifelong learning opportunities for various age groups in the community, with devotion to honoring the value of each person,” Rochelle said. “Having been involved in a similar initiative in Virginia, I look forward to working with the HOME Team fulfilling its mission in this direction, creating an environment where all persons can meaningfully engage in daily activities.”

Rochelle said she is also particularly interested in helping with Memory Cafés because she had a family member with Alzheimer’s.

“I have known about the disease in a personal role as a granddaughter,” she said. “This event helps connect persons who are living with early-to-moderate dementia and their care partners with others socially and educationally while being in a relaxed environment where they are free from judgment.”

She said she is grateful for the opportunity to work and minister with the Sisters of Providence, quoting Saint Mother Theodore Guerin: “At each step we can admire the grandeur, the power, the goodness of God.”

“I think the words of Saint Mother Theodore are both a reminder and an inspiration to motivate us as we work to achieve excellence now and in the future,” Rochelle said. “Moving forward, the HOME Team will continue to support the vision of offering person-directed programming on the campus. We will be collaborating in mutual partnerships with stakeholders in developing, assessing, and revising systems design and infrastructures as necessary for continuing to encourage an environment that supports and nurtures well-being and life enrichment activities in daily living for the Sisters of Providence.”