A Little About Yvonne…

Best at: Showing people what it means to be Christ on Earth. I want to love others the way I love myself. 

Worst at: Staying focused on ONE project or goal. I have a lot going on. I can be focused on 15 things at one time, but I have a hard time focusing on just one. 

Passionate about: The color white. I love wearing all white and people always say, “I could never!”. I’m obsessed with making “white” work for me. 

What’s your “why”? My grandmother is my why. Her name is Irene Smith Flowers Ralston. She’s 98. When I was born, she was 60. She’s a dark-skinned woman born in Brunget, Alabama, in the 1920s. I grew up the closest person to her. From a very young age, I learned about the sacrifices she and my ancestors had to make for me to be here. I was always viscerally aware that people went through extreme challenges for me to be here. At six years old, I made the declaration that I was going to honor her. So, every day I wake up whether I want to do things or not. I get up because she did things she may not have wanted to do so I could be here. 

Favorite Hallmark: We proclaim by our lives even more than by our words that God is good. 

The Hallmarks by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur are the essential characteristics, values, and activities of the NDMVA learning community. They are common principles that we share within both organizations. They recently refreshed their hallmarks! Click here to read the updated Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur Hallmarks.