• She was born in Rayne LA between Lafayette and Crowley.
• Her parents were both German. Her father's father had immigrated from Europe as part of a group that brought rice farming to Louisiana.

She went to St. Joseph's School in Rayne where she was taught by the Sisters of Mount Carmel.

• Her second grade teacher, Sister Claudia, made a big impression on her. Sister gave her responsibility in the classroom, which included teenage boys in that era without social promotion.

She was this little bitty sister who ruled with an iron hand. She was in charge of first aid. So if anyone got hurt, she had to leave the class. Since I was the tallest girl and a good student, she put me in charge of the class. If anybody talked, I was to put their name on the board. When the big guys talked, I wrote their names on the board, but they would come up and erase them. So I decided to wait until I heard sister coming up the stairs. Then I turned and wrote their names on the board when it was too late for them to erase them. So I've been psyching out students for a long time.

• She also assisted Sister Mary Paul in third grade.

She told me, "I want to teach you long division after school so tomorrow you can help me teach the class." Next day, I'm teaching four guys how to do long division.

• All her teachers were sisters except for fourth grade, when the nun got sick and was replaced by various lay teachers.
• She participated in sports, pitching in softball and playing basketball.

I was the star forward. My prize was a silver dime!

She first voiced the idea of entering the convent when she was in fifth grade.

I had my first birthday party when I was ten. Our family was poor and could afford only one birthday party. So you had it when you were ten. I invited my whole class. That night, my mother said to me, "I wonder where you'll be in ten years." I said, "In the convent."

Sister joined the Sisters of Mount Carmel after completing ninth grade.

• She moved to the Motherhouse on Robert E. Lee Blvd. in New Orleans. Because of the credits she had already accumulated, she completed high school in only two years at Mount Carmel Academy, which was housed in the same building.
• In that pre-Vatican Council II era, candidates took a religious name when entering the Novitiate. The name had to be unique, which ruled out her given name, Laurentia, which was in use by a professed sister. So she requested Laurence, which was approved but with a "w" replacing the "u."
• After novitiate, the newly-professed sisters took their first college courses at the Motherhouse before starting their teaching careers.

Her first teaching assignment was St. Dominic School on Harrison Avenue.

• She taught sixth and eighth grade in her three years there. One of her students was Judy Stewart, long-time faculty member at Brother Martin.
• While teaching, she worked toward a bachelor's degree at Loyola, finally finishing in 1962.
• She obtained a master's degree in mathematics in 1968 in a National Science Foundation program at Catholic University in Washington D.C.

After teaching and serving as Athletic Director at Mount Carmel in Lafayette three years, Sister Lawrence returned to New Orleans.

• She taught at St. James High School on Gentilly Blvd. for five years. She was also the newspaper advisor.
• She then moved crosstown to Mount Carmel where she taught until 1991.

Sister served in a variety of positions at her alma mater.

• Head of the Mathematics Department
• Founding chair of the Computer Science Department
• Assistant Principal for Curriculum
• Senior Coordinator
• Yearbook Advisor
• Assistant Drama Club director
• Audio-visual coordinator
• Local coordinator of the Sisters of Mount Carmel community

After 24 years of service at MCA, Sister Lawrence applied to teach at Brother Martin.

To be continued ...