There’s a striking bronze sculpture in the office of Sister Katherine DuVal, superintendent of Loyola Catholic School, head of the Mankato province of the School Sisters of Notre Dame.

It’s called “Crack the Whip,” but if you think it’s because of her firm hand in discipline matters or the way she motivates her staff, you’re wrong. Like, exact-opposite wrong.

The sculpture shows four children, suspended in intense animation, caught up in the exhilarating game that gives the sculpture its name. The faces are pure joy. The energy is raw. It is 100 percent fun.

“Children must be allowed to play,” DuVal says, gazing at the sculpture with a look that’s at once whimsical and a little sad.

Where DuVal is going, she won’t be able to bring “Crack the Whip.” It’s too big and heavy to haul across the Atlantic to Rome, site of her latest career move, and site of the world headquarters of the SSND.

The spirit the sculpture evokes, though, is one that will never be taken out of DuVal. And she hopes that spirit will help her travel the world and spread the word of Jesus and the good work she says SSND does worldwide.

DuVal has been elected to serve on the seven-member council responsible for traveling the world and making sure the goals of the 4,000-member SSND are carried out, completed, worked or otherwise invoked. For DuVal, it will be the first time in a long time that she won’t report for duty each morning in a schoolhouse. Instead, she’ll learn a few languages, globetrot and visit sisters around the world.

It comes with a price, though. A big one. Loyola. She’s proud of the work she’s done and the friendships she’s made.

“It’s hard to leave,” she said. “I think we’re right at that pivotal moment of making that great leap forward, and I won’t be there to see that leap ... That’s hard.”

From Crookston

DuVal was born and raised in Crookston, where she attended Crookston Cathedral Catholic High School. In high school she didn’t compete in sports because there were no teams for girls. She participated in the closest thing to athletics for girls, however: cheerleading.

She liked many sports, including football, baseball and volleyball. Her favorite, however, was swimming. Not being able to swim competitively didn’t stop her from developing her skills.

After high school she entered a Benedictine monastery. But after a year she realized it was a poor fit for her life and she left. She began working for a company that installed computers and was assigned to a project working with a company in Mankato owned by the Coughlan family.

Once here for a while, the Coughlans suggested she teach some computer classes for high schoolers. Her decision to try it turned out to be one of the most influential of her life.

School Sisters