About Me

Hello, welcome to my blog! My name is Mrs. Marianne Soratorio Dyogi and I am the 7th grade Homeroom/Junior High Religion teacher at St. Jerome School in Westchester, CA.

I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Health Science from Cal State Long Beach and worked in Health Education and Research before I was led to teach at St. Paul of the Cross in La Mirada as the 6th grade Homeroom/Junior High Math teacher. This is where I realized my love for teaching and for sharing the faith. Being in a Catholic environment and having a great time with the 50 minutes of Religion I taught everyday, I knew that God put a fire in my heart to help young people understand and appreciate Scripture and the Church that they belonged to.

After three years at SPOC, I followed my principal to Verbum Dei High School in Watts and worked as the Director of Spiritual Formation/Religion teacher for two years. Conducting retreats and formation sessions for the faculty and staff, as well as planning the monthly Masses and annual student retreats kept me connected to the Ignatian spirituality I had experienced through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Building on the foundation set by Bro. Ortiz, I continued to develop the Christian Service Program and thoroughly enjoyed accompanying our young men to soup kitchens, food banks, fundraiser runs, beach cleanups, and an Alternative Spring Break trip to Tijuana, Mexico.

I missed being a full-time teacher at the middle school level, so I made the move to St. Jerome in August 2006 after getting married to Gary Dyogi, an athletic trainer at Loyola Marymount University. In October 2007, God blessed us with a beautiful baby girl – Meleana Grace. I just completed my Master’s Degree in Education at LMU this summer and am now finishing the last requirements for my California Teaching Credential.

These are exciting times because God continues to bless me with opportunities to grow as a teacher and catechist. I have learned so much from my students…each class has been incredibly special to me. I never imagined that I’d be where I am right now, but God’s plans are always good and I am so grateful for this path that He has set me on.

AMDG+JMJ