St. Ambrose Academy welcomes Braden Lynch as our new Dean of Students and religion teacher!
Braden brings a rich treasury of his own personal experiences in education, formation in the Faith, and experience teaching at other schools to his new roles at St. Ambrose. After high school, he responded to the Lord’s call to deeper discernment of the vocation to the priesthood and entered college seminary. As a Maryland native, he spent the next four years in college seminary at the Catholic University of America, earning a bachelor’s in philosophy and then several years in major seminary studying at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD.
Though he ultimately discerned that the priesthood was not where the Lord was calling him, the time spent in seminary proved to be well-spent. “God gave me a clear calling with a conviction to start teaching”, shared Braden, and to put into practice his experiences of prayer, formation, community life, and discipleship in service of educating young people.
Since then, he has taught in two schools, at both the middle school and high school levels, teaching theology across many grades and found the opportunity to impart knowledge as well as “helping shape the minds and hearts of students” to be a meaningful way to apply the gifts he had received in seminary and to serve the church in the world. He has also continued his post-secondary education, earning a Masters in Theology from the Augustine Institute in Fall 2024, while working full time.
Braden is a man of many interests, and you can find him spending time with friends and family whenever possible, hiking and enjoying the outdoors, reading, writing poetry, praying, and playing sports (basketball and frisbee especially, but he’s game for any athletic opportunity!). He especially takes advantage of any opportunity to make music. He’s lent his talents as a tenor in parish choirs, his seminary schola, and choirs in college, and plays upright bass, electric bass, and brass instruments like the French horn, baritone, trumpet, and mellophone. He enjoys being involved in pro-life ministry and opportunities to serve the hungry and the poor.
A fun fact about Braden, and a part of his identity that he cares about deeply, is his unique ethnic heritage. On his father’s side, he is half Native American, from the Haliwa-Saponi tribe. The tribe became dispersed in the 1800s, but formally became recognized in the 1960s. They have tribal lands in North Carolina, hold an annual pow wow, and is a culture with which Braden enjoys having a deep connection. His mother, born in British Guyana, moved to the United States as a child, along with much of her family. Braden has not been able to visit but who knows what the future holds!
As the new Dean of Students, Braden looks forward to building school culture, “incorporating the vast beauty and joy of the Catholic faith into daily student life and student activities.” He is inspired by the mission of St. Ambrose, “preparing students to be disciples who go out into the world as leaven, to have a strong faith, and to be witnesses and evangelists”. He is eager to work with students, “guiding them in how to be good people, how to become good disciples, and giving them a model to grow into.”