Actress Invites Sister to Hollywood

August 28, 2001. Meriden, Connecticut.

Sister Mary Elizabeth Endee, FSE, was taken by surprise when actress Marlee Matlin's agent called her and asked her to come to Hollywood -- and could she come next week? A teacher of the deaf, Sister Mary Elizabeth, had taught Ms. Matlin in fifth and sixth grades and also in high school in Chicago area schools. The agent explained that the actress was involved with Target's Take Charge of Education program and was asked to have her favorite teacher join her for a photo shoot. Sister Mary Elizabeth was Marlee's favorite teacher. The Target program has contributed more than $60 million to the communities Target serves.

Sister remembers Marlee as a bright young girl who had it in her mind she wanted to be an actress. At the time, few people encouraged this dream, but Sister Mary Elizabeth is not surprised that Marlee made it come true, prevailing against many odds to make it happen. At age 21, she became the youngest recipient of the Best Actress Oscar for her role in "Children of a Lesser God" and one of only four actresses to receive that honor for a film debut. Currently, Marlee's work is raising her two children as well as acting in television shows and movies.

Sister Mary Elizabeth is a full time marriage and family therapist at the Franciscan Life Center, Meriden. Prior to her counseling work, she taught at the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford, Connecticut, and at the North Suburban Special Education District in Highland Park, Illinois. She holds a Masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from St. Joseph College, West Hartford, and a Masters degree in Education of the Hearing Impaired from Northwestern University, Chicago.