"My twin sister and I were raised in a small Midwestern farming community where religious and practical values were stressed," explains Sister Clarita Hackman. Growing up in Glasgow, Missouri, Sister Clarita attended St. Mary's School and Glasgow High. She joined Medical Mission Sisters at age 20, and studied Bookkeeping at the Taylor Institute in Philadelphia.

Sister Clarita worked for 8 years as an accountant at our hospitals in Venezuela and Ghana. She returned to the U.S. to study x-ray technology at St. Joseph's Hospital in San Francisco, then received her Associates Degree from Foothill College in Los Altos. Back in Ghana, she taught x-ray technology as she continued her accounting work.

In 1974, Sister Clarita moved to Philadelphia, and earned her Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and International Relations from Temple University. She worked for several years as bookkeeper for the Nationalities Service Center, an agency in Philadelphia helping immigrants, refugees, and people who did not speak English.

Developing and fine-tuning a cost-effective, flexible health insurance system for our Sisters in North America became Sister Clarita's next mission. As our Health Insurance Administrator, she negotiated, maintained, and upgraded contracts with various insurance companies. "The fun and sustaining part was the interaction with the Sisters," she said of her 13 years of service in this role. She then took on the position of Assistant to our General Treasurer.

"Mission for me is being an active presence of Christ, being available, witnessing, allowing Christ to live through me … to use my talents in the areas of stewardship," says Sister Clarita.