As she sits at her desk, her students start trickling from first lunch into Room 101 to learn about morality. She smiles and gets up from her desk to greet her students. Her students are eager to learn what is next on the agenda for this semester. The teacher then conducts her attendance and asks her questions of the day, not just to see if her students are here but also to know more about them. This awesome teacher is Mrs.Flood, and she has an awesome story to tell.

Mrs. Flood was born on Oct.1st, 1991, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her parents’ names are Bryan and Jane Anne Becicka. She has seven brothers and sisters, and she falls as the second oldest in the family. Growing up, Mrs.Flood moved around a lot and spent a lot of time in different schools around the country. Eventually, their family moved to Charles City, Iowa, and she graduated from Charles City High School in 2008. 

In high school, Mrs. Flood was interested in theater and did a lot of plays and musicals throughout her high school career. She enjoyed the art of theater and drama and found so much enjoyment while performing in those activities. She knew she wanted to go to a college that was small and perform for theater but not take it as a major. She eventually decided on Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, and studied literature and education. That’s right, she originally wanted to become an English teacher. Mrs.Flood was in Loras College from 2009-2013, graduating with a degree in literature and able to teach English class in school.

After college, Mrs. Flood grew a lot in her faith and really developed a close relationship with God as time went on. She prayed a lot and discerned a lot on what to do. Mrs. Flood felt she was called to be a missionary, and she worked a lot with Salesian Lay Mission which is a religious order founded by St. John Bosco. He was the patron saint of children and had a huge impact on education. Mrs. Flood felt this segued into her education degree and felt called to go out and teach kids. Eventually, she got the chance and went down to the country of Bolivia in South America.

Mrs.Flood spent fourteen months in Bolivia, and she lived in a big house with girls ranging from 3 to 17 years old. She would always wake them up for school, cook them food, and even did their hair for them. She was essentially a mother figure to them and bonded with them very closely. It was an orphanage run by some volunteers, and Mrs. Flood was blessed with taking care of the girls. To this day, Mrs. Flood is still in contact with them and keeping up with them. She sponsored a girl’s education from the orphanage, and she eventually became a nurse due to Mrs. Flood’s sponsorship.

During her time in Bolivia, her parents had moved to Des Moines from Charles City. So, when Mrs. Flood came back, she moved in with her parents into this unfamiliar city. During that time, she subbed a lot in schools and did a lot of side hustles to make a living. She was unsure of what she wanted to do and felt uncertain about the future. Eventually, Mr.Molhman, a good friend from college, called her up and told her about a theology position opening up here at Dowling. With nothing to lose, Mrs. Flood applied and she eventually got the job in the summer of 2015. She taught theology for the school and has taught every grade in their respective religion classes.

Now, Mrs. Flood is also a family woman and a loving mother to a daughter named Willow. Her husband, Mr. Flood (who is also a teacher here at Dowling) is a social studies teacher and a captain in the Iowa Army National  Guard. They met initially in their first year of teaching here and spent a lot of time together. They were both cart teachers and had desks in the west team room together. They both worked and saw each other a lot. They bonded over philosophy and podcasts during that time, and eventually Mrs.Flood invited him to a Halloween party. After that party, he asked her out on a date, and as they say, the rest is history.

They dated for a year before getting engaged. Eventually, Mr.Flood answered the call to duty and enlisted in the army. He joined in 2017 and left for Fort Benning (now called Fort Moore as of 2023) to do his basic training. He was gone for four months, and they wrote each other letters during that period of time. 

“It was a hard time, I missed him a lot. We were trying to plan our wedding and sort things out. But I knew it wasn’t going to be forever.”

Eventually, she went down to Fort Benning, Georgia, with Mr. Flood’s parents to see him graduate from basic training. Later, they got married in the spring of 2018 over spring break. They got married at Christ the King church and are still happily wedded to this day. Now, they have been blessed with a young child named Willow. They got her in July 2023 when she was seven months old, and the Floods took care of her. They didn’t know if Willow was going to be reunited with her biological mother, so they took over that responsibility as caretakers. One year later, in July 2024, they found out that the biological mother was not able to be reunited with Willow. So, officially, on November 22nd, 2024, they will be the adoptive parents of Willow and take care of her. After that day, they will be eligible for another foster kid to take care of. The Floods never planned for this, but Mrs. Flood knew God blessed them. This ties back to her experiences in Bolivia, and growing up being the second oldest in the family. She has always maintained that maternal instinct and always cared for those who she loves.

This is Mrs.Flood’s 10th year teaching at Dowling, and she eventually got her Masters in Theology at Francisian University of Steubenville. When asked what keeps her teaching her, she states, “Not many people have a laugh at their job everyday, and I’m blessed to have that here at Dowling, laughing with my students and coworkers.”

She found her first years of teaching hard because she was trying to find her groove and style of teaching. Now, Mrs.Flood is one of the school’s premier teachers and passionately teaches her students about morality and social justice. 

Some fun facts about Mrs. Flood are:

•  She likes to sing and she usually sings at the Christ Our Life conference when they come.
• In high school, she did face painting for local community events.
• Her youngest sister, Mariel is a senior here at Dowling.
• She is trained as a catechist for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
• She goes to St. Theresa where she also teaches 3 to 6 years olds.
• She lives in Clive with Mr. Flood and Willow.
• When she was young, she did tap, ballet, and Irish tap dance.
• She was in a theatrical production with Mr. Spike in college. 

My personal experience with Mrs. Flood is that she showed a lot of passion and energy when teaching me and other students about theology. Tying back to her time after college, I definitely see the faith and how that has helped her throughout her whole life and career here at Dowling. Not many schools offer theology classes, and this school is blessed with Mrs. Flood teaching such a complex subject but with such passion and devotion towards it. She also briefly taught me English for one semester, and even though she isn’t primarily an English teacher, she still knows a whole lot about it. She saw me transform into a better person when I came back from basic training as I would often write to her husband, Mr. Flood, about my hate for drill sergeants and just my experiences down in Georgia. 

A piece of advice she gave me was, “Take time to listen and slow down.” This means listen to God, and, essentially, don’t rush things in life. Patience is a virtue, and it takes time to earn it. Mrs. Flood understands that all good things come in time and that faith is a huge aspect in her life. She’s been blessed with going to Bolivia, and helping girls fulfill their true potential and find their inner personality. Now, Mrs. Flood is entrusted with taking care of Willow and seeing her grow as the time flies by. If you ever have time, or just want to say hi, Mrs. Flood is in room 101. She is an awesome listener and possesses a vast amount of knowledge and faith-filled wisdom for anybody who stops by.