DEPARTURES: Erin Carrabba, St. John the Baptist Elementary

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Erin Carrabba

DRAPER — In 2017 Erin Carrabba arrived in Utah from New Jersey and became principal at Saint Andrew Catholic School in Riverton. Then, in 2022, she moved to St. John the Baptist Elementary, becoming the fourth principal in the school’s history.

Now she is moving again, but this time it will be out of state.

“My husband accepted a promotion within his role at Enterprise Mobility that entailed a relocation for our family to St. Louis,” Carrabba said about this new chapter in her family’s life.

Working as a K-8 school principal in Utah helped her professional formation, she said.

“My experiences at St. Andrew in Riverton and St. John the Baptist in Draper have been so important in my development as a Catholic school leader,” Carrabba said, adding that she is very grateful to have worked with many dedicated educators, families, pastors and parishes.

“The leadership and support I have received from the [Utah] Catholic Schools office, under the supervision of Superintendent Mark Longe and Associate Superintendent Nikki Ward, has been invaluable,” she said.

Among the fond memories she will always remember are the annual traditions at both schools, “including the St. Andrew talent show, the beautiful First Holy Communion services and novenas, the Christmas season, Fall Fest and St. Nicholas story time, and marching in the St. Paddy’s Day Parade with both school communities,” she said.

Participating in these events alongside her daughters has been a blessing, she added.

Her daughters “have yielded so much in the way of faith formation, academic excellence, friendship and discipline as a result of their time at St. Andrew, St. John the Baptist Elementary and Middle schools and Juan Diego Catholic High School,” Carrabba said.

Working with the Student Leadership Council students at both schools provided Carrabba with other treasured memories.  

“It never ceases to amaze me how much our students are capable of, when given the opportunity to be faith leaders for their peers,” she said. “However, I have to say, it has been the totality of the day-to-day interactions with students, colleagues and parents that have meant the most: walking a student into school when they’re having a rough morning and getting them to smile, laughing over something humorous a student said or did, singing with the choir at school Mass.”

The Catholic Schools in Utah have some of the most passionate and dedicated people that she has had the pleasure of working with in her career, she said.   

Now, as she prepares to move, “the duality of ending one role and looking forward to the next is never easy, but I trust in God’s plan for me and my family,” she said, adding, “Thank you to everyone that has made my time here so special, I will miss you all.”