Associate Spotlight – Arlene Bachanov

“I am one of the keepers of the legacy. I don’t just preserve the history; I tell [the Sisters’] story. It is very important to me that that story be kept alive, and the wider world knows that this Congregation was here and what this Congregation did.”

That’s Adrian Dominican Associate Arlene Bachanov’s description of her mission as a Co-worker in the Congregation’s History Office, drawing on her long-time experience as a journalist and a student of history.

Arlene’s story is as interesting as those she writes of individual Adrian Dominican Sisters. A native of Detroit, she came to Adrian to attend Adrian College, majoring in English and Journalism. Through a friend at Siena Heights College (now University), she met Sister Eileen Rice, OP, who became her friend and mentor.

Arlene worked at the local newspaper, the Daily Telegram, andin 1986 was assigned to interview Sister Nadine Foley, OP, who was Prioress at the time. “The Sisters were very active in a lot of things in the community, and I decided that they needed to be written about,” Arlene said. “I took that on as one of my beats at the Telegram.”

She left the Daily Telegram in 1992 and eventually moved to Lansing, where she found work. She continued to freelance for the Telegram and, after losing her job in Lansing, told the editor that she would take all the assignments she could get. She was assigned to write stories about the 125th anniversary in 2009 of the Sisters’ arrival in Adrian.“It was like old home week” as she resumed her connection with the Sisters.

Arlene heard about the Congregation’s Associate Life program and the fact that they did not have to be Catholic. During a long drive to visit her mother, Arlene contemplated becoming an Associate. “In the course of three hours there and three hours back, I decided I felt called to be an Associate,” Arlene recalled. “I wanted that connection that I thought being an Associate would offer me – connection with God and other people.” 

She asked Sister Nadine to be her mentor in the discernment process – but she got more. Sister Nadine needed an assistant in her work in the History Department. “In 2010, I became an Associate in July and a Co-worker in September of that year,” she said. “This was all because of Nadine.” In 2013, through the RCIA process at St. Mary Parish in Adrian, Arlene became Catholic as well. “I was drawn to the richness of the faith,” she said.

Although a journalist by training, Arlene also studied history in college. Both fields help her in her work in the History Office. She spoke of the variety of work in her ministry. “You come in one day expecting to do something, and you wind up doing something else,” she said. “A lot of what I do isn’t involved with writing, but it ends up involving a lot of research to support other departments in what they’re doing.”

In her 15 years in the History Office, Arlene has written profiles of Sisters who died, co-written a volume of the Congregation’s history with Sister Nadine, edited another history volume, and recently wrote a book on the 50-year history of the congregation’s Portfolio Advisory Board. But her work has also involved updating the congregation’s chronology, giving tours to visitors and new Co-workers, and writing a column on the history of the Congregation for the Human Resources department’s quarterly newsletter.  

Arlene also works with Lisa Schell, Congregation Archivist, in researching topics requested by others, such as the history of the Adrian Dominican Sisters in a particular diocese. “We’ll brainstorm places where we can find information,” Arlene explained. “Sometimes looking up one thing sends you down a rabbit hole, so you never know where the research is going to take you.”

Arlene believes that in her ministry, she is truly living out the Dominican Charism through her “commitment to truth, to Veritas; to telling the story accurately; a commitment to showing how these women preach with their lives. I’m disseminating that story, how they do their preaching.”

She sees every day as a highlight, “getting to come here every day and work with this amazing group of people. This truly is not a job. The highlight is getting to live my life around these women. They inspire me all the time.”

But Arlene is also inspired by her fellow Associates and by the role they play in the Dominican family. “We Associates are among the keepers of the flame,” she said. “I take very seriously the role of keeping this charism alive. We as Associates have a very distinct call. I’m very glad that we are now exploring ways to carry out that mission as Associates in ways that have not been done before.” 

Photos and Captions

-Adrian Dominican Associate Arlene Bachanov, right, stands with Sister Anneliese Sinnott, OP, during the book launch of Sister Anneliese’s history book, Seeds of Change, covering the history of the Dominican Sisters of Adrian from 1962 to 1986. Arlene was the editor.

-Associate Arlene Bachanov, right, speaks to new Siena Heights University students about Holy Rosary Chapel in the Motherhouse in Adrian. Part of Arlene’s ministry in the History Office is conducting tours of the Motherhouse.