By Megan Erbacher, The Message editor
The topic of work-life balance constantly comes up with Tommaso Tebaldi’s team.
Tebaldi, vice president of IT – Customer Facing Applications and Optical Labs at EssilorLuxottica, shared with Evansville Catholic high school students that every second of their lives is a matter of priority.
“You need to know when family is the highest priority than your job,” he explained. “I do think it’s important to tackle the problem from this perspective: Life is one, and everything we do is contributing to the beauty, and you have to constantly wrestle with priorities. Our whole life can be viewed as work, and the concept of asking if God is calling us to something makes it easier to understand the priority.”
For Meghan Isaacs, she told students that she wants her life to be unified. Referencing what Tebaldi shared, Isaacs said it’s a constant dialogue that is constantly changing.
“I want everything in my life to be meaningful,” she said. “And I want all of the time that I spend to be meaningful because I don’t want to waste time. … It’s a dialogue that you have with yourself, and with your spouse, your friends, the people who help you, your mentors and your boss … It’s constantly changing, what that magic balance looks like.”
Isaacs and Tebaldi served as guest speakers at the 2025 Tomorrow’s Work Force luncheon Oct. 24 at Bally’s Riverfront Event Center in Evansville. Evansville Catholic high schools sponsored the program, which recognizes the 2025 Leadership Award honorees — 15 each from Mater Dei and Reitz Memorial — selected based on their video applications (new this year), academics and community service.
Bishop Joseph M. Siegel congratulated students for their accomplishments and hard work before he offered the invocation prior to lunch. He also thanked business and civic leaders for supporting Evansville Catholic high schools.
Father Christopher Droste, pastor of St. Boniface Parish in Evansville, served as moderator for the discussion with Isaacs and Tebaldi. This year, Father Droste said the idea was to talk about work itself.
“Let’s just have a moment to reflect on the meaning of work, the dignity of work,” he said. “There’s a little bit of a crisis around people finding meaningful work and being satisfied in their work … and the whole work-life balance thing is becoming more of a conversation.”
Isaacs is a freelance writer and communications strategist based in Nashville, Tennessee. She enjoys serving clients in a variety of industries, and she recently began a journey as a catechist for 3-6 year-old children in the method of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Her full-time job is raising her four young children with her husband, David.
Tebaldi is the vice president of IT – Customer Facing Applications and Optical Labs at EssilorLuxottica, a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of ophthalmic lenses, frames and sunglasses at shopping locations that include Sunglasses Hut, LensCrafters and Target Optical. He resides in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Tomorrow’s Work Force program awards a $1,000 college scholarship to one student from each high school. Mater Dei Principal Darin Knight and Reitz Memorial President Josh Reising announced the scholarship recipients. They are Mater Dei’s Adalyn Wilkinson and Reitz Memorial’s Annabelle Theby.
Wilkinson maintains a 4.12 grade-point average at Mater Dei, and is a member of the National Honor Society, speech and both the cross country and track teams. She is interested in studying orthodontics as a career.
“Throughout my time at Mater Dei, I have had many opportunities and celebrated many accomplishments,” Wilkinson said in her application. “Mater Dei has taught me how to challenge myself and persevere through the challenges of life.”
Theby holds a 3.8 grade-point average at Reitz Memorial, and is a member of the National Honor Society, speech, Youth Resources and volunteers at Ascension St. Vincent Evansville. She plans to pursue pediatric nursing or become a nurse practitioner.
“It has been an incredible opportunity to attend Reitz Memorial,” Theby said in her application. “This school has taught me what true faith and family looks like through service opportunities, the amazing teachers and the students that attend. I aim to foster a direct connection with my community because they’ve given me so much.”
The 2025 Leadership Award recipients are:
Mater Dei — Camden Baumann, Maddox Beard, Ingrid Damm, Piper Fehrenbacher, Aiden Fehrenbacher, Jackson Ford, Madilyn Garrett, Maddison Higdon, Bradyn Jones, Brady Kassenbrock, Nate Keplinger, Matthew Schroeder, Ashlyn Sexton, Josie Walker and Adalyn Wilkinson.
Reitz Memorial — Millie Blake, Bella Eberhard, Jake Goris, Maura Gries, Ella Hofman, Josie Hartmann, Kate Memmer, Caroline Palmer, Maggie Raben, Matthew Rusche, Madelyn Schaefer, Jack Schnarr, Kaydence Smith, Kaelyn Sternberg and Annabelle Theby.
Since Tomorrow’s Work Force began in 2001, sponsors have gifted nearly $2 million to support Evansville Catholic high schools.