When Richelle Balder Jader ’79 arrived at the College of Saint Benedict, she was following in her brother’s footsteps — and her own calling. “My brother Jerry was at Saint John’s in the nursing program, and whatever Jerry did was kind of golden,” she recalls with a laugh. “So I followed him there — and when I visited, it felt like home.”
From her first days in Corona Hall, Jader found both friendship and focus. She and her best friend from first grade came to St. Ben’s together and roomed together. The two remain close friends to this day. “It was the perfect start to an incredible experience,” Jader says. “The woods, the peace, the professors — it all shaped me.”
A nursing major from day one, Jader says she never doubted her path. “Nursing was a springboard to doing just about anything you wanted. It’s such a fulfilling career,” she reflects. After graduating in 1979, she began her nursing journey at St. Mary’s Hospital in Minneapolis (now M Health Fairview Riverside). Her early years in oncology led her into critical care — and ultimately to her true professional home in emergency medicine.
“Once I discovered the ER, I knew I was where I was supposed to be,” she says. Over time, she earned a master’s in healthcare administration and spent the majority of her career leading emergency departments. “It was challenging, fulfilling work. You learn to think critically, lead courageously, and advocate passionately — the very things St. Ben’s prepared me for.”
Her years on campus also taught her to listen deeply — a skill she traces back to the Benedictine values and to professors like Sister Ingrid Anderson. “She was just remarkable — talented, creative, confident, and faith-filled. She showed us what it meant to be strong, thoughtful women,” Jader says. “St. Ben’s taught me that it was safe to ask questions and to talk about things that mattered.”
Those lessons carried through her entire career and into retirement. Today, Jader lives in Hudson, Wisconsin, where her community involvement continues. During the pandemic, she volunteered at vaccination clinics and now gives her time to local events with the Hudson Chamber of Commerce. But one of her most beloved projects each year is the Santa’s Mailbox tradition she and her husband, Gary, have carried on for the past six years.
When their neighbors moved away, they passed along the bright red mailbox that had been a neighborhood treasure — a magical place where local children could send letters to Santa and receive handwritten replies from the North Pole. “They wanted to make sure it stayed on our little block,” Jader says. “We couldn’t say no.”
Each December, Jader spends her evenings reading dozens of letters from children and carefully crafting personalized responses in Santa’s voice, complete with festive envelopes postmarked from the North Pole. “It’s really for the parents as much as the kids,” she laughs. “Seeing that joy — watching families come by, taking photos, feeling the magic — it’s one of the most rewarding things we do.”
The Jaders even self-published a book about their experience titled The Santa Mailbox. “It gives voice to the light, the spark, the magic that children inspire through their letters to Santa,” they write. The book, with visuals by Anita Jader, is available at thesantamailbox.com, Amazon, and Chapter2 Books in Hudson.
A lifelong music lover, Jader also sings with the River City Chorale, continuing a passion she nurtured through piano and voice lessons at St. Ben’s. “Music kept me grounded then and still does now,” she says.
When asked what she values most about her alma mater, Jader’s answer comes easily: “That it’s there — especially for women. St. Ben’s puts women where they belong: right at the top.”
Her advice for current students is equally heartfelt: “Take your classes seriously, make connections, and keep your spiritual life close. The friendships and lessons from St. Ben’s stay with you forever.”
From her days running through the campus woods to her decades of leadership in emergency medicine — and now to spreading holiday joy through a small red mailbox — Richelle Jader’s journey embodies the best of the Bennie spirit: compassion, creativity, and a heart for others.