CRANBERRY TWP — When Ann Gaudino was in the third grade, she attended a Mass at the Sacred Heart Parish of Pittsburgh given by the newly ordained Rev. David Zubik.

Forty years later, she walked into a job interview with Zubik, who now is the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, and told him she remembered him from that Mass.

She passed the interview, and on Dec. 15, Gaudino, 47, became the principal of Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School.

She replaced Kellie Abbott, who resigned in October, and has been working alongside Sister Patrice Hughes, who has been the interim principal.

Her devotion to both her Catholic faith and education made her a fitting leader for the school, Zubik said.

After several interviews by a committee of school and diocese officials, Gaudino met with Zubik who gave his approval for her to be hired.

He said he is impressed with her experience in education.

“She’s outstanding. I’ve said she’s a gift from heaven if you take a look at her curriculum vitae. She’s just perfect,” he said.

Gaudino said, “It’s been really a pleasure and an honor to be able to come here.”

Originally from the Pittsburgh area, she received her doctoral degree in education administration and policy studies from the University of Pittsburgh.

She lives with her husband and son in Wheeling, W.Va., though they plan eventually to relocate to Western Pennsylvania.

Before getting into school administration, she started as a music teacher.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in organ performance and a master’s degree in sacred music, both from the University of Michigan, she taught a high school choir program in a public school district near Detroit.

She worked as a music teacher for 13 years before going back to school. Other positions she has had include principal at the Ellis School in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood and assistant superintendent for the 32 Catholic schools in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia.

Gaudino said she has been impressed with the teachers at Cardinal Wuerl.

“The faculty is amazing. The teachers are such experts in their subject area,” she said.

“We have teachers who are published authors. Most of our teachers have at least one master’s degree, if not additional credentials beyond that. They have taught in a variety of different settings. They know their subjects so well, and they care about the kids and that’s really a golden and magic combination in education.”

Cardinal Wuerl is mid-way through its first year in Cranberry Township with a student enrollment of 293.

One aspect of Gaudino’s position is to oversee the school’s growth in enrollment, staff and programs. The principal hires the staff, interviews potential students and oversees the curriculum.

Gaudino said the school has an 11 to 1 student-to -teacher ratio, which she hopes to maintain as the school grows. The building, which has an unfinished wing, is designed to eventually educate 1,000 students.

That ratio will help the school to create diverse offerings, she said.

“The focus that we’re able to give intently to each child and to help that child and his or her parents create a program that is geared specifically toward their goals. It’s a very individualized approach,” she said.

Abbott, who was the school’s principal starting in the summer of 2013, submitted a letter of resignation on Oct. 19 that was effective the next day.

The diocese quickly announced Hughes as an interim principal.