As theCatholic Church modernized during the 1960s, she became known asSister Dorothy. In theCentral American community where she died, she was known asMadre Dorthea (Dorothy).[1]
Kazel completed her bachelor's degree andnovitiate between 1960 and 1965. Beginning in 1965, she taught for seven years in Cleveland, and did missionary work among thePapago Tribe ofArizona.[1] Between 1972-1974, Kazel served as a guidance counselor atBeaumont School, in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.[2]
After finishing amaster's degree incounseling in 1974, Kazel decided to partake in the challenge of joining theDiocese of Cleveland's mission team working in El Salvador.[1] Once there, Kazel worked in the Church of the Immaculate Conception inLa Libertad, trainingcatechists, carrying out sacramental preparation programs, and overseeing the distribution ofCatholic Relief Services aid and food supplies. She was also engaged in working withrefugees from theSalvadoran Civil War, obtaining food, shelter, and medical supplies, and transporting the sick and injured to medical facilities.
There is a section of theUrsuline High School, Wimbledon in England campus named after Dorothy; it is widely known within the school as the DK block. That particular block is used for business studies and is fairly new, only built a few years ago. It contains many computers and new technology, and acts as the finance office of the school.
There is a home that houses members of theJesuit Volunteer Corps in South Central Los Angeles named in Dorothy's honor. Members of the program work as full-time volunteers at non-profit organizations such as My Friends Place, The Center at The Blessed Sacrament, Homeboy Industries, and Carecen.
Ursuline College in Cleveland, Ohio maintains an award known as the Dorothy Kazel Award that honors students who showcase service and honesty. The college also has a volunteer organization known as the Sister Dorothy Kazel Club for Systemic Change which participates in annual protests withSOA watch and education on social justice.[3]
In 2021, the drama club at Beaumont School inCleveland Heights, Ohio, where Kazel taught in the 1970s, performed a livestreamed biodrama in tribute to Kazel, titled "A Way To Serve."[4] The play was based on the biographyIn the Fullness of Life, by Sister Cynthia Glavac.[5]
