This time of year, highways start to crawl with vans, cars and SUVs stuffed to the gills - duffels and boxes and tubs jam-packed into back seats and cargo hatches, obscuring vehicles' back windows and weighing down their rear ends - as students head off to college.

Sister Melissa Cote, 29, a member of the Annunciation Monastery Benedictine community in Bismarck, will be among that traffic today, heading south to Omaha, Neb., and Creighton University.

Like families everywhere, the other Annunciation Sisters are preparing care packages for her; there's even been some scuttlebutt, she said, about rounding up a beanbag chair, that staple of college seating.

Though Sister Melissa, a native of Rolla, has already had the college experience, graduating from the University of Mary in 2001 with a degree in theology, going off to Omaha - whose metro area population tops 822,000 - is a big transition, from living in community to a single apartment, from a degree in theology to a doctoral program in pharmacy.

Pursuing lifelong learning is a strong value for Benedictines, and the community tries to keep at least one of its members in school at all times, said Jill Ackerman, communications and development director for the Annunciation Sisters.

Another member of the community, Sister Nicole Kunze, just finished a doctorate in chemistry and is now teaching at U-Mary, she said.

"While one is always a sister first, they support each other in educational and ministerial pursuits," Ackerman said.

"In his rule, St. Benedict emphasizes the value of ongoing study for members of a Benedictine community," said the community's prioress, Sister Susan Berger. "From our beginning, we have had a priority of educating our sisters for service."

After four years at Creighton on educational leave, Sister Melissa plans to return to St. Alexius Medical Center in 2011 as a registered pharmacist.

Like many students, Sister Melissa charted a few changes in course:She started studying pre-pharmacy at U-Mary and, as she got to know the sisters better, switched to nursing to remain there.

She always knew she wanted to work in health care and the healing professions, but aspects of nursing, such as giving shots, were not for her. Ultimately, she earned her degree in theology and began working at St. Alexius as a pharmacy technician.

The investment that the sisters make in the education of their members demonstrates the value they place on education for service:Tuition at Creighton runs about $13,000 per semester, Sister Melissa said.

Sister Melissa will carry 17 credit hours this semester. She's been taking a class or two in addition to her work, so it will be exciting to be able to focus on school full time, she said.

Living solo will require some adjustments for someone used to living within the network of a religious community, but Sister Melissa expects that pharmacy students will bond as they move through the semesters together.

A nun has a challenge or two extra at college: When the Sisters gather to pray together several times a day, she'll be on her own to pray the liturgy of the hours alone, she said. And a potential roommate backed out when she found out Sister Melissa was a nun.

But some things are universal.

"No classes until 9 a.m.," she said with a grin.

(Reach Karen Herzog at 250-8267 or karen.herzog@; bismarcktribune.com.)