I will be serving at the University of Montana this upcoming year! Go Griz!

I was born and raised Roman Catholic however, growing up I really didn’t go much deeper into my faith past going to mass on Sundays. I really didn’t have a young community that I was able to share my faith with and grow in, so going to mass felt more like a checkbox that I needed to fill. However, when I moved to the University of Oregon my freshman year I found the St. Thomas Newman Center. 

It was really there that I was able to flourish! It started by going to Sunday night student mass and getting invited to student dinner by one of the FOCUS missionaries. I would decline regularly because I would just come for mass. This continued until the winter term of my sophomore year where I felt like I hit rock bottom. I had gotten news that my mom was in the hospital with a brain aneurysm, so I didn’t think I was going to make it back home in time to see her before her surgery. In my time rushing back home through an ice storm, I prayed to the Lord for the health of my mom and for the first time in my life my prayer brought me to tears. Thankfully by the time I had made it back home, my mom had made it successfully out of her surgery. In my time at the hospital I had come to know the staff there, especially the surgeon that performed surgery on my mom. That staff had prayed with my family and had shown me what it means to keep the Lord in any vocation that we are called to do, including my career goal of becoming a physician.

From that moment on I got myself more involved at the Newman center. I asked to join a bible study where I met some of my best friends in college who I experienced many highs and lows with. Those relationships helped me grow deeper in the faith more than I ever have. Every day I was growing a hunger for a deeper relationship for the lord because my missionary and my best friends pushed me to not strive for perfection but for growth. This eventually led me to want to lead others in the faith, so I said yes to growing in discipleship with my missionary. As I grew in discipleship, I started sharing my faith as both a student athlete and a pre-med student. As an athlete I struggled with wrapping my identity around baseball since I had played since the age of 2. It was something I really let get to me in many different ways. As I grew in my faith I was able to give my baseball career to the Lord and use it as a way to connect with other athletes that were struggling as I did. As a pre-med student I was able to connect with both patients that I had met in shadowing, internship, and clinical hours, as well as, other pre-med students that also want to bring their Christian values into their future line of work. Without my missionary team and my community around me during college, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I can’t wait to help others on campus that struggled as I once did and help them to know about the Lord and his love for us.

With your support I will be able to focus on mission full time, to be able to share the Gospel with those I encounter and strengthen the faith of those who are already on fire for the Lord. Students may only have one time in their college career or even their lives where they may have the chance to encounter the Lord, which I will strive to reach these students. Whether you are able to support me financially or through prayer, thank you and may the Lord bless you!