After five years on campus, at the University of Rochester in upstate New York, and at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, I now serve on the FOCUS Retreats team! It’s a joy to use my hospitality education to help coach campus missionaries to host retreats for their students and work on improving our retreats-planning process.

When I arrived on my college campus as a freshman in the fall of 2013, I soon realized that college was one of the most challenging adventures I would ever go on. As I struggled with homesickness, insecurity, and intense loneliness, I had the grace to remember faith that I was raised in, and turned to God in committed daily prayer for the first time. Over the next four years, the Lord pursued me tirelessly and used every turn and trial in my life to bring me closer to Him. Although my university did not have FOCUS missionaries present, I was blessed with an intimate and loving Catholic community that showed me how sharing life together in authentic friendship is the greatest witness of the Gospel and the best way to become fully alive and fully ourselves.

I know from experience that a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the only thing that brings true and abundant life and joy that can carry people through transitions, doubt, heartbreak, and suffering. I firmly believe that whether or not we know Jesus makes a difference in our lives now and into eternity, and I am passionate about helping college students, especially young women, live into their true identities as children of a King.

Mother Theresa said, Some give by going, others go by giving . When I committed to serving as full-time missionary with FOCUS, I also committed to finding full financial support through the generosity of others who wish to participate in my mission to love young people in some of the most challenging and formative years of their lives. If you are interested in becoming a mission partner through prayers or financial support, I would love to share more of my story with you.