I am beyond humbled and excited to start this mission at University of Texas at Dallas! Go Comets! Please pray for me and my new team as we surrender our lives to Christ and fight for the souls on this campus.

From a very young age, I was always surrounded by the Catholic faith. Whether that was Catholic school from pre-k to senior year of high school or being dragged to Sunday Mass with my family, I knew it was some part of my identity. I knew the stories in the Bible, I knew that God supposedly loved me, and I knew He was this big man in the sky with a bunch of rules. That was until my sophomore year of high school! I was incredibly blessed to have a handful of teachers who walked with me in the faith and taught me a little more about my true identity in Him.

So, not only did I now know that actually God loved me, I came to know the basics of what true relationship with Jesus looked like. This meant being excited to go to Mass on Sundays, praying every so often, and going to the Sacrament of Confession whenever school offers it (because that must be the only time I need to go)! I was entirely enamored by this way of living and only desired to know more. I went on many formative trips like the March for Life in January and NCYC in November in 2019. I was on fire with love for Christ! What could possibly go wrong?!

Famous last words, right? That’s when, in 2020, I felt as if God had ripped some kind of carpet from under my feet: my senior year was completely ruined by COVID-19. No last softball game after 14 years of playing. No graduation after putting so much effort into my studies. Worst of all, I lost the teachers who were actively holding me accountable in the faith.

Rather than trusting in God’s plan for my life, this lead to a lot of anger and confusion. What was the point of growing in this relationship with God if He just wants to rip every good thing in my life away?  During quarantine, I fell out of practicing the faith and began replacing the good habits with a sinful lifestyle. You could probably imagine where this led me when I finally made it to Florida Atlantic University’s campus.

It is no surprise that the devil works hard to make the college campus his playground. Of course, my soul was no exception. I would spend my earlier years grasping for the things that were full of empty promises. Ironically, I knew that my faith would be something to revisit, so I did reach out to my FOCUS missionaries, but I was definitely someone that was on the fringes. I would go to weekly Bible study playing the “good Catholic girl” act, hiding the double life I was living (except, I wasn’t fooling anyone). I became lonely, depressed, and hopeless in finding any kind of way out of the train wreck my life had become. There were many nights I would lie awake and think, “This is as good as it gets,” “I don’t deserve any better,” and “How did I let myself get to this point?”

Two and a half years into college, desperate for a refuge, I knew I couldn’t keep spending my life running into dead ends. The dilemma was now: “Do I continue trying to satisfy my heart with the what the world offers or do I surrender my entire life to God?” I knew the answer, but there was one problem: how could I POSSIBLY think the people I have been actively avoiding for the past two and a half years would ever want me to start coming around? But, WOW, was that the biggest lie the devil could have sold! Like the story of the Prodigal Son, I recognized there was an entire community who had been waiting for my return. I remember seeing the face of God in the people thinking, “This must be a glimpse of how the Father feels.” After having this revelation, how could I ever turn my back again??

Me and my missionary, Annie, on our way to celebrate my return to the Sacrament of Confession after 3 years, which happened to be on my 20th birthday!!

So, I began letting my FOCUS missionaries in rather than hiding the mess from them. It is through their “yes” to the Holy Spirit that He radically changed everything about my life. As I began to reflect on my college career, I began to realize that, no matter how hard I tried to push them away, they were always there. Therefore, I have personalized this mission and have grown deeply convicted that God is calling me to do the same.

College can be a very isolating experience, and isolation is where sin thrives. However, from being the student that was “too far gone,” I know there truly are no limits to God’s mercy, love, and compassion, and there is true freedom in the life He offers us. It is through Him that we need to be renewed; we need only to accept the invitation!

When God called me to join FOCUS staff, I was also given the privilege and responsibility to gather a team of people who can prayerfully and financially join me in my mission. I want my love for the Gospel and my students to have no bounds, and, with your help, I firmly believe that it is possible. If you would like to join my support team, please let me know the best way to contact you, and I would love to tell you about everything!