FOCUS played a crucial role in deepening my relationship with Christ. I’m excited to start my second year at the University of Washington, where I am committed to inviting students into that same transformative relationship!

There is a significant need on college campuses. Many students feel isolated and unloved. In their quest for satisfaction, happiness, and validation, they often lose faith in the Father, seeking these in popularity, recreation, or other pursuits. Statistics show that nearly two-thirds of college students feel alone, and more than half regularly feel hopeless. This generation is experiencing a crisis of identity, purpose, and belief.

Thanks to FOCUS missionaries, many students have come to understand that they are deeply loved and accepted by the Father. This realization empowers us to love others genuinely.

Growing up Catholic, my parents instilled in me the importance of making it to Mass every weekend. Because of that, I always knew being Catholic meant something significant—that there was a deeper purpose to it all. In high school, I wanted to discover what that purpose was.

I began college at the University of Louisville and quickly got involved in many things, including Catholic Campus Ministry. After sophomore year, I joined the FOCUS missionaries from my campus on a mission trip to Denver, Colorado, serving with an organization that worked alongside the homeless. There, I encountered a community that radiated joy and authentic love—love for one another, for the people we served, and above all, for the Lord. It was unlike anything I had experienced before, and it left a lasting impression on me.

Returning to campus junior year, I soon slipped back into a routine filled with commitments, organizations, and extra work. I poured my time into activities and experiences, but I realized my relationships and prayer life were shallow. It became clear that something was missing. That’s when I began going to a nearby adoration chapel, where I encountered Christ in the Eucharist in a deeper way and recognized Him as the One who could truly satisfy the longing in my heart.

I applied to the aforementioned organization’s summer of service program and found myself in Philadelphia months later.  It was a much smaller group of missionaries than I was expecting, but it allowed us to more easily invest in each other. I began to see more clearly how the Lord was calling me to shift from a self-centered way of living to a Christ-centered one. I discovered what it truly means to love others and to live with confidence rooted in Him.

I applied to the aforementioned organization’s summer of service program and found myself in Philadelphia months later.  It was a much smaller group of missionaries than I was expecting, but it allowed us to more easily invest in each other. I began to see more clearly how the Lord was calling me to shift from a self-centered way of living to a Christ-centered one. I discovered what it truly means to love others and to live with confidence rooted in Him.

I went to Philadelphia with a mission to know, see, and love the poor, but in turn discovered my own poverty and need for Christ to meet me there.

Back at Louisville for my senior year, I recognized the deep need college students have to encounter the love of Christ—the same love that had transformed my own life. That conviction is why I chose to become a FOCUS missionary: to help others discover that only Christ can bring them out of their brokenness and into new life.

Christ has called all of us to be missionaries in our lives. In order for me to be able to embrace this as God’s first calling and do this full-time I need support, but even more importantly I need partners. Partners are as every bit apart of this mission as I am and are crucial to bring the Gospel to the young people on these campuses. I can’t do this alone… that is why I am honored to have people like YOU on my support team, helping bear fruit in the mission through your spiritual and financial support. Because of YOU, I am able to reach so many souls for Christ. Thank you for your yes!

I would to love to get the opportunity to talk to you more about Christ, FOCUS, and the mission.