After two years with FOCUS in Seattle, the Lord has called me back to the southeast, serving as the team director at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga!

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.  I encountered FOCUS missionaries soon into my time at the University of Louisville and after my sophomore year, joined them on a week-long mission trip to Denver, 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.  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 returned to that same organization for an entire summer and the Lord began transforming my heart from living for myself to living for Him.  I discovered what it truly means to love others and to live with confidence rooted in Him.  I entered the summer 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.