I am serving at Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota!

I was born in Winona, Minnesota as the youngest of 4 boys in my family. I was raised Catholic, attending Catholic school in Winona and going to Sunday mass at St. Mary’s parish in Winona. When I was 7 years old, my family and I moved to Rochester, Minnesota. I continued to go to Catholic school and going to mass on Sundays.

When my older brother Aaron graduated High School, he went to Mankato State University. There he was invited to SEEK. He went and experienced a reconversion back to his faith. He came back home later that summer and would have discipleships with me. We would ask questions about the faith, read the bible, and help each other grow in our faith. My brother Aaron later went on to be a Focus missionary first at Eastern Washington University in Spokane, Washington. Now he serves as the team director at North Dakota State University, in Fargo, North Dakota. Aaron is now happily married, with 3 beautiful children!

When I was a sophomore in high school, it was the year where we had the covid pandemic. For a full year, we were asked to stay home, not go to school, not go to mass, not go anywhere, but to stay at home. I remember at this time feeling a deep sense of isolation. Isolation from friends, family, and even God. After the pandemic ended and I was nearer the end of my high school career, I questioned whether or not I would be Catholic after I graduate from high school.

After I graduated high school, I went to Winona State University. I ran into a group of people from the Newman Center doing a tabling event. They invited me for mass later that night. I debated whether I should go or not. But eventually I thought I would give it a shot. I went to the mass and ran into a Focus missionary there named Zach Lipecki. He invited me into a bible study, then a discipleship. He’s been a great friend and mentor to me over the years!

I have been involved in my Newman center community since I was a freshman at Winona State. I would attend Newman night masses, bible studies, discipleships, and going on trips to SEEK, and up to Duluth for a Fr. Mike Schmitz talk on Theology of the Body. Later on, I would lead my own bible study and discipleship, and I would invite my friends I was discipling and encourage them to find other people and bring new people to mass, bible study, and teach them to know and follow Jesus. It is beautiful to see how many new faces I saw around our Newman center community. And how well my friends I discipled, as well as other people in our Newman Center have invited others to come to know Jesus whether coming to mass, coming to a bible study, or just spending time at a Newman event. I continue to tell my friends at the Newman Center in Winona to invite more people to mass, bible study, etc. Afterall, it is Jesus that told us to “go make disciples of all nations” Matthew 28:16-20

You can reach me at 507-358-2133 or [email protected]