Despite growing up Catholic and going to Catholic school the majority of my life, I never thought that I would reach a point where I wasn’t sure what I believed or if I even believed in God. For the first 18 years of my life, the routine of my faith was just that, a routine. I thought the extent of being Catholic was going to mass on Sundays and saying an our father or a hail mary before I went to bed. I knew faith was important but I didn’t know or understand what an actual relationship with Christ looked like. I went to the University of Alabama and tried to find fulfillment in all the wrong places. The second semester of my freshman year was when I got invited to my first FOCUS Bible study and it was the first time I saw that it is actually possible to be a young college student in Greek life and still live a life that was pleasing to God. My faith slowly progressed over the next 2 years and for spring break of my junior year, I decided to go on a mission trip to Mexico City and it was one of the best and most fulfilling experiences of my life. It was a true breakthrough moment in my faith and I was inspired to go all in for my faith and learn as much as I could. This however did not go the way I thought. In trying to learn more about my faith, I encountered many objections and resistance to the faith that I was not spiritually mature enough to handle at that point which took me down a long path of doubt. My faith grew to be almost nonexistent and my life just felt out of balance. Despite this, seeing the fulfillment and joy in others who had faith made me realize that there has to be truth to God’s goodness. Through persistence in prayer and discipline in my faith, God has softened my heart and given me the strength to fully receive Him and the joys only he can offer. I was then approached by my missionary and discipler October of my final year of school about applying for FOCUS. Though I was reluctant at first, God was gracious enough to grant me small yeses that made me realize this is what He was calling to me to do. Having accepted, I cannot express how excited I am to be serving students on the Auraria campus in Denver, Colorado starting Fall 2026!

It is unfortunate today that college students are facing feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression like never before. Research has shown that over 65% of college experience overwhelming feelings of loneliness and isolation with 45% saying that depression has made it difficult for them to even function in their day to day lives. Our goal at FOCUS is to alleviate that very problem by showing them the true joy and fulfillment that comes from having a relationship with Jesus Christ. Our entire mission is supported by generous donors through fundraising and if you would like to contribute to solving these problems so many young people are facing today, please feel free to reach out to me via email [email protected] and we can set something up. God bless!