community
Robin Franz
Commuter Student Leader, LIFECORE Program
faith & reason As a seminarian for the Diocese of Greensburg (Pa.) and a college student majoring in philosophy, I find myself constantly trying to synthesize faith and reason in my daily life. My earliest memory of Gannon is summer orientation in 2006. All freshmen were asked to file into a large auditorium. As my father and I sat down, I noticed something that I had never before seen in school: a crucifix. Seeing that symbol put me at ease, knowing that Gannon took its faith seriously. As I learned soon thereafter, Gannon is not just a place of faith, but it is also an institution of reason. As Bishop Trautman said during National Catholic Colleges Week this year, “Catholic universities should be schools for dialogue and conversion experiences and growth in faith, not camps of regimentation.”
Commuting presents a different set of challenges for students, including keeping track of what is happening on campus. For me, some days it is hard enough to get to class on time, let alone know about upcoming events. As the student LIFECORE leader for the Office of Commuter Life, I keep my fellow commuters from facing the same predicament by tracking campus events and updating my fellow students via e-mail. The LIFECORE program helps students grow and develop through participation in activities and events. Commuter students participate in many different events throughout the year. We attended the Pink Zone basketball game as a group in support of breast cancer awareness and also attended a
skin cancer awareness lunch hosted by a student skin cancer survivor. We observed “National Pie Day,” participated in G.I.V.E. (Gannon’s Invitation to Volunteer Everywhere) Day, and often attend the monthly Gathering in Praise worship services. We also recognize students’ birthdays each month. LIFECORE has enabled me to be more involved with campus life and helped my faith to grow. I actively look for meaningful events to share with my fellow commuters. I take time to attend campus events and try new things that I wouldn’t do on my own, meeting new people and making new friends as I go. I constantly ask myself, “How will this make me a better person? What can I take from this experience that I can use throughout my life and share with others so that they can also benefit?”
The Rev. George Strohmeyer, acting vice president for mission and ministry and University chaplain, and The Rev. Nicholas J. Rouch, S.T.D. ’83, vicar for education for the Erie Diocese, celebrate Mass during National Catholic Colleges Week. Gannon permits students to think for themselves and generate new ideas. Exploring the vast recesses of one’s own mind and the world around him in order to discover wisdom and gain knowledge is the reason I felt called to major in philosophy. Yet, reason can only accompany a man so far in his journey until he must submit fully to the will of God. We would not be able to use our intellects unless God had gifted us with them first. My last three years have been a journey of discovering new ideas and myself. I am indebted to both Saint Mark’s Seminary and to Gannon University for allowing me to broaden my intellectual horizons and deepen my relationship with God.
Jacob Williamson
Seminarian Student