AM nne
cMahon
Anne is one of the few GPPM graduates who was at SCU before she began the program and will remain at SCU following graduation! Originally from the Philadelphia area, Anne moved to Santa Clara with her family 17 years ago. Following the move, she began working at SCU in the University Archives. She began pursuing her degree in the GPPM department five years ago. Shortly afterward she transitioned into her new position as the Assistant for Communications working in the president’s office. An active member of St. Clare Parish, Anne serves as a lector, is a member of the Pastoral Council, started the parish Social Justice Committee a few years ago, and now chairs it. She especially enjoys the committee’s work as a community resource and catalyst around issues of social justice. Among its activities, the committee has partnered with Catholic Relief Services for annual fair trade fares and hosting guest homilists; Grateful Garment Project for a clothing drive; Catholic Charities for a HandiCapables BBQ; and Catholic Climate Covenant for the St. Francis Pledge drive. Anne, her husband, Sean, and three children live in Santa Clara near SCU where their oldest daughter is a student in mechanical engineering. Her son is a student at Bellarmine and youngest daughter attends St. Clare School. Specializing in spirituality, Anne’s favorite classes were Ignatian Spirituality and Catholic Social Teaching. She is currently enrolled in Catholic Social Teaching this quarter and finds the class to be very energizing and relevant to her parish work. “The class is giving me the grounding and motivation to go deeper with the Social Justice Committee and parish involvement in justice issues.”
FT r.
upou
M
aafu
Tupou Maafu, a priest from Tonga, was ordained in 1999 after attending the seminary in Fiji from 1992 to 1998. He first came to the U.S. and Sacramento with his parents, Taufui and Silia, and three brothers in 2004, leaving two brothers and a sister behind in Tonga. Tupou ministered to the Tonga community in the area for several years while his parents traveled back and forth. Eventually his mother's illness forced her to remain in Sacramento where she passed away in December 2012. His father died six months later. It was during this difficult time that Tupou enrolled in the GPPM at SCU in September 2012. He says, "Fr. Michael Castori led me to the program. He taught me philosophy while I was in the seminary in Fiji. He helped me to apply for a scholarship and we established a real friendship." A highlight of the program for Tupou, who specialized in Catechetics, was "to see how catechism is a central way of evangelizing in the life of the Church, renewing the life of the people." Toward the end of his studies, Tupou took spirituality electives which he describes as "life transforming. Ignatian Spirituality really impacted my life." His favorite class was "Suffering" with Paul Crowley because, "I could see how God really fills our life and is one with us in our suffering." Other favorite professors include Fred Parella and, of course, Fr. Michael Castori who taught Hebrew Scripture. Following graduation Tupou will return to Tonga. "I am excited to see what Bishop Soane Patta Paini Mafi wants me to do. There is a possibility that I may go to Paris to minister to the Tonga Community there." In the meantime, Tupou is looking forward to graduation and the arrival of his sister Amelia Fifita, who will travel from Tonga to witness the event.