St. Lawrence Grads 2018

Caroline Deggendorf DEGREE: Marketing

Being able to build a relationship with God has allowed me to trust in Him more, and trust that I am part of a bigger plan that is His will. I’ve always struggled with trying to figure what I am supposed to be doing and how I should know if what I want is what God actually wants for me. By growing in my relationship with God, I have learned to trust Him and know that He has me in the palm of His hand, where I will always be safe.

Being a part of the St. Lawrence Community has given me the tools to dig deeper in my Faith and surround myself with people striving for the same things that I want. God has given me a group that challenges me to live out my Faith every day and search deeper inside myself for God’s will. I have learned that so long as I trust in God, He will take care of me.

At St. Lawrence, I was given the opportunity to meet God in adoration, in Mass, in spiritual direction, in the staff, and in the students. Here is where I have built a strong relationship with God. Here is where I call home.

KATHRYN Brewer

FROM: Houston, Texas DEGREE: B.S. in Chemistry NEXT STEPS: On to Vanderbilt University to pursue a Ph.D. in Biochemistry

“Koinonia was by far the biggest factor in my formation here at St. Lawrence.

When I went on the retreat as a sophomore, God was able to reach me in a really dramatic fashion, in a very real way giving me back my life.

I was not in a good place at the time, and through that retreat I experienced the love of the Lord for the first time.

Because of that encounter I started seeking my faith more deeply and more intentionally, and at long last I am becoming the woman He always wanted me to be.�

FROM: Arvada, Colorado DEGREE: Journalism and Linguistics NEXT STEPS: Unchartered Waters Counselor: Sports-church camp for elementary age kids

Earlier this semester, I was leaving Walmart after grocery shopping.

It was frigid cold. A kid around my age came up me as I was putting my groceries in my car and asked for some money. I gave him some cash, and he asked for my phone number. I obliged, but I then had no plans of staying in touch with him. Then I left and went home.

A couple hours later, this kid called and said he was stranded at McDonald’s and needed some help. I drove out to where he was and talked with him as he finished his dinner. He had nowhere to be and asked what I was doing that night. It happened to be the first night of Rise at the Center, which I was planning on attending. I invited him to come with me, and he said yes. The rest of the evening was a really cool way to

KEVIN Gray

witness to the love that God has shown us. He knew a little bit about Jesus, but it was a really cool opportunity to tell him about the LORD. He said he enjoyed Rise and learned a lot.

“It will all work out as long as I trust ”

ELIZABETH Schraeger

Being a girl, we think about marriage a lot. I always knew that was my vocational call but as rejection loomed its ugly head my faith began to fall. It was after talking to a FOCUS missionary that I decided I was putting relationships with men in front of my relationship with God. I then went on a 5 month dating fast and really allowed myself to grow in deeper connection with God and it allowed me to see things like I never had before.

Two weeks after finishing my fast I ended up next to a guy whom I had seen since Freshman year but never talked to. Long story short, we’re getting married in one month and I have never felt such peace.

FROM: Johnston, Iowa DEGREE: Journalism, with a minor in Business NEXT STEPS: Graduate school to pursue a Master’s degree in Elementary Education Teaching kindergarten at St. John School in Lawrence, Kansas

Being able to let myself let God lead me and allow me to first realize His love before giving me the love of my fiancé was beautiful and very impactful in my faith life. He had him in mind for me all these years but waited until my heart was fully ready to receive him.

This gives me peace in all other major decisions in my life because it instilled trust in God that He has my best interests at hand and that it will all work out as long as I trust.

FROM: Overland Park, Kansas DEGREE: Information Systems NEXT STEPS: I will be working as a Systems Engineer at Cerner.

My sophomore year of college I talked this girl on campus that I went to high school with. She told me she had just transferred to KU. I brought up the St. Lawrence Center and the Koinonia retreat to see if she wanted to get involved.

DREW McKee

She started going to Mass at the St. Lawrence Center. She told me that she had been struggling with her faith because she was going through a rough time. I met up with her throughout the semester to help her out and reassure her that God loves her.

When Koinonia came around, I gave her the flyer/sign-up sheet for the retreat. She filled it out and paid for it, but she wasn’t sure if she was going to go. Since she had already paid for it she went.

On the retreat, I continued to talk to her and comfort her. I let her know that God cares about her and wants the best for her. One of the talks stood out to her and she talked with Aly Lange, who gave that talk. Aly was able to help my friend realize that God is good. This renewed my friend’s faith and love for God. After the retreat, Aly and I continued to meet with my friend and listen to her story. I am thankful and glad that God gave me the opportunity to help out my friend through her struggles.

God gave me the opportunity to help out my friend ” “

When trying to figure out what my post-graduation life would look like, Sister Debbie told me that I could find God and glorify Him in everything that I do - even the most mundane tasks. The St. Lawrence Center opened my eyes to what living Catholic each day looks like, and it helped to lay a foundation for me. Ultimately, the St. Lawrence Center stabilized my Catholic faith.

The St. Lawrence Center helped me to go beyond the Mass readings or our simple prayers and see that Christ was actually speaking to me, personally. While in college, I began to understand how much God loves us and desires us. However, there’s no way I could have ever began to understand this on my own.

The St. Lawrence Center gave me great resources and opportunities for the sacraments. It also brought me a community of friends and mentors, each of whom impacted my faith in different ways. I’m very grateful for a community of people seeking to know Christ better and for lifelong friendships that challenge me daily to become the best version of myself.

Going forward, this is something that I look to carry into whatever’s next for me.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to let Christ work through me in every encounter I have each day.

ANNA Pankiewicz FROM: St. Joseph, Missouri DEGREE: Journalism - Strategic Communication NEXT STEPS: I will be working as an Account Executive for Octagon in Overland Park

“St. Lawrence is where I became Catholic” ALY

Lange

FROM: Platte City, Missouri DEGREE: Global and International Studies with a Spanish Minor NEXT STEPS: Law School at UMKC

St. Lawrence is where I became Catholic, and where I met my husband! St. Lawrence taught me the importance of establishing a consistent prayer life before entering the “real world,” how to discern and pursue my vocation, and the richness of the intellectual side of our faith.

I’m bringing all of these into the next season of my life! I’m called to be a wife and to become a mother, to become a Catholic attorney who advocates for true justice, and to be a friend and a witness to all people the Lord puts in my life!

Being a part of the scholarship program at SLC was extremely formative for my faith life. Before this year, I rarely hung out at the center and only attended daily mass and adoration. Whereas, when I received the scholarship I started immersing myself in this community and the friendships and mentors that came from it have been life changing.

FROM: Lenexa, Kansas DEGREE: General Studies with a concentration in Psychology NEXT STEPS: I will be a FOCUS Missionary

JEN Mahr

Congra

2018 ST. LAWR

Rock Chalk Ja

atulations

RENCE GRADS!

ayhawk Go KU!

“My

faith is meant to be shared ”

DEGREE: Applied Behavioral Science - Early Autism Intervention KU INOLVEMENT: FOCUS, Theta bible study leader, Kappa Alpha Theta member, Natural Ties volunteer

Throughout the past two years I have had the opportunity to lead a FOCUS bible study within my sorority. When I first started the planning of the bible study I had many doubts that I was the last person who is qualified to lead a bible study, especially for my own peers and friends. But Christ had a much bigger plan in place.

This past year has been completely transformative and it can all be pointed to the opportunity I get every week to share Christ with my own sorority sisters. The women that attend bible study come from a wide range of where they are in their faith. Some have attended Catholic school for all their schooling up until now. Some attended Catholic Church and an occasional CCD class growing up. Some are even of different Christian religions. God has called every single woman to this bible study, no matter their faith journey. It has taught me so much about the brokenness of humanity and how God is waiting to scoop all of us up in His perfect love and mercy.

Within the bible study we have studied and discussed everything from the basic story of the Gospel, to relics and our call to sainthood, and now we are looking at Mary as the perfect example of womanhood. Getting to share the Catholic Church’s Truth on all these topics while in genuine friendship has provided, in my opinion, the best environment for the Holy Spirit to stir up the desire for God in all of these women’s hearts including my own. At the end of every Thursday night I thank the women for coming because they teach me so much more than I could ever teach them. It was a lie that I believed that my faith is only a personal thing between me and Jesus. While it is personal, it is also so much more than that. My faith is meant to be shared. I never want to sell any of my sorority sisters short by not sharing Christ with them.

EMILY Rohleder

TAYLOR Avery

My senior year I joined a club on campus called SURGE (Students United for Reproductive and Gender Equity). I joined to promote conversation and to gain a better understanding of the people in this club and their views.

I credit St. Lawrence with providing me with resources on how to pray and resources on Catholic theology that gave me courage and confidence to let the men and women in this club know I was Catholic and to be able to have one-on-ones with the president of the club.

I can only pray I somehow made a difference, but one thing I learned from going to these meetings is that pregnant women need support not only during their pregnancy but after as well, and I hope that the pro-life movement will make this support and these resources known.

FROM: Sioux City, Iowa DEGREE: Biochemistry NEXT STEPS: I will be working as a Phlebotomist

DEGREE: Speech, Language, Hearing AWARDS: St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center Newman Award

BECCA McGuinness

I’m just your average college student who came all the way out to Kansas to study the ear. Most of my time was spent in the electrical hearing lab at KU researching speech perception in cochlear implant users or working as a student clinician in the Schiefelbusch clinic diagnosing and counseling patients with hearing loss.

While my time at KU has taught me a great deal about the complex process of hearing, my courses taken through the Institute of Faith and Culture here at the St. Lawrence Center have challenged me to examine what it truly means to be human, exploring the intricacy of humanity, rather than simply our anatomy.

This understanding has shaped not only my academic experience, but the very lens from which I peer into the world.

FROM: Colorado Springs, Colorado DEGREE: Music Therapy NEXT STEPS: I will be working as a Music Therapy intern at Banner Health Hospital and Cardon Children’s Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona

Through reflection on my faith, I have come to realize that I want to be a faithful young adult who is bold in their faith and evangelization. As I enter the workforce, I know that the devil will be more present and the amount of support from the church will not be as easy to find since I will not be at a college campus center.

In the past year I have been focused on authentic friendship and intentionally living with purpose. St. Lawrence has increased my desire to learn about the faith and put it into action in a genuine and authentic manner. Through leading praise and worship adoration and bible studies, I have witnessed that the giving of faith allows you to possess the faith at a whole new level.

SUSAN Tope I’m very thankful for the mentorship of a seminarian at St. Lawrence who helped me prepare my first bible study in a deeper way that helped me and my group learn the rich messages of joy, love, and mercy throughout the Bible. With his guidance, I gained insight into understanding Scripture and am now able to lead a group with humble confidence. Additionally, Sunday classes, spiritual direction, and growing in discipleship with friends has helped my knowledge of the Church’s teachings and personal relationship with Christ to flourish.

In transitioning to a parish life, I am focused on continuing to foster authentic connections through leading bible studies, and deepening my knowledge of apologetics.

By increasing our biblical foundations, we can better relate and converse with nonCatholics and those questioning. My desire is to be an instrument of joy by inviting others to have a personal relationship with Christ and walk with them in this journey to sainthood by pursuing lives of virtue and excellence!

DEGREE: Olathe, Kansas DEGREE: B.S. in Environmental Studies

KELSI

“I am so thankful that I had the sacraments constantly available just five minutes away from my house”

McLaughlin

In my case there was no one big experience that impacted my faith, but it was a series of daily encounters. It was daily encounters with Jesus in the Eucharist at adoration and Mass. I am so thankful that I had the sacraments constantly available just five minutes away from my house. Being able to grow in relationship with Jesus through the Eucharist grounded me in a faith that will not be shaken when I leave KU. It was also daily encounters with other Catholics that inspired my faith. Staff members and students alike were always welcoming and challenging me to grow deeper in my faith. Whether it was fake “studying” in the conference room during finals week, simply chatting after Mass or eating a meal in the kitchen, each encounter was needed to make my college experience amazing.

In addition, many of classmates and professors had misguided views on the Catholic Church. The first time I experienced a classmate and professor bashing on the Church I was afraid to react and stand up for my faith. Over time I learned more about the Church and gained the knowledge I needed to speak on behalf of the Church with confidence. This led to many good discussions that hopefully changed my peers’ perspectives of the Church.

My relationship with God has fully influenced my vocational discernment. The Father has placed many desires on my heart, but over years of prayer and listening to the movements of my heart, I have found that my heart holds the most peace, joy, and love when pursuing the vocation of marriage.

He spoke this most clearly and intensely while I was serving at Camp Wojtyla in the summer of 2016, but continued prayer has affirmed that desire even more.

However, each new day is a journey of prayer, and ultimately God will decide my vocation if I am open to Him.

DAVID Misasi

DEGREE: Supply Chain Management KU INVOLVEMENTS: - Student Ministry Council President, 2015-2016 School Year - Koinonia Teams: SLK19 (Retreatant), SLK20-25 (Team Member), SLK26 Lay Director - FOCUS Student Leader - Innes Plummer Memorial Scholarship In Business (KU Business School) - Society for Collegiate Leadership and Advancement (Member) - National Society of Collegiate Scholars (Member) - Rock Chalk Scholarship for Academic Merit (KU)

I’ve often been reluctant to share my

I started taking my faith more seriously

faith with others because I’d think that

and started to be more outgoing about it.

I was going to say something wrong

Little by little, I started sharing more and

and offend someone. I’d often not

more.

say anything when people talked of Christianity or Catholicism. I kept to myself and didn’t tell anyone what I really believed. That changed when I came to the St. Lawrence Center. I became more excited about my faith than ever before. The people I talked were always so joyous and open when discussing their lives and their faith. That was a huge change from what I was used to.

The biggest way that I have shared my faith in college was when I was a resource on the recent Koinonia Retreat. When I received the call to this position, I was pretty nervous. I didn’t exactly know how good my public speaking skills were and I didn’t know if I had a grip on facilitating conversation in small groups. I doubted myself and really didn’t think I was ready during the first couple Koinonia team

Throughout my life faith was almost

meetings. But as I worked on my talk

separate from my life, like it was a

more and more, I kept getting more

whole different side of me. But these

comfortable with the idea of speaking

people who I talked to had their faith so

in front of a crowd and in small groups. I

intertwined with their day-to-day life, and

was ready for the weekend and the idea

it was nothing like I had ever seen before.

of sharing my faith with lots of people.

This encouraged me to try and share my

This was not because of anything I did but

faith more with the people in my life.

rather because of the grace of God.

DEGREE: Accounting

Finally, the weekend came and I hardly felt any nerves. After every talk, it was awesome to discuss with everyone in my group and see what they got out of the talk. Talking about their faiths, and mine, was somehow energizing, both physically and spiritually. And eventually came my talk, which I had been preparing for for the whole semester. I really found it odd that I was fairly calm giving my talk and I felt as though I conveyed my message (God is Love) well.

I realize now that I have come a long way from when I could barely voice my faith, even when prompted.

Pete Arends

1631 Crescent Road Lawrence, Kansas 66044 (785) 843-0357

www.kucatholic.org