KU Catholic Graduating Class of 2022 by St. Lawrence Center

GRADUATING CLASS

2022

Hey Graduates,

mission Saint Lawrence Catholic Campus Center guides and forms those at the University of Kansas in the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the Catholic intellectual, moral, liturgical, and spiritual tradition. Her deepest desire is to send out full and free disciples of Jesus Christ capable of the greatest stories.

You made it, congratulations! I hope you feel incredible and in awe of the life that you have been gifted and are living. Thanks for your daring faith, and being unafraid of the full meaning and potential of your life. Fly, Jayhawks, fly! I humbly ask you as you launch into the world to ensure that the Catholic experience of those coming after you is even better than yours! Every gift matters in our desire to present the fullness of our Catholic faith to the KU experience. As so many have believed in us, so may we believe in those who are next up in our legacy of Catholic Jayhawks! We love you and will always believe in the story you are writing with and through your faith! +mj

Fr. Mitchel Zimmerman Director, St. Lawrence

DANI CRISPIN Hometown: Shawnee, KS Major: Psychology Next Steps: FOCUS Missionary “Even though I had a relationship with the Lord before coming to KU, I don’t think I had any idea what interior freedom was. St. Lawrence, and most especially the AVI sisters, totally transformed my prayer life and showed me what it practically looked like to grow in dependence on God. More than anything, I learned that through prayer, I can actually rest in Christ’s presence and not worry so much about everything else. Cultivating this space of daily prayer has been the foundation for me to grow in interior freedom.”

DUONG

JOSEPH

Hometown: Wichita, KS Major: Interdisciplinary Computing with Biology Next Steps: Attending Baylor for Law School (Full Ride Baby!) “I've had no shortage of great guides at St. Lawrence, but by far the most influential to me has been Father Mitchel. At the beginning of my senior year, he became my spiritual director, and throughout these past several months he's revealed to me the incredible tenderness of his heart as a father. If ever my relationship with Christ presents a fork in the road, Fr. Mitchel always encourages the one less traveled. To quote him, "Where you can be right, I invite you to be wrong. Where you are in, I invite you to be out". It's always through his example that he's shown me how to live, though he's probably never consciously done so. He's shown me the beauty that comes with a life of total bare-bones honesty, a life in favor of freedom over control, and (as it may be hard to believe by those who know him), a life of listening more than speaking. Everything I've learned and received from him can be summed up in his decisive answer to me when I came to him in a particularly low moment of my life: "Joseph when it comes down to it, if you want to know who you are, you just need to answer two questions: Who do you love, and Who loves you?"

Hometown: Overland Park, KS Major: Architecture Next Steps: Architect Position at SFS Architects “Persistent” is just a kinder way of saying “stubborn.” It has been difficult for me to trust God, chiefly in His simplicity. To believe that how He desires to bring about sanctification in me is, in fact, precisely by my desires, is astonishing. The biggest risk I took of faith at KU was also the one that set me on fire. I was sitting in Mass one day my sophomore year feeling unfulfilled, seeking and desiring something I could not express. As if it was an answer to that unspoken desire, I then heard God speaking undeniably through Fr. Dan in an announcement for Samuel Group. The risk was choosing to enter a program I was too young to be a part of with people I truly did not know (though I sat next to them for a full year). That risk introduced me to the Sisters, confession in earnest, spiritual direction, the Koinonia Retreat, and a community. Samuel Group, more than helping me discern a vocation, helped me discover that our faith is founded on something tangible… I also discovered that the something was the object of my unspoken desire I had been seeking. After graduation, I’ll be working at SFS Architects: a dream come true to be sure. God, in His goodness, arranged for them, my #1 choice in KC, to reach out to me before I even asked. They, as a firm, are excellent, but, moreover, have the honor of having been one of the archdiocese's main architects for the past 20 years. I will have the opportunity to LITERALLY build the community of the faithful (or at least the spaces they will occupy).”

MORGAN OLIVER

ISAAC TAYLOR

Morgan Oliver Hometown: Topeka, KS Major: Speech-Language-Hearing Next Steps: Pursuing my Master's in Speech Pathology here at KU. “When I first entered the St. Lawrence community, I didn't know anyone and was thirsting for authentic friendship and community. Now several years later, St. Lawrence is a place for me to call home. I have met so many amazing people and developed friendships I will cherish forever. Every time I go to St. Lawrence, I can count on a community that will fill me up and helps me to be my true self. Saying yes to the invitation to make Jesus Christ the center of my life was the biggest risk I took at KU. I had no idea what that would look like or what I would have to give up, but that simple yes has changed my heart and my life in such a short amount of time!”

KALEE PROBASCO Hometown: Minneapolis, KS Major: English Next Steps: Vagabond Missions “For a long time I wasn't sure what I was going to do after college, but through St. Lawrence and all of the amazing formation opportunities that were provided, I have been called to mission work to help teens here in the US have a safe place to go where they can just be kids, and introduce them to Christ along the way. St. Lawrence has also allowed me to learn how to meet people where they are and to love them. I intend to use that as I continue guiding other people and myself in formation. I've learned so much about forming community with my neighbors, whether we live next to each other or not, and am excited to get to use that on whoever I may meet.”

PATRICK SULLIVAN Hometown: Muscotah, KS Major: Civil Engineering Next Steps: Moving to Austin, TX for work “I feel called to bring Christ to the workplace. My ordinary profession will consist of a lot of ordinary and at times mundane tasks, but when you are united in Christ even your ordinary work can become extraordinary. Even the small tasks of the day are a part of the Divine plan. There are many people now living a life of quiet desperation, dragging themselves through work every day. I want to help people realize that regardless of scale, the work they do matters. I know many other young adults are seeking a relationship with Jesus; I am not alone in my endeavor to become a Saint. I want to support others on their faith journeys just as so many have supported me on my faith journey.”

CONGRATULATIONS

to the

GRADUATING CLASS

KATE BURDITT Hometown: Lenexa, KS Major: Nursing Next Steps: KU Emergency Department “Fr. Mitchel has been my greatest guide while at the St. Lawrence Center. He has taught me how to live out my Catholic faith in a real way. He has a sense of humor and realness that inspires me to live a life of joy. He continually sparks curiosity within me and pushes me to make good decisions. He shows me how to receive people and to be received in a nonjudgmental way.”

“As I transition to law school, I feel I am called to continue building community with those around me by opening my home and by getting people outdoors. These have been two avenues by which I have been able to grow friendships and connect different aspects of my life that I'm passionate about. While the main task will certainly be studying, I will be jumping at every opportunity to make my new corner of the world a home for myself and those around me.”

JOHN MILBURN

Hometown: Lawrence, KS Major: Political Science Next Steps: Law School at Ave Maria University

KATIE BASTA Hometown: St. Louis, MO Major: Interior Architecture Next Steps: Grad school at KU to complete my Masters of Architecture

CHAD

“For two years after graduation I’ll be completing grad school here, so even though I won’t be leaving I’ll have to create a new community since most of the people I’ve grown close to and had classes with will be leaving. I not only want to create a space for authenticity and real friendship, but I also want to live out a life of Christ and minister Him better to others. I’ve learned in my time here that it doesn’t take huge acts to spread God’s love, but the intentional actions with those in our everyday life. I have learned that we not only need to pour our gifts into others but we need to make sure we’re being filled too. I hope to build my community of people who will push me to do better as I also do the same for them.”

COATES

Hometown: Overland Park, KS Major: Masters in Accounting Next Steps: Chicago, IL “You don’t know yourself until you know Him. I can say that I have grown more in the past year (since my conversion in 2021) in experiencing/understanding myself than I have my entire life. It’s like I am encountering myself for the first time—it’s beautiful—and I think is indicative of growth in interior freedom. A great priest once said that “each person isn’t a puzzle to solve, but a mystery to encounter.” I see that in myself now, and am relieved that I don’t have to have all the answers—but that through prayer, patience, and love, God will provide. The Holy Spirit has been working incredibly in my life and in the lives of the people I am close with—my mom started taking RCIA, and both of my parents have been receptive to my conversion. It is so beautiful, and I am so blessed, to be able to share my faith with them, and for them to receive my experiences with love, even wanting to learn more through RCIA so that we can have a greater dialogue. All thanks to the Holy Spirit!”

ZACH MCGUINNESS Hometown: Rancho Palos Verdes, CA Major: Accounting Next Steps: Seminary “St. Lawrence is my Galilee. It is the place where I met, fell in love with, and was called by name by Jesus. This all started because I attended the Koinonia retreat my freshman year to make some new friends. Countless faces come to mind when I think of my communal experience here. From those who originally welcomed me to those who became my best friends, to those who led me so well, real friendship was revealed to me. This all led me to conversion into reality. The most vital component of my community at St. Lawrence is the effort of my closest friends who pushed me to find communion with Christ. I was pushed to no longer need St. Lawrence as a crutch for my Faith. For this, I am eternally grateful. I am now confident that I can find some semblance of community anywhere a Tabernacle resides.”

“Jesus came to call the sick, not the perfect. At St. Lawrence, I've learned that God can work through my brokenness to work wondrous miracles through me. We are a Church of imperfect people, and it is only by God's grace that fruit can still come out of our sins and imperfections. Being at St. Lawrence has taught me to have hope in God's mercy, that no matter how dire the situation looks, God will take care of his beloved.”

LILY NGUYEN

Hometown: Wichita, KS Major: Global and International Studies, East Asian Studies (Japanese) Next Steps: Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program

MATEO ANDERSON Hometown: St. Joseph, MO Major: Exercise Science Next Steps: Working a gap year before attending a psychology graduate program, and getting married. “Having received little formation before arriving at St. Lawrence, I have experienced great growth in interior freedom through being taught how to pray and grow in relationship with the trinity. In growing that relationship, I became aware of the vices and bad habits in my life. Out of the desire to enter more deeply into trinitarian life, I have worked to shed these while also learning to hear the voice of God. Both of those outcomes have been instrumental in living interior freedom, especially as I have had to discern and plan my life after graduation.”

“The biggest lesson that I have learned at St. Lawrence is that every relationship - whether friend, family, even someone you don't know involves sensitivity and service. I have learned both of these through many of my involvements through the Center - RISE Band, Choir, and Koinonia. Recently I have accepted a Youth Ministry position in Shawnee. I plan on teaching those teens how important sensitivity and service is towards each person they encounter.

CAT SIMMONS

Hometown: Olathe, KS Major: Civil Engineering Environmental Emphasis Next Steps: Youth Ministry

1631 CRESCENT ROAD, LAWRENCE, KS 66044

(785) 843-0357

KUCATHOLIC

WWW.KUCATHOLIC.ORG

KUCATHOLICS