The above photo depicts what I woke up to nearly every morning for the past four years. That’s the St. Francis Residence Hall chapel, a place where my heart was slowly but radically transformed the past four years through spending time “just being” with the Lord without an agenda, through diligent and persistent meditation on the Word of God, and his movement in my heart and life.
We did it! The class of 2014 has graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville! It was an extraordinarily special time this past weekend. I look back with immense gratitude, and I look forward with eager excitement.
Happy Easter, everyone! The events this past weekend celebrating our Lord’s resurrection were filled with joy and fun. The Easter Vigil Mass was incredibly rejuvenating and just outright beautiful, and the celebration that followed had the JC Williams Center, the hangout center on campus, completely packed and filled to its max capacity!
This past weekend, I was given the privilege of presenting some research at the American Chemical Society Student Member Symposium at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA.
I was able to go with about five other students who were also involved…
Around the time that I was in 7th grade, I began to develop a deep love for learning about history, especially World War II. I vigorously read every book I could find on the topic. If you were to quiz me, I could have named off dates, given summaries of battles, and even told you personal testimonies from those who had been in concentration camps or fought on the front lines.
It has been a couple weeks since my last blog post because I have been extremely busy… doing loads of research and teaching some of the organic chemistry labs.
If you were to tell me my freshman year that I would be able to teach some of the organic chemistry labs by my junior and senior year, I would have thought you were crazy. But, it’s a reality.
Well, spring break came and went… but it was no ordinary spring break. A week or so ago I was given the privilege of serving children of Haiti in an orphanage. It was a mission trip (not sponsored through the University) and man… talk about an eye opening and incredibly human experience.
About once a month, a good portion of the men at Franciscan University pack into a room on campus for a time of fellowship and to discuss a topic. The topics are typically geared towards areas that are directly relatable to the life of a young, Catholic, adult man striving to grow in holiness.
In a course of unexpected yet welcomed events, I am excited to say that I am preparing to head off to Haiti next week!
I found out about a mission trip to serve Haitian children in an orphanage, and my heart leaped outside of my chest at the thought of being able to serve and love them. I’m listening to my heart… I’ll be honest and say…
I’m a part of the Disciples of the Word household here on campus, and I must say that being a part of it has been one of the biggest gifts I have been blessed with while studying here at Franciscan.