Hometown: Lansing, MI
Year in Formation: Novice
College: University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN), 2019
College Degree: English & Political Science
Graduate School: University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN), 2021
Graduate Degree: M.Ed.
Career Before Formation: High School English Teacher/ Civics Teacher/ Cross Country & Track Coach
Patron Saints: St. Joseph & St. John Bosco
Favorite Movies: “The Holdovers,” “The Giver,” “Top Gun”
Favorite Books: “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr, “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, “Red Rising” by Pierce Brown, “Brideshead Revisited” by Evelyn Waugh
Favorite Music: The Band Camino, various Broadway, Ashes Remain, All Time Low
Hobbies: Composing music (I play piano and sing), reading literature and poetry, weightlifting, hiking, board games
Most Memorable Prayer/Liturgy you have Attended: This year, my fellow novice classmates and I provided the music for the Christmas Eve Mass at Holy Rosary Chapel in Cascade, Colorado (where our Novitiate is located). I have been a liturgical musician for much of my life, and yet working with my classmates to create music that worshipped God and invited the congregation into that space of prayer was definitely a high point.
Place of Pilgrimage you Most Want to Visit and why: I would like to do the Camino de Santiago sometime: the idea of a physical journey that mirrors spiritual journeying resonates with me.
Favorite Way to Pray: My favorite way to pray is with my hands open before me, simply repeating Jesus’s name, knowing that I am always being sought and always being found by the Lord.
Favorite Devotion: Chaplet of Our Lady of Sorrows
What drew you to Holy Cross? I have always felt called to teaching and mentoring, and I am drawn to Holy Cross’ charism of education. I also feel drawn to the strong community that men of Holy Cross have and the joy that they radiate in their ministries.
Vocation Story: God prompted me through many aspects of my professional and personal life to bring me to discern with Holy Cross. As a teacher, the moments I felt most fulfilled in the classroom were when I asked my students to grapple with questions of faith, trust, and the relationships we have with God and with one another – in the context of the books we read, but also in the context of their own lives. As a coach, I grew to feel more energized by working to instill values in my team and journey with them through ups and downs than in the specifics of times ran. I also had moments of intimate encounter with Jesus through the Eucharist and in confession, which led me to seek a more robust relationship with Him and ultimately to hear Jesus’s call for me to discern with Holy Cross. The strong community life of Holy Cross was key in helping me to take the step of entering formation, and I have found that my brothers in community continue to bring me joy and challenge me to conform myself more and more to Christ in beautiful ways.
Favorite Verse: “You are my son; today I have begotten you. Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?” – Psalm 2:1,7
Favorite Quote: “To live without faith, without heritage to defend, without battling constantly for truth, is not to live but to ‘get along’; we must never just ‘get along.'” -St. Pier Giorgio Frassati
How can visitors to this page pray for you? Please pray that I might live my vows faithfully and continue to grow in intimacy with the Lord. Thank you!