Where is your hometown?
Peru, Nebraska (population: 800)

All-time highlight of Wyoming Catholic?
The most fulfilling part of my experience at WCC is learning the big lessons that God teaches me as I do His will. There is nothing more satisfying than doing the will of God and seeing the fruits He produces through me. There is one lesson in particular which He has been teaching me here. Whether it is in receiving feedback from my professors, leading an outdoor trip, or deepening a friendship, there is one thing that Jesus keeps driving home to me: He is really taking care of me. Even in all my feelings of incompetence, He has brought me to success. I have learned that it doesn’t matter if I feel capable of doing something; if He wants me to do it and I try my best to do what He puts in front of me, He will make it happen. I don’t know if I would ever have learned how to be truly courageous without subjecting myself to the intense formation offered by WCC. I have slowly, but surely realized that I can do all things, even the ones I don’t feel qualified for, through Christ who strengthens me (from Phil 4:13). What could be more freeing than that?

Favorite outdoor trip memory?
One of my favorite outdoor trip memories is of the last night of my 21-day backpacking trip. One of the girls in my group suggested we sleep under the stars. We laid some tarps on the ground and lined up our sleeping bags in one long row. I was on one end of the row, but I didn’t mind. I felt a sense of beautiful solitude and comforting belonging simultaneously. We couldn’t see many stars. We assumed the moon was the culprit. It must have been glowing radiantly behind the mountains. It lit the sky’s edges and flooded the sky’s core. Black silhouettes of aspens young and old accompanied us in the valley, and dark mountains cradled us. I could see the mountains behind and on either side of us. It was like seeing three horizons at once. I lay there on my quiet end, listening to a particularly amusing conversation and laughed for fifteen minutes straight. It felt like I laughed for twice as long. When all was finally silent, I lay awake and watched the full moon rise over the mountain to our left. A bright star came with it, and so did the clouds. I looked on in wonder as the clouds stretched across the sky. I had never seen white clouds at night, but these were white! The bright white light of the sleeping sun bounced off the immaculate moon and saturated these clouds. Amazing! White on purple floated above me, my friends slept beside me, and I felt my God’s Love infusing us all. I was at peace.

What’s your favorite class, and why?
My favorite class from the second semester of Sophomore year is Theology. We are learning about creation and providence. It is mind blowing to know the technical intricacies of the why and the how of God’s act of creation. I also found it challenging, but fascinating, to dive into the books of Job and Wisdom, which tackle the problem of evil.

What’s a little-known fact about you?
I own a pet garter snake named Patrick.