Gianna Guerrero

When I first got to college, I had so many aspirations and goals, that the small whisper in my heart suggesting to grow deeper in my faith was trampled among ambitions of friendship, freedom and academic success.

One of the kindest gifts the Lord has given me are my friends at the Newman Center. I encounter Christ in such a profound way when I witness their humble dedication to their faith and their sincere servitude to our family. There is something so powerful about seeing people your age, who have grown up subjected to the same culture of death you have been, now actively and freely choosing to be a light, despite all of their own personal struggles and hardships. In the presence of these open and humble hearts, one forgets that they are a rarity, and this culture of life no longer seems radical, but necessary. When I first got to college, I had so many aspirations and goals, that the small whisper in my heart suggesting to grow deeper in my faith was trampled among ambitions of friendship, freedom and academic success. I have since discovered true freedom in Christ, and my desperate grasping for a false sense of happiness has been replaced with a practice of perfecting authentic joy. Here I learn more every day about who Jesus is calling me to be and how I can live out my love for Him. He has made this journey remarkably sweet by giving me this family that I can work, pray, sing, cry, and play soccer with! Even though I continue to fall and make mistakes every day, my family loves me through this as we all know our own flaws and deep dependence on Christ. We are constantly reminded that His mercy is new each moment, and that sainthood is attainable for even such little souls as mine.