VALPARAISO – An often-quoted maxim is that “people will never forget how you made them feel.” Sentiments from an Advent event at a Catholic student center seem to indicate that good memories made may carry collegians far beyond the Christmas season.
After Sunday evening Mass at St. Teresa of Avila, a large group of mainly Valparaiso University students shuffled down a stairwell to gather in the Catholic Student Center’s Avila Hall. The young adults sized up their surroundings, which were trimmed with Christmas decorations. The annual Advent Dinner was about to begin.
Friends chatted, but none moved to the various food and beverage stations which were set up offering warm appetizers and sweet treats in All-American, Asian, Italian and Mexican styles. They awaited prayer, which was led by Aaron Lukas, St. Teresa peer minister and director of community life.
“It’s awesome! This brings people together,” said Abe Peetz, a senior business management student from Batesville, Ind. “(The Catholic Student Center) is right on campus. Most people don’t have cars here, so they can easily walk.
Peetz added that the ministry offers much more, “We also have study tables, Bible study and all those things … more friends to talk to, a priest to talk to.”
Mia Bertino greeted friends and talked to peer ministers as well as second-year St. Teresa chaplain Father Jacob McDaniel.
“I would consider this place a second home,” said Bertino. “It’s been a constant in my life – and with these people it’s not superficial friendships – they are really deep, meaningful friendships with people who truly care.”
Bertino, a senior elementary education major, said she would stay for snacks, but likely not dancing as she had prioritized studying for finals.
“There are study tables in the church during finals week … being in the presence of God while studying is always a great thing to have,” she added while some peers worked up a sweat dancing to the original Footloose theme.
Susie Zaweski, of Valparaiso, volunteered for the Advent event with her husband Joe Zaweski, and daughter Katie Zaweski, who is a Valparaiso High School senior interested in attending VU.
Among the other “townie” or local resident volunteers, she noted the laughter and the din of the conversations, “It fills my heart to see the future, carrying forward in the faith. They’re engaging with one another.”
The Advent dinner, a decades-long tradition, began to change in 2010 when volunteers and ministers sought to keep the student event from becoming a grab-and-go stop or having them get full on one big meal.
“This morphed into a bunch of fun hors d'oeuvres stations,” Susie Zaweski said, hinting that the festivities are a bit open-ended. “Last year, we cleared the (tables and chairs) and they danced all night. The volunteers left and (the students) turned off the lights.”
The hospitality of the student center extends beyond Catholic and other Christian students as collegians and instructors of other faiths joined in the festive fellowship.
“I wanted to honor the invitation of (St. Teresa director of college outreach) Eli (Owen) because I respect the Catholic community and I respect him,” explained Momin Mirza, who is Muslim.
Born on the East Coast, Mirza is a graduate student of English, and completed his undergraduate degree in environmental science at VU.
Mirza said that as a member of a religious group that is a smaller cohort among the greater culture, he came to identify and connect with Catholic students.
"Several individuals from the Catholic community have been people who I can relate with and who can relate with me. That’s been a positive experience for me at the university,” he said.
The genuineness of the friends he has made at St. Teresa reminds him of a viewpoint that could ameliorate many tense situations around the world.
“Everyone will inherently have a different perspective – that comes with the human condition – so the ability for different groups to recognize the humanity in each other is definitely a value that I hold as very important,” Mirza concluded.
A media major interested in photography and environmental conservation, Region resident Liam Ross said he’s been uplifted by the fellowship and faith enrichment initiatives at St. Teresa. His spiritual quest had run dry at times, but he has recently seen the signs of the Lord’s action in his life.
“With my spiritual life, it feels like it’s been a mess – I haven’t been going back to God saying, ‘Here’s all that I have on my plate.’ I’ve been kind of putting it away,” Ross said. “I feel like with nature, it's a one-way path and, with Christ, it’s the same. You just have to follow him no matter what.”
Valparaiso University Class of 2013 member Paul Rubio sang the praises of the Catholic student center on his visit to volunteer at the place that made a difference in his college days.
“I consider this a place that sort of stirs my heart – like a home,“Rubio said. “It gave me a boost in faith, and I come back here, and I’m so pleased that I see the same thing happening for a new generation of students.”
Rubio is thankful for the vibrant faith life St. Teresa’s ministries inspired, and is “still riding the wave of that” as he passes along the Catholic faith to another group – his youth religious education students at his home parish in Illinois.
Reeling in her two young children, Liz Owen, director of youth ministry and wife of Elijah Owen, said the student ministry has pretty simple strategies.
“In all honesty, we’re celebrating Christmas with them before they go home, before finals,” she explained about the Advent event for VU students. “It’s a sending forth into finals; we (give) support and love.
“Loving through food is a big thing that St Teresa’s does,” she added, also referencing the center’s free meals served to visitors through the Cafe Manna program on Thursdays during the academic year.
Caption: Junior nursing major Bryn Benzing (second from left) receives a Mexican sampler plate from volunteer Robert Bollman (right) as she is joined by other Valparaiso University students at the Advent Dinner event hosted at St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Student Center on Dec. 10. The annual pre-Christmas gathering staffed by church and ministry members featured snacks from various cultures, music and fellowship to Help support students through their finals. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)