Hey hey everyone! My name is Gabriela, and I’m a sophomore Visual Arts major from Columbus, Ohio.

I’m currently serving as President of this beautiful organization - what a joy :) I am so excited to see how the Lord blesses this community & how many hearts get to encounter Him!

I love journaling, watching sunsets, and doing anything art and music related! My favorite activity is going on silly adventures and filming them to edit into little home movies.

“Understand this well: there is something holy, something divine hidden in the most ordinary situations, and it is up to each one of you to discover it.” - St. Josemaria Escriva

Hello, I’m Jack Geise, the vice-president of Catholic LIFE! I am a sophomore religious studies/theology major from Carmel, Indiana. I really love all the arts, but especially film and music, so a lot of my time is spent immersing myself in those. I love reading (especially Lewis, Pieper, and more), talking with friends, going to mass and adoration, climbing, listening to music and podcasts, playing chess (poorly), and going on drives. 

"Be generous in your active life, young people, and be deeply immersed in the contemplation of God's mystery. Make the Eucharist the heart of your day."-Pope St. JPII

Hi I am Matt Garcia, a Mechanical Engineering Major and Biomechanics and Theology Minor from East Palestine Ohio!

In my free time I enjoy playing intramurals and going on runs, reading books and watching movies, eating garlic bread, and spending time with the Holy Family through the rosary and other prayers. 

"¡Viva Cristo Rey! ¡Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!" -St. José Sánchez Del Río

Hi there! My name is Ben Vierheller, and I am a junior accounting major at UD from West Virginia. In addition to serving as Catholic LIFE Treasurer, I am involved on campus as an altar server and member of a Marianist Student Community. When I’m not studying, you might find me at the RecPlex officiating intramural sports or playing competitive Uno and MarioKart games with my friends. It is a great blessing for me to serve Catholic LIFE as an officer and to participate in everything our organization has to offer. Our campus has such a strong faith presence, and it is awesome to see so many students eager to participate in liturgies and other ministries here at the University of Dayton. I am looking forward to helping the Flyer Fire spread even more broadly on campus this year!

"Hope is a good thing—maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” -Andy Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption

My name is Addie and I'm thrilled to be serving as the Adoration Coordinator this year.  I’m a third year student from Cleveland, OH and I am majoring in Health Science with a minor in Psychology.  I am passionate about the Mass, adoring the Blessed Sacrament, and finding new ways to grow closer to the Lord in prayer. I also enjoy going on long walks (especially with friends!), rv road trips, and hiking. 

 My goal through this ministry is to invite others into an intimate relationship with Christ through visiting Him in Adoration. Cultivating a deep love and understanding for the Eucharist has been a transformative experience for me and my desire is to ensure that others have the opportunity to grow in the same way!! I’m so excited to be on this wonderful team of peer ministers this year and to grow in Christ with you all. AMDG  

"Don’t drag yourself any longer to His feet, follow that first impulse that draws you into His arms. That is where your place is." St Thérèse of Lisieux

Hello! My name is Angel and I am a freshman Psychology major from Columbus, Ohio. Above all else, I love Jesus. I also love Mary, Joseph, and all the saints. I also love movies, music, Mass, Adoration, reading, hiking, baking, road trips, playing sports, watching sports, laughing, learning and trying new things, singing the Lord’s praises loudly (but maybe a little tone-deafly), and talking to people about their faith. My favorite color is purple and some of my favorite saints are St. Augustine, St. Tarcisius, and St. Maximilian Kolbe. 

I am so blessed to be one-half of the Alpha & Omega speaker series ministry (round of applause for Tara please). Catholic LIFE and its authentically joyful community has been incredibly formative for my faith since coming to college and I hope you join us for an event and join our beautiful community!

“Then He withdrew from our sight, so that we might return to our own hearts and find Him there” St. Augustine

Hello! My name is Tara, and I am a freshman Mechanical Engineering Technology student from Marion, OH. I am so honored to be serving this community as Alpha & Omega Coordinator. I am am so excited to bring a deeper knowledge of the Catholic faith to Catholic Life. 

In my free time, I enjoy listening to music and podcasts, going on adventures with my friends, and learning new things (especially about the Catholic faith) I have a deep desire to learn how to play guitar, but so far, it hasn’t happened. My favorite saints are St. Padre Pio, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Thomas Aquinas. My Catholic faith is so important to me. I am so blessed by the Catholic Life community that pushes me to greater holiness each day. 

“Dear young people, the happiness you are seeking, the happiness you have the right to enjoy has a name and a face: it is Jesus of Nazareth, hidden in the Eucharist.” - Pope Benedict XVI

Hello! My name is Ryan Hamilton & I am a Junior from Leesburg, Virginia, majoring in psychology & philosophy. I am very excited to be serving as the Men’s Bible Study Coordinator for this year!! Being Bible Study Coordinator, it's only fitting for me to tell you that I love discovering the Lord through his most sacred word, through the communities we form, and through the Most Holy Eucharist. I also enjoy baking, swimming, and generally any sort of social activity. I can’t wait to meet you all as we dive deeper into the Word of the Lord!!! 

“The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home.” - St. Augustine 

Hey:) I’m Grace Pierucci, the women’s Bible study coordinator! I am a Junior History and English major from Kalamazoo, MI. I love reading, writing, fishing, shooting, and really anything active outdoors. Because of my love of history, both understanding the Bible as Salvation History and the Apologetics of scripture have really strengthened my faith, so I am so excited to take part in this ministry!

“I’m a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world” - St. Teresa of Calcutta

Hello friends! My name is Johnathon, and I am in my third year here at UD! I am a Theology and Religious Studies major with a Music minor, and I am truly looking forward to offering my time and talents in service of Catholic LIFE this year!

When I’m not at Mass or another Catholic LIFE event, you can usually find me playing in one of the musical ensembles here at UD, working my way through a philosophy reading for class, singing with my brothers in PMA, out walking campus and enjoying the weather (when it’s not too cold!) or in the middle of losing a chess game with Jack. While I enjoy praying and expressing my faith in many different ways, I must confess that adoring Christ’s presence in the Eucharist is one of my personal favorite methods to encounter His presence. I look forward to praying with you all and getting to know you better this year! Pax vobiscum!

“God became man so that man might become God” - St. Athanasius

Hello:) My name is Mary and I am sophomore from outside of Philadelphia, PA, pursuing a Middle Childhood Education/Intervention Specialist major. It is a joy to serve as one of the first year fellowship peer ministers. I love to spend time with the Lord, particularly in Mass and adoration. Going on adventures (especially ones that involve ice cream), attending concerts, vlogging, driving, learning to play the guitar, singing, and talking with people are a few of my favorite activities. 

“You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.” - St Therese

Greetings! My name is Nick Krooner, and I am a sophomore studying Management Information Systems from Lancaster, Ohio. It is truly an honor to help the first years grow in their faith and build community as one of the First Year Fellowship peer ministers! FYF is a weekly meeting where we talk about our relationship with God in fun, comfortable ways. I love growing in my relationship with God through Mass, adoration, scripture, and many other ways. I am truly blessed to have been welcomed into such an amazing community as Catholic LIFE. It is so beautiful to grow towards Christ with my brothers and sisters in this club. Some of my other hobbies include disc golfing, lifting, fishing, playing guitar, and watching sports games. 

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." -Galatians 2:20

Hi! My name is Gabby Hruby. I am a Junior Theology major with a minor in psychology. I am from Hudson, Ohio and am a big advocate for Mitchell’s Ice cream and penguins. I have a big passion for music, being outside, reading, and laughing often. I am terrified of sharks. 

“Be yourself, everybody else is taken,” - Oscar Wilde

Hi, My name is Emily! I am a Religious Studies major and Biology minor from Fallbrook, California and I am one of the Flyer Praise Peer Ministers. I currently work as an undergraduate music minister and sing at the 6:00 pm Sunday mass at IC chapel. I love a good bioethics conversation over a meal or cup of tea and am always willing to have a Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, or Disney movie night. I am personally drawn toward Taize music as a form of centering prayer and hope to introduce that to praise nights this year. I can’t wait to get to know and serve all of you!

“Wives, be subject to your husbands as to the Lord … Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” Ephesians 5:22,25

Hello! My name is Peyton and I am a Pre-Medicine major from Dayton, Ohio! I am beyond excited and humbled to be serving as Catholic LIFE's Prayer Ministry Coordinator! Some fun facts about me are I absolutely love going to Mass and adoration, reading and listening to music, trying all kinds of new things, being outside, baking, learning to play the guitar, and spending time with friends! I also love getting to know people and their stories over a cup of coffee and I happen to be a complete nerd for theological conversations. Caritas Christi Urget Nos!

“Act and God will act.” -St. Joan of Arc

Hello, my name is Jack! I am a Religious Studies major from Park Ridge, IL. I am honored and humbled to be serving as social events coordinator of this EPIC club. As social events coordinator I am responsible for dinners prior to events, fellowships after events, and other gatherings like that! In addition to Catholic LIFE and my studies, I enjoy running through Oakwood, watching my roommates play mario kart, talking to my mom on the phone, and working at Heritage Coffeehouse (YUH!). Catholic LIFE has completely changed my life here at UD; I have a found a community to strive towards Christ with. Come to an event if you’d like, all are welcomed and wanted. Praise God.

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself” Philippians 3:20-21

Hello! My name is Sophie, and I’m so excited to be serving as the Social Media Coordinator this year! I’m a Sophomore from Grand Rapids, MI, studying Media Production with a minor in Spanish!

In my free time, I love hanging out with my friends, watching movies, going to Mass and Adoration, taking and editing photos and videos, and going on adventures! My Catholic faith is very important to me, and such a big part of my life, so I am very excited to be apart of this team! Praise God!

“The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness”― Pope Benedict XVI