I still very vividly remember the day I arrived on campus in
August of 1999. My dad and I got up very
early and began the 8 hour drive from Rockford, IL to Steubenville, OH. We
pulled up in front of Marian Hall and we were instantly greeted by some very welcoming
and energetic students that were part of the Orientation team. I remember one of those happy faces being my
friend Mary who I knew from Rockford. My
dad and I barely had to lift a thing.
They unloaded the entire car and moved me into my dorm room. My dad and I then walked around to get me
checked in and get things in order. I
remember taking my dad to show him the Port.
On the way to the port I remember meeting a girl named Sarah. Sarah was in a household called the Roses of
the Immaculate Heart of Mary. She
introduced herself to us and took the time to make sure we knew our way
around. After that my dad called my mom
to check in and I will never forget him saying to her, “This is a good
place. There is something different
about this school. Our son picked a good
place to go to school.” This meant the
world to me because my parents had been having a tough time with my decision to
go there and major in Theology. Shortly
thereafter my dad left and I was left to unpack and get ready for the
orientation activities. I was placed in
a small group where a guy named Courtney Brown was my leader. I instantly felt like I was home within hours
of arriving on campus.
Within that first year I made some incredible friends. I joined the Knights of the Holy Queen, got
involved in SENT, which was a retreat ministry, and dove head first into the
life of the campus. Daily mass and
adoration became part of my daily routines.
Instead of going to parties and getting hammered I filled my weekends at
the Castle. The Castle was an old house
off campus where the older members of the Knights lived. Evenings there consisted of meaningful
conversations, laughter over ridiculous things, playing mafia, guitar playing,
and just a general atmosphere of joy and genuine friendship. Don’t get me wrong the beer would flow there
but not in a frat party sort of way; but more in a Chestertonian drink life in
sort of way. The brotherhood I had with
the Knights was solidified there and the friendships I made out of household
where made there. It was a place that
for me embodied not what the college experience in our culture is but what it
should be.
My three years there went by fast but I also feel like I was
able to drink in every single moment. My
second year I spent my first semester in Austria. I made some incredible friends there and
traveled all over Europe. I experienced
the universality of our Church. I prayed
in front of Maximillian Kolbe’s starvation cell in Auschwitz, knelt before the
image of Our Lady of Chestahova, saw the Shroud of Turin, drank sangria in a
square in Barcelona, went to the Prado in Madrid, saw the flesh of my Lord in
Santarem, experienced Fatima on October 13th, prayed before the tomb
of St. Therese in Lisieux, saw an incorrupt St. Katherine at the miraculous
medal shrine, bathed in the waters of Lourdes, went to a papal audience with JP
II, walked through the Holy doors of St. Peters, took in the ancient city of
Rome, visited St. Anthony in Padua, saw the original Portiuncula in Assisi, walked
the streets of Venice, hiked through the Swiss Alps, and enjoyed the beauty of
Austria. I got to do all that with some of my best
friends in the world. We laughed with
one another, irritated each other on long trips, drank beer from a giant glass boot,
and experienced mass in some of the most beautiful churches in the world. That semester was one of the most formative
of my time there.
My last three semesters on campus continued to bring new
adventures and joys. I was humbled to be
coordinator of the Knights my senior year.
I soaked in every ounce of my Theology classes and continued to enjoy
the brotherhood in my household and the other friendships I had. There were many late nights studying, some
serious foosball playing in Adrien’s basement, and random bonfires down by the
river. It really is hard to sum up my
entire experience there but it was one that I will always look back on with a
heart full of joy. I am blessed beyond
words to have had the opportunity to be a student at Franciscan University of Steubenville.
To conclude I give you my top 10 things, in no particular
order, I miss about my time in Steubenville (although there could be many more
but for the sake of bringing this blog to a close I’ll keep it to 10):
1.
Skipping class to go to Twines (A dumpy out door
trailer bar at the bottom of the hill).
2.
Nights at the Castle on fourth street.
3.
A Knight with the Flowers (Formal wine and
cheese Christmas party we did with the Little Flowers)
4.
Bull Dog Nights with Adrien, Trina, and the gang
5.
Lords Day and Household Holy Hour
6.
Spanky’s after mass on Sundays
7.
Bonfires down by the Ohio River
8.
Driving to Pittsburgh to go to Mulayney’s Harp
and Fiddle
9.
Being able to easily scandalize the overly pious
people
10.
Parties and Foosball at the Angel House Senior
Year
Here’s to the memories we all hold dear and the friendships
we are blessed to still have from our years at good old Franciscan U. Happy 10 years class of 2002!
