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Everyday during the school year, the Newman Center staff and FOCUS missionaries begin the day with a Eucharistic Holy Hour. As students encounter Christ, they've started to join and have even made it a daily habit. Patrick and Anthony are two such students who make the sacrifice to wake up early to make time for prayer. "Discipleship formation with the missionaries has changed my perspective on prayer and how necessary it is to make time for it," says Patrick, a sophomore who leaves his house at 7am to make it to Holy Hour. "Going consistently now, I can't imagine my mornings [...]

A UIC junior entering into her second semester of nursing school, Lauren discovered Newman when she needed somewhere to go to Mass during her freshman year. "Everyone was so welcoming and supportive, and I found myself attending Bible studies and events." It didn't take long after that for Lauren to feel called to step up into leadership. "Since Newman made such a big impact on my relationship with Jesus, I wanted to get involved to help others experience that too." As a sophomore, Lauren not only attended a Bible study but also served as secretary of the Cor Team and Head [...]

How Newman Became a Home-Away-From-Home for a Set of Twins from California Last year, Abi and Ame traded sun and sand for snow and wind when they left southern California to begin their college experience at UIC. After playing volleyball together since age four, they found that UIC offered the best opportunities both on and off the court, and, most importantly, they could continue playing volleyball together at the elite level. What they didn't realize, however, was just how much the Newman Center would become their "home away from home." "I started coming to Newman because I liked the community," says [...]

Written by Lupe Bollas, Class of 2021 As I wrapped up my senior year of college, I found myself desiring good Catholic community, so I decided to sign up for the SEEK2021 conference. In one of the small group sessions during the conference, I bonded with one of the FOCUS missionaries over food and cooking, and after the conference, she continued to invest in me, as a witness of the Lord’s love for me. She continued to invite me to be a part of the Newman community, and through her investment, I came to see that God didn’t just want a [...]

Written by Monica Mackie, Development Coordinator After serving as a FOCUS Missionary at UIC for two years, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to continue to serve Newman as the new Development Coordinator, especially during this exciting time of new beginnings. Specifically, we have been hard at work, renovating our chapel to create a beautiful place to pray, and we are gearing up to launch Cor Coffee as school starts this fall. While these might seem like two independent projects, they are very much interrelated. Statistics are often thrown around again and again of how many people are leaving the [...]

Written by Becca Siar, Director of Campus Ministry   Why do you think college ministry is important, and why do you think it's a good fit for you? FR. TIM: I was blessed to work with high school students for the past three years, and every year, my seniors from the parish had to transition into “college life,” where they were bombarded by different ideologies, prompting curiosity and questions. College ministry gives students the ability to have their questions answered, especially in an environment where they know that they loved and where they truly belong. I think its a good fit [...]