When the lights are on and the door of G106 is open, students are welcome to pop into the new Campus Ministry room. Campus Ministry was previously located in Windmoor, but this year it has moved to a classroom in the Learning Center. This move has opened the Ministry’s classroom to more flexible and comfortable seating, and its connection to the Fahey Learning center provides a convenient spot for students to visit during their free periods. 

A new location is not the only change made to STA’s Campus Ministry this school year. The Ministry has found itself in the hands of alumna Emma Kate Callahan (Class of 2017).

“I feel like [coming back to STA] was a little bit of a Holy Spirit moment,” Callahan, director of Campus Ministry and Service, said. 

This is Callahan’s first year as an employee of STA. After graduating, she attended  the University of Dallas, where she studied classical philology as well as human and social sciences. She also ran cross country for the university. 

She ended up coming back to STA when she was clued in by The Dart about opening Campus Ministry positions. 

“I was flipping through [The Dart] because I had just gotten home,” Callahan said. “In the back of it, it mentioned that there were going to be a few teachers leaving either in theology or Campus Ministry, and I thought that was kind of interesting. The next day, the cross country coach at STA reached out to me about looking for an assistant coach.” 

Callahan grew closer to her own faith in college and hopes to provide a similar experience to students at STA while furthering her own passions. Through Campus Ministry, students can be trained to help out during Masses or organize daily prayer videos. Callahan welcomes students to come to her with more ideas to incorporate faith into STA student life.

“Building those personal connections is what Campus Ministry should be,” Callahan said. “It’s really the students who are able to bring together those small groups that are able to lift one another up in prayer in that way.”

As director of both Campus Ministry and of Service, Callahan plans on integrating the two disciplines. This new programming through the Ministry serves to align better with STA’s mission, which teaches students to “love thy dear neighbor without distinction and to empower [students] to change the world.” 

Callahan will be planning service days to introduce service to STA’s underclassmen in addition to the typical curriculum for upper classmen. She also hopes to incorporate grade-wide retreats, which she describes as a valuable experience for everyone involved. 

“It’s one thing to plan this massive retreat,” Callahan said. “It’s another thing to actually talk to a student about how that retreat affected them.”

Callahan also hopes to increase student involvement with Campus Ministry. Students can participate in many ways, including helping with Masses, retreats or even coming to Callahan with any other ideas they have about STA’s faith community. 

“One of our sophomores has started a Wednesday devotional group,” Callahan said. “I think that building those personal connections is what Campus Ministry should be.”

Callahan sees student involvement in the Ministry to be vital to the STA and its mission. 

The Campus Ministry room is available for any student who wants to sit, relax or have a conversation about faith or spirituality.

“Whenever I’m here, the door is open,” Callahan said.