Campus ministry links colleges to student faith

"Sister Ro," as some students affectionately call her, is the Catholic campus minister on both campuses.

When she began preparations for the religious life 37 years ago, her motivation was a strong desire to help people. By the time she took her vows two years later, she said, "my purpose grew. It was more giving my life to God."

Newman community

"I want to be a face of love to the people that I meet," Sister Ro said.

Sister Ro and students attend Mass and retreats, do community service, and try to build a strong, loving community at their campuses.

The two Catholic communities differ slightly because HVCC serves only commuters. Sister Ro calls the participation at HVCC "fluid membership" since the names and faces of those who attend service projects change frequently.

Student's view

Many activities take place on campus. Once a month, for example, Newman members sponsor "Cinema and the Sacred." Students watch a movie, then discuss how it relates to their faith.

Once a week, students gather for a spaghetti lunch during which they read a chapter from a book, and talk about its implications on faith and daily life.

Reaching students

Sister Ro also works with the HVCC student government to coordinate campus-wide events, such as the annual Peace and Justice Day. She also helped plan a student candlelight vigil immediately following the Columbine massacre in 1999.

While Sister Ro is happy to help anyone who needs her, she is not known for forcing her faith or services on people.

"She'll have pens with her name on them and hand them out so people have pens, and maybe sometime they'll need to call her. They're very subtle things she does to make the campus ministry program known," said Janet Hamel, assistant director of student activities at HVCC. "Her door is always open."

Participation

"She's always involved in Student Senate, so everyone's gotten to know her pretty well. She's definitely a positive person to have on campus," said Jonathan Winnick, an HVCC student senator.

Sister Ro's "positive" influence will continue in the fall as she helps the college coordinate two large events: a visit from former "Melrose Place" star Andrew Shue, who will speak on how "One Person Can Make a Difference," and a memorial service for the victims of Sept. 11.

In her prayers

"I can't tell you how many people come up and ask me to pray for them on both campuses, and they're not all Catholics. They know they can come up to me. I never had to build inroads to be accepted," Sister Ro said.

Sister Ro is already gearing up to write for The Hudsonian and Sage's student paper, The Quill.

"You don't always know who you touch," she said. "But even if you touch one person, you've made a difference to them."

Why she does it

Little did she realize that a calling would come at the college level. Ten years ago, Russell Sage College ran a newspaper ad requesting a part-time Catholic campus minister. She responded, then did the same for Hudson Valley about two years later. She thus became a full-time campus minister, dividing her time between the two schools.

Sister Ro gives the credit for Newman success to the young adults she works with. "Newman isn't me; it's them," she said.

(09-12-02) [[In-content Ad]]