By Gretchen Crowe
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 7/29/04)

First-timers on the road to college often experience a whirlwind of emotions: excitement, anxiety, sadness, euphoria. One feeling topples over the next, creating an ever-growing need for stability and maintained priorities.

For Christina DeCostanza, a rising senior at Marymount University in Arlington, the number one priority in college is easy.

"What comes first is your faith," she said.

Those very basic, yet very important, words were spoken at the Youth Apostles College Night last Sunday in the St. Robert Bellarmine Chapel, the home of George Mason University’s campus ministry program.

Father David Sharland, director of formation for the Youth Apostles, a program that inspires youths to live a Christlike life centered on prayer and the sacraments, agreed. Sleep, spend your time wisely and make God number one, he said.

The program, organized to give soon-to-be college students the opportunity to learn about campus ministry, consisted of Father Sharland’s talk, followed by a question and answer session. Questions were posed to a panel of three students who had become involved in campus ministry while in college.

Along with DeCostanza, Kelly Hamp, a rising senior at GMU, and Ben Kolodziej, a recent graduate of Mary Washington University in Fredericksburg and a member of the Youth Apostles, served as resources for the students.

The panel gave advice on many important issues: from getting adjusted to college life and choosing a major to finding a good Christian community on campus.

When going to college for the first time, Hamp urged the youths to remember that "God is present in the differences" — whether they are different types of people or different types of situations.

"The biggest challenge (for me) is appreciating God’s presence in the things that I am not comfortable with," Hamp said. She struggled with learning how to have the "hard conversations" and confront people.

Choosing a major, and subsequently a profession for life, can be daunting. Kolodziej advised the students to pray about their choice, saying it should be something the student is "excited about" and something that he or she "can use (the) gifts and talents that God gave you."

Father Jack Peterson, director of Youth Apostles and campus minister at Marymount, pointed out that the youths could be good Catholics without majoring in religious studies. "The faith has got to penetrate into the world," he said. "(God) wants lawyers and doctors and mail men and women. It’s essential for the true spread of the Gospel."

In his talk, Father Sharland also advised that students decide in advance how they are going to spend their time. He also said that a Christian community and service should be at the heart of the college experience.

"It’s really important that we have a Christian community to be part of," he said. "If we have a Christian community that supports us, we are going to be stronger in our faith. We’re not in this alone — we’re in this with one another."

The same goes for service, he said. "You’ll find very quickly when you get to college that it’s all about me," Father Sharland said. "We have to change that focus and look back to the community. A part of that should be service."

Father Sharland also encouraged regular participation in sacraments — especially penance and the Eucharist. Arrange your Sundays around Mass and make it non-negotiable, he said, adding the need to incorporate daily prayer into routines. Daily prayer should be "honest, real and non-negotiable."

While in college, Kolodziej said to choose your friends wisely, especially in your freshman year as they have the potential to be your friends for the next four years.

"You really need to find friends who share your `morals — wanting to do good in college and in life in general," he said.

In order to be well-rounded and healthy, Hamp also suggested incorporating some kind of regular stress relief activity — such as working out — into the youths’ daily routines.

Andy Ramish, a rising freshman at Yale University and a member of St. Mark Parish in Vienna, is excited about heading off to college. He attended the program to "see what kind of opportunities there are in campus ministry," he said.

Anna Maurer, a parishioner at St. Mary of Sorrows Church, is a rising freshman at GMU. "My family’s very involved (in the Catholic faith)," she said. "I’m interested in campus ministry and staying active in my faith."

Maurer sings in the life-teen choir at St. Mary of Sorrows. She will commute to GMU —a mere 20-minute walk — from home.

Tim Eagle, coordinator for the event, said College Night was a great success, and is an important part of preparing high-schoolers for college life. The program is to give students about to enter college "an idea of what campus is really like from students," he said.