Of all her impressive achievements in high school, Olivia Unverzagt would rather talk about the moment that her relationship with God dramatically changed.
“In my sophomore year, we were required to watch ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ which really shaped my entire perspective on the person of Jesus and his sacrifice,” said Unverzagt, a senior at St. Paul VI Catholic High School. “Just seeing how people treated him brought me to tears and ever since then, I just realized that I needed to commit my life to Christ and fully have a personal relationship with him.”
Unverzagt’s resume includes membership in the National Honor Society, PVI Student Government Association, PVI Black and Gold Ambassadors (students who give tours to prospective families), Theater Honor Society, choir, and two clubs she helped create: the Praise and Worship Club and Discipleship Club.
After taking a Christian Discipleship class her junior year, Unverzagt discovered that she was willing to take more risks in sharing her faith. “It’s about talking to others about Christ and sharing your testimony,” she said. “When it comes to how busy I am and the different passions I have, Christ is always present and that’s the common thread between all of the activities and relationships in my life. From an evangelical standpoint, everything touches on the fact that I’m just so grateful.”
After a few minutes of conversation with Unverzagt, it’s easy to see why she played Maria in the school production of “The Sound of Music.”
“Playing Maria was something I’ve always dreamed of,” she said. “Maria is the role that is so much like me as a person, not only in her fun nature, but also in her reflective sense. I understood what she was dealing with and I wanted to weave parts of my own testimony of when I was struggling with decisions. We gave it a slightly more contemporary take. Seeing the way it was received by the widely Catholic community and such a mix of people from different backgrounds was beautiful.”
Unverzagt is on her way to James Madison University in Harrisonburg, where she will study musical theater. She doesn’t shy away from questions about how she plans to confront the distinctly secular world of theater at a large public university.
“This is my favorite question to answer because the whole reason I do theater is that I want to be the Catholic light in an industry that is so incredibly secular,” she said. “In all honesty, it is something that scares me but I think that it’s a healthy fear. In the theater industry there’s so much rejection based on how auditions go. All the many no’s I’ve personally gotten, I know that I would not still be standing here and still trying if it wasn’t for Christ.”
Unverzagt won’t be alone. She was happy to learn that JMU has a solid Catholic campus ministry with a strong FOCUS missionary presence. But college life will become hectic and she plans to implement another peace-seeking strategy she learned at Paul VI.
“Adoration for me, as a hugely busy person, has given me such a profound sense of peace,” she said. “I thought before that living a busy life and having things was successful but that’s not where success lies. Busyness leaves us broken. Adoration is a place to take your brokenness and to be received where you are.”
In her final days at Paul VI, Unverzagt knows she is a profoundly different person from who she was four years ago. “This senior year has helped me reflect a lot on where I’ve come from and where I’m going and how Christ has been present through that,” she said. “I’m filled with such a sense of gratitude.”
