Ken Anderson
What years were you a student at OSU?
2012-2017
What did you major in at OSU?
Electrical and Computer Engineering
What year(s) were you a member/participant of the Newman center at OSU?
2013-2017
Where do you work now? What is your current job title/role?
Intel Corporation Product Development Engineer
What have you done since graduating and leaving the Newman center? What's going on in your life now?
Full-time work and State Officer for the Knights of Columbus; also participating in Catholic young adult activities
What was a memorable experience from your time at the Newman Center?
I enjoyed the time directing the Living Water Choir in my early years. In doing so, I was able to use my talents of singing to worship God and build friendships with others who similarly enjoyed using their talents to worship God. I also enjoyed the pilgrimages. I've always enjoyed the idea of going on a spiritual journey.
Has anything you gained from the Newman Center benefited you in life now?
My time at the Newman Center gave me an opportunity to build friendships with others who share my faith. Surrounding myself with others who share my faith gives me the sense that I'm not alone and that there are others who can help me along my journey and I can help them. Although my time at the Newman Center came to a conclusion and many of those friends have gone to other places, I've been able to continue in the practice of building friendships with others in my faith.
Do you have an important memory, special spiritual moment, or funny story from your time at OSU Newman center to share?
I remember walking through the streets of Salem during the pilgrimage, singing praises to God. Perhaps many who saw us do it were led to God by our evangelization.
What is one piece of advice you would give to current OSU Newman college students?
Surround yourself with friends who share your faith. There will be times to go out into the field to evangelize, but it's important to have others who share your faith as a support group.
Kristen Anderson
What years were you a student at OSU?
Fall 2009 - Fall 2013
What year(s) were you a member/participant of the Newman center at OSU?
Started with Freshman year with Kairos ( What it was called before Fragua, before alpha). Participated all four years I was at college.
What did you major in at OSU?
Mathematics, with minors in computer science and music
Where do you work now? What is your current job title/role?
I am a mom of two and full time home maker. My husband, Eric, is a software developer at Tektronix.
What have you done since graduating and leaving the Newman center? What's going on in your life now?
My husband and I got married at St Mary's in 2015 and moved up to Tigard, first, but now Beaverton. We welcomed our first baby girl April 2016 and our second girl October 2018. I've been a full time mom ever since!
Back in 2015, another friend from the Newman center knew a lot of us that had just gotten married and moved up to the Beaverton area and we started a Lenten small group. We all knew that we needed to band together to support each other in faith and community, so we've been meeting weekly ever since. The missionaries always used to talk about sending us out into the real world, even naming one of their classes "catapult." We joked about how we were getting in our own little space ship and leaving the mothership (the Newman center) and going out to keep the faith and spread the good news. Ever since, we've been calling our group "Escape Pod"!
I've been so grateful to grow in Christian friendship with my fellow Newman center escape pod members and have them help me be accountable in growing in holiness and traveling on my journey to heaven. As a stay at home mom, I don't see other adults very often and I’m not sure what I would do without them. We have Bible studies, share prayer requests, volunteer, and more. I'm so grateful for Newman for bringing us all together and sending us out in our own little Escape Pod.
What were the most memorable retreats/experiences/events from your time at the Newman Center and why?
For sure my most memorable experience was the Fragua retreat. Not necessarily because I had a super great time but because it helped me see my life more clearly during a rough patch in my life. The retreat helped push me to do some things that I kind of already knew that God had been nudging me to do. I loved the adoration and mass in the little chapel. I always felt like that was the true center of the Newman Center. Sometimes when I was having a rough day, I would stop for a couple minutes of prayer before the Tabernacle and always felt more at peace.
I also enjoyed the camping trips because it was an opportunity to get to know people deeper and have some fun.
Has anything you gained or learned from the Newman center helped or benefited you in life now? If so, how has it helped?
I remember the missionaries always saying things like "this is more important than your school work/degree" and I remember thinking I guess... But not really believing it.
I actually tried to bring my science textbook on the Fragua retreat. Did I have time to study? Nope. Did I get a C on the test, yep.
But now that I'm older, graduated, married, a mom, I think I understand better what the missionaries meant about it being more important. After my entire life of education and striving to be the best in academics, I realize my grades don't matter as much as my relationship with God.
After having my own kids, I've realized, all I want for them is to grow up and choose Jesus. I just want to be in heaven with them. Of course I want them to succeed, get married, have a good career, have children, live a long life, etc. But ultimately, all I want is for them to be a saint. How clearly I now understand what my heavenly father wants for me: exactly what I want for my own children- choose Him.
Now I see that going on the Fragua retreat definitely changed my life for the better and aligned me more on the pathway to heaven. The C I got on that science test? Doesn't matter at all.
Do you have an important memory, special spiritual moment, or funny story from your time at OSU Newman center to share?
Since getting married, my husband went through RCIA and joined the Catholic Church. But it hasn't been an easy journey and the journey continues, but I remember once, Teo came up to me and told me that all I needed to do was to Pray with CONVICTION about my (then, future) husband, and that God would work in his heart. It just has always stayed with me, how he said I needed to pray with *conviction*. I needed to believe that, what felt impossible, could be done. I needed to pray believing that God could work in him- WAS working in him. Every time I start to get worried about something or feel like something is impossible/that it could never happen. I try to remember that I need to pray with conviction and believe that God is already working in that situation. That moment with Teo has stuck with me.
What is one piece of advice would you give current OSU Newman college students?
My most important advice is, have a faith game plan for when you leave college.
You can't do it alone! It's so easy to let other things become more important than God.
If you are moving away after college, find a young adult group to join when you move there. Group up with other Newman people in the area. Get involved at the church- volunteer with the teens, become a lector, join knights of Columbus, do a yearly retreat. Even if it's just join a Catholic Facebook group, do something that will keep you accountable and a part of a faith group.
I've watched many Newman friends stop going to church, fall away, and be influenced by 'the world.' Mostly because they had no faith support people. Put yourself in a position that, when you stop feeling on fire, other people can help reignite the flame, or at least keep it smoldering!
In the world, it can be easy to think that your experience at Newman was 'just a dream,' 'not real life' 'naive about the world' but I would argue that your experience at Newman is MORE real life than what media, other people, the world will tell you. It's a taste of God's plan for your life and your life in heaven. Don't let the light be clouded. Get a support group!
Second, like I said earlier, your relationship with God IS more important than any job, grade, promotion, even other relationships. Don't forget a long-term, heavenly perspective! Many saints have been poor, uneducated, single, lost status or jobs, spoken against mainstream culture, because God truly matters most.
I wish you all the best. Keep fighting the good fight.
Sarah + Ethan Alton
What years were you a student at OSU?
Sarah: 2010 - 2014
Ethan: 2010-2014
What year(s) were you a member/participant of the Newman center at OSU?
Sarah: 2010-2014
Ethan: 2012-2014
What did you major in at OSU?
Sarah: Civil Engineering
Ethan: Civil Engineering
Where do you work now? What is your current job title/role?
Sarah: Tualatin Valley Water District - Engineering Associate
Ethan: Structural Engineer
What have you done since graduating and leaving the Newman center? What's going on in your life now?
Sarah: After graduating OSU, Ethan and I got married and moved to Tigard, OR. We both started our careers in engineering. We later bought a house and moved to Beaverton. We have been keeping busy with our son, Benjamin, who was born in 2018. And, with our pets, Gus & Barley.
What were the most memorable retreats/experiences/events from your time at the Newman Center and why?
Sarah: My favorite experience at the Newman Center was the Thursday student mass. It was a great time to quiet the week and refocus on God.
Ethan: Participating in Fragua, both as a participant and a leader. These courses and the retreats facilitated major steps in my spiritual growth and helped me participate in a ministry for the first time.
Has anything you gained or learned from the Newman center helped or benefited you in life now? If so, how has it helped?
Sarah: Learning to worship and study faith in a small group. We have been able to continue this on in our life and it's been such a great blessing.
Ethan: It gave me the first solid foundation of faith. I was relatively apathetic in my faith right up the the end of high school. Newman hit my life at the right time to help me establish a strong and lasting love of God.
Do you have an important memory, special spiritual moment, or funny story from your time at OSU Newman center to share?
Sarah: A funny memory for me was when Fr. Teo was a seminarian and he told us in one of his talks to get a bazooka to shoot the pagans with. I think it was in respect to the New Evangelization... But it was still memorable.
Another great memory was when Fr. Ivan came to visit (before he came back to Corvallis), and had an impromptu discussion about creating Christendom.
Ethan: One time Teo had us watch the Key and Peele sketch "Intercity Substitute Teacher" at the Newman Center. We got part way through and Teo left. Shortly after Fr. Ignacio walks in right as some adult language is used in the video. We had assumed the video was safe because Teo told us to watch it. He set us up!
What is one piece of advice would you give current OSU Newman college students?
Sarah: Don't be afraid to love your faith out loud. The friendships you form at the Newman Center are strong and you have a great support system here.
Ethan: Have a plan to maintain a faith community after college. Newman provides such great support that it can be a shock stepping out of that environment. Know what other people from Newman are in your area, and get involved with your churches ministries right away. If you try to wait until you feel settled in, you'll never do it.