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By Jimmy Hissong
THE BATTALION
Since January, Jonathan Demma, a
junior computer engineering major, has
not enjoyed his bedroom in the same
manner as he did when he was younger.
His evenings are spent curled in slum
ber on the bare floor alongside his bed.
His stereo, PDA and other elec
tronic accumulations of affluence have
been carefully stowed within his closet.
Demma’s sacrifice of comfort and the
depletion of his personal possessions
are in preparation for a lifelong jour
ney of servitude he will embark, upon
beginning Sept. 8.
Like other college students, Demma
is currently taking actions that will lay
the foundation for the path of his pro
fessional life. But the considerations of
salary and a sound retirement package
have managed to stray from his list
of occupational benefits. Demma is
among a handful of college students
who will pursue a life of servitude in
commitment to the Christian faith.
“Growing up, my family always
lived very comfortably,” Demma said.
“I was happy, but never really took the
time to concentrate on the things that
made me that way.”
On a trip to Toronto, Demma
encountered a Franciscan Order from
New York and the chance to question
his own motivations for happiness.
“Through prayer and deprivation, 1
found that money and the things I had
were not the sources of joy in my life,”
Demma said.
The Franciscans’ embrace of poverty
mirrors Demma’s beliefs regarding pos
sessions and happiness. Franciscan monks
are forbidden a multitude of belongings
including monetary currency of any fonn.
They possess only woolen robes and
a pair of sandals, aiming to live as the
destitute population they service.
Franciscan Brothers concentrate on
relaying their messages of penance and
prayer through outlets with audience
appeal. Plans have already been made
for Demma to bring his musical talent
and juggling skills north to do outreach
for the order of Franciscans Demma
plans to join and serve. His guitar will
become property of the community.
The choices made by Demma stand
as a striking contrast to the typical
formula of American life. Childhood
leads to college. College leads to a
career. The cycle is so familiar that
Demma said he may not have strayed
without driving faith and the support of
family and friends.
“College is frequently a time when
individuals question many aspects of
their lives. Among them is religion,” said
Mary Walker of the Catholic Press.
Rachael Harmon, a biomedical sci
ence graduate, said she struggled to
find her place during her undergraduate
education. A childhood love of animals
motivated her to attain the veterinary
career she thought she wanted, but a
spiritual retreat during her sophomore
year urged her to contemplate another
lifestyle choice.
“I was staring at a tapestry when I
heard a voice clearly in my head call
ing me to be with him,” Harmon said.
“God was calling.”
In a rapid attempt to pay off her
accrued scholastic expenses, Harmon
moved home and got a job. Harmon
said she prepared herself to enter a con
vent by visiting a number of them.
“You have to make sure the convent
is right for you, and you are right for
the convent,” Harmon said.
However, the extended time period
involved in convent selection and applica
tion allowed Harmon a chance to recon
sider her decision to leave the University.
Harmon said she realized the importance
of both a bachelor's degree and the explo-
Graphic by: Will Lloyd • THE BATTALION
ration of faith. She graduated this spring
and will begin her postulancy within the
Camolite of the Divine Church of Jesus
in St. Louis, Mo. this fall.
“Universities grounded in ritual and
tradition infer a sense of character and
service in students that coincides with
Christianity and religion,” Walker said.
While Bruno Perossa, a graduate
student with a degree in modern and
classical languages, has no official min
istry title yet, he has already discovered
the potential of the University system
as a mechanism through which to teach
ministry. Perossa spreads his faith dur
ing the summer and attends school dur
ing the academic year. Perossa has been
involved in a number of University
outreach programs that have taken him
to Italy and now Peru. Perossa said he
plans to continue to share the teach
ings of the Bible with undergraduate
students around the world.
Jason Blackwelder received a
degree in finance from A&M in the
spring of 2003. Following graduation,
Blackwelder entered a seminary in pur
suit of his faith. After a year within the
seminary, he said he can relate to the
positions which each of these students
finds themselves.
Blackwelder said he studied finance
as a means of attaining what he believed
was important at the time: success.
“I went to school to get a job to get
money to be successful,” Blackwelder
said. “But I never really found the clo
sure I wanted in my studies. I thought
I lacked a sense of purpose. It wasn’t
until my junior year that I even thought
of a seminary as a possibility. It was
then that I felt I owed it to myself and
God to at least consider it.”
Though most students won't pursue
a career in religion, many agree that it
is an integral part of everyday life.
“People can find out a lot about them
selves through solitude,” Blackwelder said.
“Everyone should find the time to quiet the
televisions and distractions in their lives
for a little time each day to at least look.”
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