UT-Chattanooga student joins others at event ‘yearning for what God was calling all of us to do’
By Maggie Parsons
I joined 16,000 other Catholics in Columbus, Ohio, Jan. 1-5 for the annual SEEK26 conference to kick off the new year seeking what God had in store for me.
The SEEK conference is put on by FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, whose goal is to keep college students alive for their faith while still balancing college life. I was invited to SEEK by the FOCUS missionaries at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where I currently attend. It was there that I was given the invitation to participate in the SEEK conference, and I became instantly interested.
I traveled to Columbus with 20 other students from my school and our four missionaries. As I sat on the bus, I felt a sense of gratitude as I was surrounded by college students choosing to travel on New Year’s Day for eight hours on a bus all yearning for what God was calling of us to do.
As we arrived in Columbus, we were welcomed with bustling crowds everywhere as 16,000 Catholics settled into the city. The first thing on the agenda was celebrating Mass together in the Greater Columbus Convention Center, the high point of the conference every day. In the procession of Mass each day, hundreds of priests, seminarians, and bishops from across the country participated in the procession, displaying that shining light for each college student in the representation of their faith. It personally was a beautiful scene for me to witness each day as they all were together in communion with one another.
One of the most exciting things I experienced at SEEK was a message following Mass from our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV. Something that made that special was that a pope had never given a message to SEEK participants before. It was beautiful to hear him talk specifically to us college students and care about our faith journey so intentionally.
Students from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga turned out in full for the SEEK26 conference in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo courtesy Maggie Parsons)
Another thing that was enjoyable each evening was being able to listen to two featured keynote speakers for the night. The keynoters were usually well-known Catholic authors, speakers, religious, etc. Each keynote speaker would bring his or her own experience and connection; it was beautiful to learn how the keynoters have their own journey of faith and how each of us can learn from them.
The bulk of full conference days were all set up similarly. We were able to start the day in prayer, praying the rosary together, followed by celebrating Mass together each day. Having Mass as the first big group event of the day was personally a great way to be in communion with each other, a nice reminder of how Christ calls each of us to have that with each other and Himself.
Following Mass each day, I participated in the large women’s concurrent session where I was able to learn the importance of my identity as a daughter of God and how I should not jeopardize that, especially when navigating life in college. I listened to other women’s testimonies on their own personal journeys and how I might apply that to my life. It was a beautiful way for me to be able to understand my identity in college and how important I am in the eyes of my Heavenly Father.
Following our concurrent session each morning, we attended various breakout sessions covering a wide range of topics. Each session was designed to help you learn valuable things in your faith in day-to-day life. I picked my breakout sessions based on what I wanted to grow in my faith life or anything I wanted to deepen my knowledge about.
One of the breakout sessions I was most interested in was the Bible study master class. In this session, I learned the ins and outs of starting my own Bible study at my college campus. I learned from someone who was in the same shoes I am in now, navigating their faith in college but wanting to reach out to others who should hear about the faith. This session helped me not only to learn the steps to initiate my own Bible study but also how to not be discouraged by the number of people who show up. Instead, what means more are the quality of what you are putting into the Bible study and the intention of those who participate.
Other breakout sessions I participated in included various topics like eucharistic miracles, where I learned what that means to the Church and the beauty of those who witnessed them. In other breakouts, I learned the importance of the well-being of the whole human person—body, mind, and soul. I was able to grow in my knowledge of the importance of treating myself as a temple of the Holy Spirit because God loves each one of us so deeply and wants what is best for us, and how we must take care of ourselves as a reflection of that.
One of the most beautiful things I participated in at SEEK on night three was eucharistic adoration. All 16,000 Catholics from college students to FOCUS missionaries to even families were witnesses to God’s love shining brightly through the Holy Eucharist in the monstrance. In adoration, as the priest processed to each row of those in attendance, I reconnected with the Lord and truly felt how deep His love is for me, a reminder of that relationship He desires with each person and how worthy I am of that love.
In participating in SEEK, I not only reconnected with fellow young Catholics like myself with whom I have shared my faith journey but also met new people on a similar faith journey as me navigating college life. It is inspiring to encounter those who choose to take the path to deepen their faith and who are there for you as you strive for the same thing.
SEEK helped me and others from college campuses all across the country join together to bring what we each have from our own campus to share with others and then take what we learned back to our campus to spread the God’s Word even more.
SEEK taught me the importance of being a disciple of Christ and what that can look like as a college student. I pray that I am able to take the initiative in my faith with those on my college campus so that they might encounter Christ in the relationship He desires with us.