Danica Ceballos/The Mirror
From the jolly laugh of one Jesuit to the listening skills of another, the transition in directors of Campus Ministry taking place at the end of the school year provides an opportunity for Campus Ministry to continue its outreach work to the student body.
As mentioned previously in The Mirror, Rev. George Collins, S.J. will be the new Director of Campus Ministry when Rev. Michael Doody, S.J. steps down at the end of the school year.
“Campus Ministry is in good shape. I’d like to focus on diversity of Campus Ministry and being more involved campus wide… not that it hasn’t been already, but I want all students to feel that way,” said Collins when discussing his future position.
According to Doody, when he became director of Campus Ministry, he had an “awkward arrival” due to a predecessor that left unwillingly. However, Doody had experience as a director before and eventually eased into it.
One of his biggest projects was to fix the “unattractive physical plant,” explained Doody. With gray walls and dirty carpet, Doody realized that making Campus Ministry more attractive to students had to be done both figuratively and physically.
Doody described Campus Ministry as originally “gloomy and uninviting.” The first six months of his job as director were spent cleaning up and painting the building.
Soon after the renovations, Doody explained that Campus Ministry changed. “I am delighted with what has happened in the last six years,” said Doody.
Doody admitted that being director was difficult at times. “I don’t want to do budgets. I don’t want to plead my case. I don’t want to ask for money, and I don’t want to hire and fire people. I’ve done that,” he said. “I’d like to work with students and not have to deal with everything else.”
During his sabbatical, Doody will work in Brixton, London and travel to Florence and Rome where he will participate in his yearly retreat. He will then go to Duke University for a month to attend a weight loss clinic.
For the remainder of his sabbatical, during the months of October, November and December, Doody will live four blocks away from Central Park in the city. He hopes to attend all of the movies and shows that he can, while working on his fitness with his personal trainer.
Many students are excited for Collins to take over; however, they said that Doody leaving his position is a sad loss.
“Fr. Doody is a great guy. Over the years he has brought a lot to the University community,” said Brian Cleary ’14. “If you are a resident of Gonzaga Hall, you should take the time to meet him because he will help you grow as a person.”
“I do admire his dedication to the Kairos community. I hope he stays involved,” said Emily Skudrzyk ’14.
When discussing the transition of directors, both Doody and Collins referred to the changed as a “great opportunity.”
“Fr. Collins is here and ready for it,” said Doody. “He is the natural successor with high energy. He’ll make this place fly.”
Collins explained that his goal is to reach out to students of all faiths and help them on their spiritual journeys. By visiting other campuses to study their programs, Collins hopes to build on the foundation that Doody has set. Within the next few weeks, Collins will move into his office at Campus Ministry.
A newcomer to Fairfield, Collins spent the last four years studying in California. He was ordained in June 2010, and originally being from Boston, he was excited to be back on the east coast.
“I became a Jesuit because, even though people said I had a great life, I had everything external standard wise, but I felt like something was missing,” said Collins. He explained that he wanted to work with a group of people dedicated to mission work and thus, joined the Jesuit order.
By addressing his purpose as director of Campus Ministry, Collins hopes to guide students and inspire them to think beyond their four years at Fairfield. “Education at Fairfield would be incomplete without considering what’s next. Students should desire to make a big difference,” said Collins.
Collins encourages students to discuss ideas for future Campus Ministry activities with him in order to help students on their paths of spiritual development.
Leave a Reply