Harvey Scholar Travels - Trevor at SEEK 2019

SEEK 2019

I was blessed to be able to use part of my enrichment grant two and a half years ago to go on a pilgrimage to World Youth Day 2016 in Krakow, Poland. It was a life changing five weeks where we started in Southern France and ended in Krakow, Poland. We stayed in monasteries and hostels while volunteering at religious sites in Lourdes, France and Czestochowa, Poland. It was the first time I had left the United States and the first time I was really excited about my Catholic faith.

Since then, two and a half years of college has happened and although I haven’t lost my faith, I haven’t really grown in it. Several years ago I was invited to a big Catholic conference held by FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) called SEEK. I turned it down since I had to train for track in the spring and made the excuse that I didn’t have money. This year, I was invited again. This time, I didn’t have the excuse of training for track since I was recovering from Achilles surgery in December and I didn’t have the excuse of no money because I realized that I could still use my enrichment grant.

I hesitantly registered in September but had an amazing experience learning and growing in my faith while at SEEK. I was able to be vulnerable about my insecurities and my faith with those I most loved. I was able to hear inspiring Catholic speakers talk about topics that I had been wrestling with for some time. But most importantly, I was able to be with and celebrate my Catholic faith with 17,000 other college age people.

Going into the conference, I was emotionally drained. I had had Achilles surgery less than two weeks before and was in a cast and on crutches. Getting around the conference center for five days was no fun and honestly hurt quite a bit. By the end, my outlook on the conference and my situation had done a 180. Before, I didn’t want people to help me and I wanted to be independent, but as Christians and humans in general, we need to accept help sincerely and be grateful for those in our lives that want to sacrifice for us when we most need it.

The photos attached show how large the main conference hall was with some 17,000 people and me and a few other Mines students getting a picture with a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates (Trevor Williams) and a former offensive lineman for the Indianapolis Colts (Joe Reitz). Both Joe and Trevor are Catholic spoke to a small group of varsity athletes at SEEK. It was reaffirming to hear that I can be an athlete, but still be focused on following Christ and believing.

Overall, this conference was impactful intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. It has reinvigorated my faith and has allowed me to see more clearly how to be a Christian and make an impact on this world.