June 6, 2023 // Diocese

Students Keep Faith Life Active While Home from College

Lisa Kochanowski

Assistant Editor/Reporter

The life of a college student is filled with routines, outings with friends, late-night study sessions, and lots of Door Dash. Summer begins, and while students are elated at the chance to slow things down and enjoy some downtime, after a few weeks, they find loneliness for the social interactions of college life. One way to combat that angst is participating in the College Crew Ministry in South Bend, a program for both young adults who are home for the summer and for students who are staying at their local universities for jobs, classes, and internships.

Lisa Kochanowski
College Crew South Bend kicked off their 2023 summer series on Tuesday, May 30, with volleyball, a cookout, and night prayer at St. Pius X in Granger.

“I started working at St. Pius about five years ago in youth ministry. Throughout the last several years, I have built relationships with so many young people who have graduated from high school and went off to college. When they returned home from school, there was no ministry for them in the area,” said organizer Brittany Tull, Faith Formation Associate at St. Pius X in Granger.

Tull said the student would come home to their families, but feel a little out of place. “Outside of their families and seasonal jobs, there wasn’t really anything for them in the South Bend area. I did some digging and found that the campus ministry programs at all of the local Catholic colleges also stop for the summer. I realized this was an opportunity to help these young people reconnect with the community and, for some of them, reconnect with their faith.”

That’s when Tull had an idea. “I saw the good work that College Crew was doing in Fort Wayne and decided to replicate it and bring it to our people in South Bend.”

The group kicked off the summer on Tuesday, May 30, with volleyball, a cookout, and evening prayer. Upcoming events include Eucharistic exposition with praise and worship, stories of the saints with Meg Hunter-Kilmer, a talk about life as a pilgrimage
with JP Lichon from Verso Ministries, a segment about living your faith in college with Father Gabe Griggs, and learning more about faith and mental health with Beth Hlabse, MS, LMHCA.

“I hope that College Crew provides a space in which faith-based friendships are formed,” notes Tull. “I also hope that the participants at College Crew might feel at home within the Church and find a great space to grow in their faith.”

All events are hosted at St. Pius X in Granger, and a listing can be found on Instagram at @collegecrewsb and Facebook at College Crew South Bend. Students can also be included on a distribution list by emailing [email protected].