I have heard of so many students hating their college experience and I was terrified that would be me, but thankfully I have almost all positive experiences and have reaffirmed my decision to come here many different times.

Here are a few reasons that SNC has been the perfect choice for me over the past four years.

Location

I had heard time and time again to move away for college and get out of your hometown. While I do think that there is importance to that, I feel the close distance to home was perfect for me. Throughout the four years, I was still able to attend all the major events that happened at home and at school and also had the benefit of only having to be gone a few hours at a time. This meant I didn’t have to pack a bag or bring anything home, I could just go back to school and sleep in my bed there. If I was homesick or wanted to see a friend from home, I could accomplish this fairly easily.

I will say I am more than thankful that my parents respected my boundaries and I really did not see them very often, maybe once or twice a month. I know some people can’t say the same and staying closer to home would not be safe or good for their mental health.

St. Norbert feels like its own little community and even though it is right next to Green Bay, it felt very different from my younger experiences. I was still exposed to many different beliefs and people raised much differently than me.

My Major

One of the main things I knew when I came to SNC was I did not want a huge major and lecture hall classes. Luckily for me, my major is one of the smaller ones. I feel like I’ve learned so much more and enjoyed my classes because they were the size they are and the department became more like a family than a group of classmates. I am sure most of that has Dr. McVey and Dr. Pankratz to thank for how much time and energy they put into making the students more like their children.

The Catholic Faith

Another huge reason I decided to come to SNC was the fact that it was Catholic. Now although there have been some ups and downs in how this was represented at the college, the opportunities of faith I now had were astronomically more than before. I was now able to go to Mass upwards of 8 times a week if I didn’t have class, I could go to Adoration which I didn’t even know about before college, and participate in a Catholic Women’s group. My favorite Mass of the week happens on Wednesday nights at 8pm and it is comprised of all students. Getting to worship and attend Mass with friends is such a unique experience and there is nothing like hearing 25 young adults singing the Mass parts or praise and worship together.

I’ve also met so many amazing people who are involved with the parish and some who are not who aren’t afraid to talk about their faith and dive deep into the tough questions together. I’ve had talks about my faith with almost everyone I’ve encountered at the college from professors, bosses, coworkers, and other staff members. Only at a school like SNC can you grab dinner with any of your professors on a random day and learn their life story and their faith life at the college.

Coming from a variety of public schools my whole life, I was so thankful to see the abundance of Catholic life happening on campus. With that being said, it is easy to miss if you aren’t looking for it. So if I would not have been as solidly in my faith as I was coming to college, I am not sure how involved I would have been.

Jobs on Campus

This isn’t a reason I chose St. Norbert, but I think it is one of the reasons I quickly felt at home and continued to fall in love. The past four years working for Academic Technology have been some of the highlights of my time here. The staff and my coworkers always help me to laugh and bring a smile to my face. Through the position, I have been able to present at several conferences, grow in leadership, and most importantly gain a few more friends. I am forever thankful that I applied for a position freshman year because of the incredible opportunities it brought me.

My time at SNC may be ending, but I am so excited I get to now be a proud alum and stand on the sidelines cheering the next classes of Green Knights on. No matter where I go, SNC will have a special place in my heart and be the source of so many beautiful memories. Thank you SNC for the best four years of my life so far and a countless amount of memories and new friends.

Here is a quick rundown of a few of the events that have happened since the start of the semester.

Dottie’s Birthday Party

At the beginning of February, I got to go and see my goddaughter Dottie for her first birthday party. Dad and I made her a step stool to help out in the kitchen. I loved being able to see her again and meeting her younger sister Monica for the first time!

Confirmation Mass

I was able to go home a few times over the semester, mainly for some church events. One of my favorite events of the year is Prince of Peace’s confirmation Mass and I was honored to be able to play again this year.

Senior Wine Tasting

One of the most fun events of senior year so far has been Senior Wine Tasting. It was a great night to get dressed up and celebrate the past four years with friends and college staff and faculty.

Last Spring Break

A couple of weeks ago was my last spring break. I didn’t have any plans and mainly spent the week relaxing and catching up on homework, especially my senior capstone project. However, I also was able to take some time to see my family, Dottie and the Sember family and my church family.

Nothing but Gratitude

Each day it is starting to get more and more real that graduation is right around the corner and to be honest, that is terrifying. However, over the past few weeks instead of feeling sad or scared, I have felt nothing but gratitude for the past four years and the incredible experiences I have been able to have.

The People

The main thing that will stick with me for years after graduation is the incredible people that I have met. From my roommates to coworkers and bosses to club members, I consider them all friends and they will be the hardest goodbyes come May.

My Faith

Coming to college I was more than scared that I would not be able to develop my faith to the level that I wanted, but I am thankful that I have had the opposite experience. Last week, I was able to attend a Catholic event between college and high school students at Notre Dame and although I didn’t go to NDA for high school, it brought back a lot of reminders of the pain I had in high school surrounding my faith. I am so glad just four years later so much is different and I am able to authentically enjoy my faith with those around me.

My Job Offer

I am excited to announce I was offered a full-time position at WEC Energy Group (the parent company of WPS) on their IT Customer Service Digital Team. I have loved my internship at WEC and I’m ecstatic to start my position come June!

If you would have told me I would be in the position I am currently with incredible friends, deeper faith, graduating with the highest honors, and my dream job offer, at the start of college, I don’t know if I would believe you. I really wish I could go back and tell younger Cassie how amazing her life is now and I really hope she would be proud of the person I am today.

There will be many reflections to come, but I do not think words will ever begin to express the journey that the past four years have been.

Let’s Rewind

The first twelve weeks of the semester have flown by. They have been filled with many hours of homework, but mainly fun times with friends especially my roommates. Some events have included a variety of Chiara events, SNC day, pumpkin picking, bowling, playing tennis, the last home football game, Halloween, escape rooms, and more!

Now to Present Day

Over the past semester, I have had the honor to be the president of three clubs Chiara (the Catholic Womens Group), Computer Science Club, and Women in STEM. Most days being the president of three clubs was a bit overwhelming, but at the end of the semester, I am officially done. This week, I unofficially finished out my three presidencies as there are newly elected boards for each three. Each club has a special place in my heart, and I’m so thankful that I was given the opportunity to lead them.

The one that has impacted me the most has easily been the Catholic Womens Group, Chiara. I was unexpectedly placed as president last January, and I could never have imagined the impact the club would have on my life and also my relationship with God. I can’t express how thankful I am for the incredible woman that have become some of my best friends. I am excited for one last semester with them but saying goodbye will be hard for sure.

I can’t wait for the next few weeks to finish out my last fall semester of college. It still hasn’t sunk in that I am graduating soon, but each passing day, that reality tends to seep a bit closer to the front of my mind.

Meet the Roommates

From left to right, there is Lauren, the person I met on day one of college and I won’t let her leave me now, Nicole, who is the only reason I passed my math minor and the one always there to witness my brain fried, and Katie, my freshman roommate turned best friend.

A quick overview of my room

Here are a few images of my room in Gries! It happens to be a mix of my past three years all put into one.

There’s a quick view of my room this year! I love being able to relax with my roommates after long days of classes and work and can’t wait for the rest of the semester and this year.

Spring Semester 2021

College in the middle of Covid has been a very different experience but I am so thankful I have been able to have a decently normal end to junior year.

Mass for the Feast of St. Joseph

This Mass was easily one of the highlights of my Junior year. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience and a beautiful memory that I will cherish. This Mass was held on campus at the National Shrine of St. Joseph on the Feast of St. Joseph during the year of St. Joseph which was nationally broadcast on EWTN.

Chiara

2021 started off in a shocking way and thrust me into being the president of the Catholic Women’s group Chiara. Although unexpected, this has been one of the biggest blessings of my college career. The three other people that pulled me through the rest of the semester and always supported me were the other officers: Abby, Ali, and Faith. These women and many more inspire me daily and always remind me to make sure the club is about the Lord and never me.

Art Coursework

I was in two different art courses this past spring: Digital Studio and Design for the Web.

Below is my final project for Digital Studio which recalled the history of video games from 1971 to the present by recreating their start screen on what appears to be the command prompt.

Design for the Web focused on adapting and updating my personal website. While there is still work to be done, I’m excited to see how far it has come.

You can visit my website here.

Dottie Jo’s Baptism

This day had to be the highlight of my junior year (and possibly all of college). I had the absolute blessing of witnessing Dottie Jo’s baptism and officially becoming a Godmother. I can’t wait to watch her grow up and develop her own personal relationship with the Lord.

Summer 2021

I had a fairly busy summer working two jobs and also preparing for senior year. But, I also had some time for fun and a bit of rest before the craziness of the semester.

Working for WPS

Over the summer I had the amazing opportunity to have an internship on one of the IT Application teams for WPS. It was a very different experience having a hybrid position but enjoyed the bit of normalcy it provided.

Poss-Wroble Archive Fellowship

My other job for the summer focused on creating a website for the SNC Math Department catologing the history of undergraduate research projects. This was another excuse to make a website and was a really fun way to learn about some of the history of research in the math department.

You can view the website here.

Visiting Dottie

By far my favorite part of my summer was getting to visit Dottie (and Tara, Rachel, and Ben of course). It was amazing to see how much she has grown over the short amount of time and I can’t wait to get to see her again.

My Prince of Peace Family

Always a highlight of my time at home is coming back to my choir family and friends at Prince of Peace. They have shaped so much of my faith life and it’s always such a joy to be back home. No matter what happens after graduation, I always know I will have a home at Prince of Peace.

Fall Semester 2021

This past week started the fall semester for 2021 and I’m so excited to be back with some of my best friends. This semester I am in Event Programming in Windows (Android Programming), Programming Lanuages, Advertising Design, and Enviornment and Society. It will be a busy semester for sure, but I’m excited as well!

Move-In

I (finally) got to move onto campus on Friday, August 27th, and had a few days to relax and enjoy time with my roommates and other campus activities including the back-to-school picnic and fireworks on Sunday evening. A full room tour will be coming soon!

Last First Day of Classes

Monday was officially my last first day of classes of my undergrad and possibly forever. This year will be bittersweet for sure, but I’m doing my best to enjoy each moment and all of the ‘lasts’ that are coming with it.

One quote I have come back to lately has been incredibly important to me:

Listen to the voice calling you beloved

Henri J.M. Nouwen 

This quote led to the creation of my newest art piece over break.

Beloved is a strong contender for my favorite word in the Bible. I love the reminder it brings every time I read it: I am deeply and dearly loved by God. Also, no matter how I feel about anyone else, they are also deeply beloved.

I also have begun to see the word beloved instead as “be-loved”. When days are hard, I need to take time to relax and be held by my Heavenly Father and the Holy Family.

My deepest identity has and always will be as a beloved daughter of God. This art piece is a great simple reminder to look at each morning when I wake up and each night when I go to bed.

With all of the noise in the world, take some time to focus on the voice calling you His beloved daughter or son.

First Semester

Fall Semester was easily the hardest semester academically that I have been through. I was taking two very hard (and extremely different) math courses and a course in what was the most confusing language ever for me to understand for Computer Science. On top of those I was also in theology which required a lot more reading than I was ready for; I’m also very bad at understanding theological books, so it was another layer of challenge. There were many long nights and so many hours studying in GMS and doing math homework in the basement.

However, some of my favorite memories happened when we were all sleep-deprived, covered in homework, and just so slap happy. Here are my top 10 memories from that fall semester:

1. Kairos Retreat at the Abbey
2. Chiara Praise and Worship Adoration Night
3. Pushing each other with roller chairs down the GMS basement after too many hours of doing Calc homework
4. Reboot with Chris Stefanick
5. Katie’s birthday at Red Lobster
6. Going to the Abbey for Kylie’s birthday for Mass and pizza afterward
7. Olive Garden with Maria and Blues Clues
8. Sun peering through the church windows while singing the Divine Mercy Chaplet
9. Magic School Bus Marathons (almost) every Monday with popcorn
10. All the Knight Masses and Dales

and so many more moments of crazy pure laughter, joy, and even a few tears with friends.

January Break

I had a lot of fun experiences during the six-week break between the semesters including going back to work at Schreiber!

Other memories include visiting Kelsey and Leah in West Bend and going to Holy Hill, making gingerbread cookies with Eleanor, and making so many rosaries. During this break, I was able to binge-listen(?) to the entire Blessed is She podcast called “The Gathering Place” which has revolutionized my relationship with Jesus and my faith life.

It was a great mini “break” between semesters and a way to refocus my mind before hitting the books again.

Second Semester

As we all know, these past few months have brought us into a whole new set of challenges. I’m going to break the semester up to two different parts because it was two very different experiences. I don’t know if I have any major memories from this semester (sadly most of them were canceled), but here’s a bit of a recap.

The first half of the semester (pre mid-March) was going amazing. I was loving my classes, especially computer science, and was starting to develop some great new friendships. Compared to the first semester, I had so much free time and was really able to grow my faith relationship. It was the first semester that I was able to daily mass and on average spent over twelve hours a week in church. Getting to spend so much time on my relationship with Jesus was truly the highlight of my semester and I loved every minute of it (especially Adoration).

Then suddenly everything changed. In the course of two days my world was flipped upside down. We were being sent home, everything was closing, and so many fun events I was looking forward to were cancelled. Honestly, it was originally such a rough transition. I went from not coming home for spring break because I was supposed to be in South Carolina, to living solely at home and not really leaving the house for the past two months with not much end in sight.

I am very thankful for all that I have and especially that I have a loving family and home to safely come back to; however, this doesn’t mean it was all sunshine and flowers. If you have known me over the past two years, you probably know how much I love St. Norbert with all my heart. During breaks, I am usually counting down the days until I get to go back and see my friends again. So being taken from this environment, especially all the seniors I so deeply love, it took a while to accept and get used to.

Also, online learning is just so different. I took a few online classes during summer in high school and I didn’t love it, but it gave me the opportunity to take other courses I did love during the school year. I am so blessed to love my professors and my classmates and having class without physically being with them was harder than I was anticipating. All my professors did an incredible job with all the work they put in making the transition to online delivery so smooth.

The course that really surprised me this semester was Computer Graphics. Personally, it went better when I was at home versus on campus. I was able to put a bit more effort and work into each project with the extra time I had. The last project was completely up to us and I loved the illustration project so I decided to represent each member of the Holy Family in their own drawings. I spent hours at a time creating them and I just got lost in the design and loved it. You can see the final projects in the header image for the post and I’m super happy with how they each turned out!

Overall, it isn’t the semester I was expecting, but I was able to make the best of (almost) everyday. Not everyday was easy, but I did it! We made it! I can’t wait to (hopefully) be back on campus in the fall with my favorite people.

The biggest change over the past two years has been the development of my faith and especially over the past semester. Looking back two years ago to when I graduated high school, I feel like a completely different person and so much of that is due to falling in love with Jesus more and more each day.

I have loved going to church for a long time, but before college, I think it was more of for a social aspect. Community is a big part of the Catholic Church, but there is so much more. I’m so thankful for a college and so many Catholic communities and resources that have opened my eyes to the so much more that there is.

So many people lose their faith in college because they are no longer forced to go; however, just like the rest of my life, I’ve never been ordinary. I’m so thankful for incredible church families both at home in Prince of Peace and at school in St. Norbert College Parish. Above all, thank you to my incredible friends who push me to a life of holiness each day and help me to fall in love with Jesus more and more.

Each step in the journey isn’t easy; however, it’s possible with Jesus right next to me. Looking back on my life, there are so many moments I thought it was impossible to go on, but looking back, Jesus was right next to me for all of it and protecting me for how much worse it could have been. Without His love, it would have been impossible.

If you would have told me what my life looks like now back when I graduated high school two years ago, honestly even at the beginning of the semester, I probably would have laughed while secretly hoping you were right. A Psalm verse has really stuck out to me recently “Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105). We don’t get a five year plan from God, and as seemingly nice as that would be, I feel like I would try to follow it so closely I wouldn’t live or I would try to mess it up. But we do get the next step. He lights up the path to give us the next step. Sometimes we need to step out into uncertainty.

I’ve been reflecting on all the incredible experiences that I have had during my time at St. Norbert and how many things went into those experiences that led us to that point. The biggest examples I have of this are my best friends and roommates along with different jobs and presentations I have gotten a chance to work for and attend. How many little and big moments that went into our paths crossing and us deciding to live together or down the hall or in the same major. God truly has put so many incredible people in my life from St. Norbert and I’m so thankful.

Here is a quote that I think perfectly sums up my college career so far:

I’m not where I want to be, but thank God I’m not where I used to be

Joyce Meyer

I will forever be grateful for these past two years and how much I have grown and developed thanks to so many caring and loving people in my life. I can’t wait to be back at my second home in fall with some of my favorite people!

It is no secret that there is a lot of uncertainty and despair in the world right now and times are hard. For a long time, I have kept most of this story hidden from the world because I never really know how I will be received after being so vulnerable. In all honesty, I’m terrified to even scrape the surface. This is by no means perfect, but I hope you get to know a bit more about my journey and just have hope that Jesus can and will save you too.

The short story, Jesus Christ saves my life with his love in each and every moment and I can’t stay quiet any longer.

Does this mean every moment of my life has been perfect? Far from it, but I know he is with me in every moment.

From the Beginning

I was raised as a “cradle Catholic” and went to Mass every Saturday. I journeyed through many years of religion class and was always the “know-it-all” just because I went to Mass on the weekends. Yet in reality, I knew maybe a grain of sand of what the Catholic faith ever had to offer.

Falling in Love with Jesus

For me, falling in love with Jesus was very much a journey, there wasn’t one moment that I just knew. The first major step in this long journey was joining the Spirit Choir at my church  Prince of Peace right before I started seventh grade. Middle school was rough to me, as it is to almost everyone. But, the ability to have the backbone of so many friends who shared my faith was such a comfort to me. They helped me through so many moments in my life and they were truly sent by God. There are honestly no words to ever thank them enough because they showed me the love of Jesus in such a new and unique way through every moment I spent with them.

High School and Friendships

For most of my life, I had struggled to develop strong friendships; I felt like I just floated from person to person. High school was one of the first times I felt ridiculed for my faith. The ridicule mostly included some simple jokes from time to time, but over time, these “jokes” really started to make me question my faith. During junior year, I started to wear a cross necklace and my Confirmation ring which was the biggest step of faith- and it was terrifying. But that necklace and ring were such comforts during hard times, I just knew God was always with me. I went to a very public high school and I’m thankful for many of those experiences, but I was in a Bible Study club for three years with only four people in it. This may seem normal, but we had over two thousand people go to my high school so percentages weren’t great.

During the end of junior year, I felt like I had finally found a friend group and I tried to latch onto them for dear life. Overall, Jesus showed me (in a very painful way) that we weren’t a match for each other forever and it was better if we weren’t friends long term. That realization culminated the week before my high school graduation and the night before my 18th birthday. It is still really hard for me to think about. It has led to a long journey of forgiveness for all those involved.

The Struggles in my Life

There have been many little struggles that I have dealt with daily. However, there have also been a few struggles that have been a bit bigger in my life. I just shared some of my friendship struggles. These really led to me feel alone for much of my life and to have a lot of major trust issues with friends. Possibly the biggest struggle I have dealt with is my negativity and my bouts of depression. For so many years I was enslaved to the image I had of myself and the world. For many that met me, my deep sadness was one of the first things they saw. This pains me so much to write because I know how hard I was trying to be happy, and I felt like no one ever saw it – that they only saw my sadness and not how hard I was trying to be happy, that they could see who I really was. This sadness and obsession with what others thought of me chained me to the world through the thrones of habitual sin and Jesus is breaking those chains every day. He has cleansed my mind and continues to show me in each moment to look to him so he can show me how he sees me, perfectly as his beloved daughter. He has saved me and he can and will save you. I feel like such a burden has been lifted off my shoulders and I can smile now that I have accepted his grace in my life. Believe me, there are still hard days, but it is so much easier when I give it all to God.

College Life

For so many, college is a time to fall away from the faith. You are away from parents, make your own decisions, and honestly never have to go to church anymore. However, like many places in my life, I was a bit different. I embraced the ability to go to a Catholic college and ran with it. I loved going to Mass during the weekend and also Wednesday nights with just students. I had never been in a place with so many young adults who loved the Lord and wanted to go to Mass together. It became such a place of fellowship and friendship. About halfway through freshman year, I was introduced to the beauty of Adoration. I have met so many incredible friends that truly know me (and love me even because they know me). Daily, they remind me of Jesus’ unconditional love for me.

Since I had the ability to live literally connected to the church this year, I spent many hours of my weeks in church just laying on the floor in front of the Tabernacle just talking to Jesus like he was sitting right there (because he is). I’ve had the ability to be on the executive board for Chiara, the Catholic women’s group on campus and am inspired so deeply by each one of them. My hope and joy of each day is found in Jesus and even in rough moments, I felt so consoled by him and he just gave me the ability to smile. Each day I want to spend more and more time with Jesus and so many moments I spend with others bring me back to his love. So many nights are spent laughing with friends until we can’t breathe or crying at the pure beauty of friendship and the Lord.

Fast Forward to Today

Okay so maybe about a month ago. I was honestly at the top of the world in my life. I was really enjoying (most of) my classes and was having a really healthy balance of school, faith, and work. I was able to go Mass at least seven times a week, was preparing for a service trip over spring break in South Carolina, had the ability to go on a silent retreat over the Triduum at the Abbey, I was starting to plan a retreat for our Catholic women’s group for April, I was deepening some incredible faith friendships, and many other things were going so well and in the course of a week, most of that all came crashing down. Suddenly, I was being sent home until August because of the Corona Virus and navigating online classes away from my best friends and the Church I called my home. To make matters worse, now we weren’t allowed to leave the house. I went from running around over twelve hours a day to being at home with very little to do. But, I know each step in my journey is for the Lord to connect deeper to me and he knows every part of my journey. I have been forced to relax a bit this week and have been able to participate in so many incredible faith communities from across the country from live stream Mass, live Adoration, BIS VBS, and many other materials available to me.

For so many years of my life, I was so ashamed of my faith. I struggled for so long with depression and negativity and God continues to cleanse my thoughts and feelings about myself every single day to help me see him the way he sees me. Each moment of my life, he brings hope, he brings healing, he brings forgiveness, he brings happiness. I could literally go on for hours about how much I love the Lord; he is my best friend and I fall in love with him more and more deeply every single day.

Jesus wants a personal relationship with you, yes YOU.

Even though I am terrified to publish this, there is so much healing and greatness in vulnerability. Please never feel like a burden coming to me to talk about anything or if you just need a good laugh (or cry). Jesus took hold of my heart and I’m so glad he will never let go even if I don’t always feel his presence as much as I do right now. Thank you for each and every person who has supported me in each step of my journey of many mountains and many valleys, I look forward to continuing my journey through the ups and downs of life with you all as we travel with the Lord!