Testimonials:

John Boilegh remembers walking into Franciscan University in 1995 thinking he had three strikes against him: He was a local from the “rough steel town” of Steubenville, a non-traditional student at 25, and a commuter. Add to that his long hair, black leather motorcycle jacket, and interest in anthropology, what he called “a godless science at a Catholic university.” He’d been warned about the strong religious atmosphere on campus so as a non-Catholic, John expected he would not fit in. To his surprise he recalls, “I found just the opposite! I was really impressed with the ‘true Catholics.’ Everybody was really friendly, kind, and not judgmental.”John had a degree in natural resource management from another college when he took on an archaeology job with Professor Phil Fitzgibbons to excavate a local site.

United States Air Force Captain Anne Delmare ’08 didn’t arrive as a student on Franciscan’s campus until her sophomore year. That’s because she spent her freshman year taking classes 4,000 miles away.“I knew I wanted to travel and learn a new language,” says Anne, so after high school, she headed to the University of Navarra in northern Spain. There, she studied Spanish language and culture, and earned credits toward the undergraduate Spanish major she would later complete at Franciscan University. Anne also majored in business, following in the footsteps of her enterprising father and other relatives, owners of a successful family winery in Huntly, Virginia.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI says sacred music is “an audible and perceptible rendering of the truth of our faith. In listening to sacred music — suddenly we feel: it is true!”Emily Meixner ’12 experienced this revelation as a freshman at Franciscan University of Steubenville, when she recognized her passion for music and decided to pursue a degree in sacred music rather than English.“I have never regretted that decision,” she says.

In the world of multimedia, change is the only constant.  That’s why Emily Fogarty  sees the genius in Dr. Eugene Gan’s approach to teaching media technology at Franciscan University.  “He didn’t focus on learning particular software programs so much as learning how to learn a program. He kept us as current as possible and gave us all the resources to keep ourselves up to date after graduation,” recalls Emily.  She earned a BA in Multimedia Communications with minors in Film Studies and Theology. Emily now runs her own wedding photography business (www.Be-Engaged-Imagery.com) in Providence, Rhode Island.  She was a student in graphic design when Franciscan University first launched the multimedia concentration within Communication Arts. 

How do you blend business and travel with furthering respect for the dignity of the human person? Franciscan graduate Emily Ortiz has found a way to do just that. Emily is the director of Development for Generation Life, a rapidly growing, international non-profit organization whose mission is to build a culture of life through peer-to-peer education about life issues and chastity.“My job is fast-paced and keeps me on my toes, and I’m always learning,” she says, “however, I would never have been able to come into this position without the formation, both personal and professional, offered by Dr. Tilman Rusch and the International Business Program at Franciscan University.”

Her mother’s side of her family hails from Canada, so Jessica Lennon ’13 grew up hearing a lot of French.“French has been part of my life for my whole life,” says Jessica, who started her college career as a psychology major, but had an epiphany halfway through and switched her major to French.The epiphany happened after Lennon spent a semester studying abroad in Austria, where she had the chance to visit France for the first time and to use the language she grew up with in the country of its origin.

“At Franciscan, it’s possible to explore every side of a work of literature in a way other universities can’t — in the light of truth, in the full context of the author’s intent, with no fear of that exploration,” says Julia Keena. “To scholars serious about literature, that is priceless.”Julia earned her BA in Western and World Literature with a minor in writing. “The faculty here is extraordinarily helpful. They were as excited about learning as I was,” she recalls. She describes the department as being very involved in students as individuals and committed to the pure exploration of art. “It’s an intimate learning process where teachers give unique guidance,” she explains.“The big works are important to me, like Crime and Punishment. Dostoyevsky always has a special place for me.

As a communication arts major concentrating in journalism at Franciscan University, KristiMcDonald had the chance to prepare for her career with hands-on opportunities that cemented her passion for the written word.The first Franciscan student to spend a semester studying at the Washington Journalism Center in Washington, D.C., Kristi held an internship at The Washington Times. “It was the experience of a lifetime to sit in the newsroom of a real newspaper,” she says.At the national and editorial desks and later as a freelancer while still a student, Kristi covered important stories ranging from the Farm Bill to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s visit to the nation’s capital, which gave her the chance to interview some of the cardinals.

As a Franciscan University Graduate, a Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Army, and a worldwide traveler, Andrew Matwijec is living out the goals he set for himself early in life.Andrew graduated in 2010 with degrees in theology and philosophy, and a minor in German. He was a member of Franciscan’s inaugural Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) class as well. An accomplished guitarist and vocalist, he also led a Chapel Ministry music team for four years.It’s an understatement to say that he was extremely disciplined and focused.

Megan Mastroianni has been always been interested in human behavior: Why do we do what we do, or feel the things we feel? She originally enrolled at Franciscan University as an English major, but in her sophomore year, she took a psychology class and was hooked. Megan says. I learned “an integrated vision of the human person; the infinite dignity and worth that each individual person possesses.” Regarding the faculty, she notes that their “witness and teaching has shaped the way I see myself and others.”