To honor graduating high school seniors in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, The Catholic Spirit asked three Catholic high schools to nominate students who might share their stories of faith and education. The three students selected credit their Catholic education as they deepen their faith and live out their principles. Congratulations to all our graduates!
Alex Dehmer: Making Christ a part of his daily routine
Throughout his life, Alex Dehmer has sought to give back to others and to the community. For many years, he has volunteered at the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge in Sherburne County, where his father, Greg, works. He has also volunteered at St. Michael in St. Michael, where he, his father and his mother, Nora, are parishioners.
As a senior at Holy Spirit Academy in Monticello, Dehmer actively shows his love for Christ by attending daily Mass at school as often as he can.
“I enjoy leading other kids and telling them about my faith experience and just trying to be an example to them,” Dehmer said. “I try to pray a lot with my family and have time for personal prayer as well. It is really just about being grateful and joyful and showing my love of Christ to others.”
Dehmer joined Holy Spirit Academy for his junior year. He was homeschooled as a freshman and attended Trilogy STEM Academy in Rogers his sophomore year. In addition to participating in robotics clubs, he has been involved in fencing and this year he joined Holy Spirit Academy’s drama program.
“Holy Spirit Academy has definitely grown and helped my faith life,” Dehmer said. “They integrate how our faith can be incorporated into everything, in all aspects of our lives. For example, in all of our subjects — literature to computer programming — they show how our faith can apply to that. It’s definitely been an eye-opener for me.”
To continue his faith journey and further strengthen the formation he’s received at Holy Spirit Academy, Dehmer sought a college that had a good Newman Center or was a solid Catholic or Christian college that would fit his budget. University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, proved to be the ideal fit and will offer the mechanical engineering program Dehmer is seeking.
“I’m excited to get involved in the school’s faith program, but I also want to try to attend daily Mass as often as I can,” Dehmer said. “I know they say the Liturgy of the Hours around campus, so I want to be involved in that as well.”
Nathan Kelly: Forming a strong Catholic identity at Holy Angels
For Nathan Kelly, a senior at Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, having attended Catholic schools all his life means that his Catholic faith is a core part of his identity. He wears his faith on his proverbial sleeve in managing the school’s soccer team and as captain of the lacrosse team.
As part of the campus ministry team at Holy Angels, Kelly is able to share his faith with fellow students in meaningful ways.
“We lead retreats for the freshmen, sophomore(s) and the juniors. Specifically, for the freshmen retreat, I was lucky enough to get to speak to them and just give a testimony of my faith,” Kelly said. “It’s great to be able to practice my faith and do it so openly at school.”
Kelly also works in the warehouse at Bridging, a social services organization in Bloomington. He volunteers for the Savage-based American Bandy Association at the Richfield Ice Arena, teaching kids about Bandy, a Swedish sport similar to ice hockey.
Kelly and his mother, Mary, and father, Mike, are parishioners at Our Lady of Grace in Edina, but they also attend Annunciation in Minneapolis.
“I’ve been really involved in Annunciation’s youth ministry program,” said Kelly, who went on Annunciation’s mission trip last summer to Savannah, Georgia. He expects to serve on this summer’s mission trip in Denver.
“I painted an elderly lady’s home; I helped add a shelter for runaway youth, and I also helped deliver hurricane relief package meals, in the event that there’s a hurricane and people can’t get out of their homes, they have supplies,” Kelly said. “There are about 70 kids who attend these mission trips, and we really work on building each other up and improving our faith.”
Strengthening his faith has also been at the core of Kelly’s experience at Holy Angels.
“While we have religion class and focus on the core history of the Church, we also spend time learning about different kinds of prayer and our relationship with Christ — building that up. My faith is such a crucial aspect to my identity, and it’s behind every decision I make. I ask: WWJD — What Would Jesus Do? That’s what I like to incorporate into my life. And that all stems from my experience attending a Catholic school.”
In the fall, Kelly will be attending Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, where he will study finance; he plans to be active in the university’s Newman Center.
Hannah Rae Schreier: Showing a love of Christ in all activities
Hannah Rae Schreier and her parents, Jennifer and Marty Schreier, attend Nativity of our Lord in St. Paul. Throughout her time at Visitation School in Mendota Heights, Schreier has participated in a wealth of athletic activities — from serving as softball team captain, to participating in the curling club, to playing volleyball and managing the varsity basketball team.
Leadership is second nature to Schreier, who served on the school’s student council and its Leadership Crew, which helps organize fun events at Visitation. For the past two years she has served in the school’s Eucharistic Ministry group; she became a Eucharistic Ministry Coordinator this past year. Schreier has volunteered serving food to people in need through Loaves and Fishes and tutoring at Dakota Woodlands homeless shelter in Eagan. Last spring, she began volunteering at the Visitation Monastery of Minneapolis in north Minneapolis.
“I have tried to show my love of Christ through action. I strive to show my faith by actively participating in devotion towards Christ,” Schreier said. “Through these actions, I bring the light of Christ to others by sharing him and his words with the school community.”
Visitation has also gifted Schreier with various ways to grow in her faith. “Visitation incorporates faith in the school day by beginning each morning bell with a prayer. Many teachers begin their own classes with prayer as well, reminding each of us that we are always in the presence of God and should carry him into each class,” she said. “Through these faithful opportunities, both big and small, Visitation has allowed me to grow closer to God.”
Next year, Schreier will be studying at Villanova University’s School of Business in Villanova, Pennsylvania.
“As I enter this new phase of my life, I will carry my faith forward through the little virtues,” Schreier said. “At Visitation, I have learned little virtues such as gentle strength, joyful optimism and humility. These little virtues have taught me how I can maintain my faith through simple tasks. As I move into the next chapter of my life, I acknowledge that I don’t need to do big things to have big faith. Rather, I know that living the little virtues allows me to do small things with great love.”
