Roger Cimino
Hometown, State: Omaha, Nebraska
What would life at KU look like without St. Lawrence?: Life at KU without SLC would have been more isolated and I would have had less purpose and freedom in my life.
What is the biggest risk of faith you took at KU?: Starting a Bible study at my scholarship hall and being the only Catholic in the group or spending a summer in the mountains at Camp Wojtyla, both were huge risks and required tremendous trust and surrender, but both were transformative experiences.
How would you describe your experience of community at St. Lawrence?: I look back fondly and bittersweetly at my college years, and two things come to mind my community and my experiences. I remember walking onto campus my first day at KU, feeling awestruck by the beauty of Jawhawk boulevard and overwhelmed by the 40 some dudes who welcomed me to Stephenson. Then came syllabus week and Stephenson traditions, realizing I loved these guys and my hall. Going on Koinonia retreat was one of the best decisions I made at KU. It was on that retreat that I met incredible people with depth, guys who spent their weekends hiking, camp firing, frisbee throwin, going to KC, all to finish it off with Sunday mass, absolutely wild. I fell in love with that St. Lawrence community and the people I met there. Friends like Matt and Kelvin, invited me to go on mission trips to Peru and Albania, where I experienced true poverty and true faith. It was friends like John Michael and Dave, who inspired me to spend a summer in the Rockies at a little place called Camp Wojtyla, where I fell hard for nature and adventure, while experiencing my faith life on a deeper, more awe inspiring level.
Through all these experiences, I find myself overcome with gratitude for the joys of college life, which remind me how much joy and hope there is in the adventures to come, despite the long, hard, seemingly overwhelming days, those days where relationships with family hurt or I felt disconnected from my buddy or I was holding my breath waiting for my brother to call me after his girlfriend passed, then holding him and feeling so helpless, but in those those dark days there always was a bright, beautiful light at the end of the tunnel.
Looking back I realize relationships are everything to me, and that nothing is guaranteed, so simply enjoying moments as they come and leaning into the present, no matter where I’m at, is all I can do. I remember reading a quote by Etienne de Grellet that said “I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” These words are very representative of how I feel looking back, and realizing my college days are coming to an end, holding onto these experiences, and remembering the days I loved or chose not to, and embracing these past four years. Closing my eyes and hearing the sounds of KU, the morning steam whistle and busses, the flag flapping as I run by Frasier to a 9am, the fall leaves crunching underneath my feet as I walk dreamily by the deep oranges and bright yellows of the autumn leaves, sweet sensations that will be with me for years to come.
All in all, I am proud to be a Jayhawk and will bring all of these experiences with me moving forward into life as a Jesuit Volunteer. I hope I was able to do some good and cause some trouble, and impact those who I was with over the past four years.
How are you called to build community after college?: Building community in Sacramento with my clients and the staff at the HOPE CO-OP mental health and addiction recover center and within my house with the other missionaries.
Who has been one of your greatest guides at St. Lawrence? How did they guide you?: Sister Elena, my spiritual director, showed me a deeper way of life and how to speak and listen to Mary and let the Spirit work in my life and relationships.
How have you grown in interior freedom?: Through spiritual direction and counseling I have found more freedom and wholeness in my life, and letting go of my false self and getting in touch with my real self.
Where do your deepest commitments lie at this point in your life?: To my family, God, and to loving myself, as well as a commitment to living out mission and my passions everyday.
Describe a situation where your faith impacted someone else.: Taking weekly walks with a friend he was able to share deeply and get to know himself and God more through our conversations and actually start counseling, it was beautiful to watch God work through our friendship.
Other thoughts you'd like to leave us with?: Thank You for your commitment to students and loving them so tenderly, everything I am and everything I will be is because of y’all and the home I found at SLC.