Mateo Anderson

Hometown: St. Joseph, MO

Major: Exercise Science

Next Steps: Working a gap year before psychology graduate program, and getting married

What would your life at KU look like without St. Lawrence?
Both my daily habits and the trajectory of my life would be incredibly different without St. Lawrence. I might not even be practicing Catholicism. I was so hungry and desperate for community, I don't know where I would have been willing to look if I had not found it at St. Lawrence. I would not have learned to pray, I would not have the friends I have now, and I would not have met my fiancé!

How would you describe your experience of community at St. Lawrence?
St. Lawrence, like other college environments, is unique in that every year you meet a new group of people and say goodbye to another in some capacity. As such, I have known seven different groups of individuals in my time at KU to varying extents. My experience tells me that each group leaving is missed and each group coming in is welcomed, for which I am thankful. But certain relationships have transcended this cycle. Individuals leaving St. Lawrence maintain relationships with each other and those still finishing degrees at KU in some capacity or another. To me, the longevity of relationships with St. Lawrence woven into the fabric to some degree is beautiful.

Who has been one of your greatest guides at St. Lawrence? How did they guide you?
I have been blessed by having been invested in by various St. Lawrence staff, but Sr. Elena has to come out on top as my greatest guide. She took me on in spiritual direction as a freshman who was struggling to learn how to pray and live out life in communion with God and the church. She has supported me and guided me in the most significant decisions of my life, and though I have had other good mentors at SLC, none compare to the role she has played in my college career.

How have you grown in interior freedom?
Having received little formation before arriving at St. Lawrence, I have experienced great growth in interior freedom through being taught how to pray and grow in relationship with the trinity. In growing that relationship, I became aware of the vices and bad habits in my life. Out of the desire to enter more deeply into trinitarian life, I have worked to shed these while also learning to hear the voice of God. Both of those outcomes have been instrumental in living interior freedom, especially as I have had to discern and plan my life after graduation.

What is the biggest lesson that you learned at St. Lawrence? How will you carry that into your adult life?
The biggest lesson I have learned from St. Lawrence is that prayer and a relationship with God needs to be part of the fabric of everything else in my life. I am still not perfect at following through on this, but it really is essential for orienting my life towards God in the small things. As I move on to adult life, I will take this philosophy with my as I develop new habits, develop community, and especially settle into married life after my wedding!