Humans Of St. Lawrence: Kevin Dunne

Lokesh: Hello everybody! Welcome to the Humans of Saint Lawrence. I’m Lokesh Valluru and today, we will be speaking with Kevin Dunne, a student at KU and prominent member of the St. Lawrence community. Kevin, how are you doing today?

Kevin: I’m doing pretty good. Honestly, it was a long day, but at the end of it, it was a good day, overall.

Lokesh: Wonderful! So, to start off, tell us a little bit about yourself. What’s your hometown? What are you studying? What are some of your favorite things to do? Paint us a little picture of who Kevin Dunne is.

Kevin: So, I grew up in St. Louis and am a fourth year Architecture student in a five year program, so I’ll be around for a bit longer, which is good. Fun fact: I’ve been over this quite a lot and I think it to be very true, but if I were a kitchen utensil, I would be a whisk. It doesn’t really make sense, but when you think about it, it makes perfect sense.

Lokesh: It seems like people have to get to know you in order for it to make sense, right?

Kevin: Yeah, probably.

Lokesh: Alrighty. What have you enjoyed most about KU so far?

Kevin: I really like my classes. I’ve, literally, always wanted to do Architecture for as long as I can remember. I think just being in my classes and getting to see what the world of Architecture is like has been awesome, which reaffirms that Architecture is what I really want to do. I also really love the St. Lawrence Center, obviously, because that’s where most of my friendships and best relationships are currently are. So, yeah, those are the two aspects of my life right now that I enjoy.

Lokesh: Nice! So, tell us a little bit about the St. Lawrence Center and what exactly brought you to it.

Kevin: So, back in high school, I was very involved with my youth group. I went every Sunday and Tuesday, while also going to all the retreats that I could. When I got to college, my roommate was Brad Pike, who was also a member of my youth group. I had also gone to grade school and high school with him, so it was pretty cool to be able to go to college with him and be roommates with him freshman year. We were both looking for something Catholic oriented to get involved in because we were so involved in our youth group and it was a good foundation for us. So, I think that the St. Lawrence Center really added to that. The first outlet we found, which was the best outlet we found, was GoodCo because it was the most similar to our youth group, but also very, very different. At first, I didn’t actually really enjoy it because I was looking for something that matched my youth group, honestly, which formed me a lot as a person. Looking back, though, I’m definitely glad that GoodCo is not like my high school youth group and is a different thing entirely.

Lokesh: Awesome! Could you explain to us a little bit about what GoodCo is?

Kevin: Yeah! So, to me, GoodCo is just a place where people love each other, no matter who they are or wherever they’re at in life. GoodCo is a place where we can come together and love each other. At first, that’s not what it was to me at all. It was a place where I could meet friends and get involved in the St. Lawrence Center, but it was more or less a religious thing during my freshman year, I think. We still did RISE, but all the GoodCo meetings were very prayer focused and did “mini series,” learning about different topics during meetings. But, GoodCo, now, is a lot more open and available to anyone who wants to experience it. You don’t have to be Catholic or even Christian to experience, which I think is awesome to allow people to get a foot in the door and see what God’s love is like in a sense.

Lokesh: Outside of GoodCo, do you have any other fond memories at St. Lawrence?

Kevin: So, on Koinonia, my favorite thing was being a “Wheatie.” It was the time of my life and I loved it so much. If I could be a “Wheatie” again, I would in a heartbeat. But, yeah, I was a “Wheatie” on SLK 31 and then “Pappa Wheatie” on SLK 34, both of which were such a blast and I loved it so much. “Wheaties,” for anyone that doesn’t know, are the people on the retreat who cook and are very much in the background. If you know me at all, you know that I’m an introverted person and I like being in the background a lot more, which made being a “Wheatie” perfect for me because I got to be on the retreat without interacting with people is the best way to say it, I guess. But, I got really close with my “Wheatie” teams on those retreats and had such a blast getting to be with them through the stresses and joys of making meals together that I wouldn’t change it for the world. One specific memory I have was when I was a “Wheatie'' on SLK 31, there was a time where we would jam to some music while getting the kitchen ready and cooking grilled cheese for Friday night. We played Bohemian Rhapsody and all of us banged to it with spoons against pots and pans, which was such a blast and is one of the memories I’ll never forget.

Lokesh: That’s awesome, Kevin. Now, for anyone that’s wanting to get involved at the center, what advice do you have for them?

Kevin: I would say, honestly, just do it. That’s really, really hard to say because I know that if I were a freshman, I would not have taken that advice at all. I definitely needed a few pushes to get myself into the door every single time. It’s because coming from high school and being on top of my faith game, I guess, I knew the ins and outs of my high school youth group really well. Going into the Saint Lawrence Center, though, it was like a whole different thing. But, honestly, just do it. Go to events. Talk to people. Go to everything you can. Go to sand volleyball on Thursdays. Go to mass everyday, if you can. Just hang out with people. Hang out at the St. Lawrence Center and do homework there. Do whatever and the more that you’re around talking to people, the more you’re able to form great relationships with them and get to know how amazing they are, while also seeing the Lord work more in your life.

Lokesh: Okay, so based on that concept of being with others and all of the experiences you just mentioned, what does the concept of friendship mean to you? What are the ways in which you see friendship on a day to day basis? Share a little bit about that.

Kevin: A true friend to me is someone that you can talk to about anything at, basically, any time. I think that a friend is someone that you can hang out with and talk about nothing for hours on end, but also have very deep conversations with them. That’s what friendship is to me. On a day to day basis, I see it just by going to the St. Lawrence Center and seeing people that I know and doing homework next to them. It’s because they’re there and I can talk to them if I need to (whether I have a problem with school, I’m just having a bad day, or something like that). They’re there to either distract me and talk to me about nothing or to talk to me about those things. I’m not worried about whether they think I’m cool or not; they just accept me for who I am.

Lokesh: Would you say some of your friends are, arguably, some of the biggest influences in your life?

Kevin: I would, especially right now. My friends really have a big influence on my life with what I do; obviously, I interact with my friends more than people that I don’t talk to as much. But, in my life, my main influence has been my family. I grew up super Catholic and, so, I think my family has had a huge influence on shaping who I am. I’ve mentioned this before to you, but my sister is the reason I started going to youth group when I was in high school because she’s 2 years older than me and went every week like myself. So, when I was able to start going to youth group, I just went with her every time for 2 years. Then, when she graduated, I was acclimated into the community enough where I could go on my own and felt comfortable doing that, while also having friends to do that with. So, I started doing that and obviously, like I mentioned, high school youth group was a great time for me to really form my faith, get to know God, other people, and who I am. Then, going into college, I just took that base and really expanded on it. I think Brad Pike was a big inspiration for me and if he had not been my roommate (and had been with some random person), then would I be at the Catholic Center at all? I don’t know. But, yeah, I just think that people and community have had a really big impact on who I am today and I’m better for it.

Lokesh: Any parting words that you would like to share with the audience before we close out?

Kevin: If you’re reading this, I love you. Even if I don’t know you, I love you. I’ll pray for you. You’re doing good, wherever you are, wherever you’re at. You’re okay.

Lokesh: Thank you so much, Kevin.

Kevin: Thank you.