Students gathered at the Alumni Memorial Union on Feb. 12 to fill their plates with food and to connect over prayer. Marquette University President Kimo Ah Yun spoke to students at Ignite, a group that highlights Catholic faith and prayer over dinner.
Ah Yun shared his personal faith story and spoke about the importance of developing one’s moral compass, especially as a college student. He said Marquette is an institution that enables students to take this journey.
“People walk away with a refined compass, what’s right and what’s wrong, and always wanting to move to the side of right,” Ah Yun said.
His speech was a testament to his Catholic faith. Ah Yun said Marquette has given him the ability to practice his faith every day, and that he is grateful to work for an institution where religion is not left at home.
“As a Catholic institution, anytime we’re gathering around our faith and have the opportunity to share with one another to grow and be part of the community, that’s always a great thing,” Ah Yun said.
Marquette has a long history of priests serving as presidents. The late Michael Lovell was the first lay president, and his successor Ah Yun is the second. Despite this fact, Ah Yun said he shows a strong devotion to the students and their faith.
Ah Yun said that although he is not a priest, he takes guidance from those who are in order to keep Marquette’s faith traditions alive.
“We’re fortunate to be able to have a lot of Jesuits on our campus, and I take a lot of guidance from them about how we are supposed to lead. At the end of the day, we understand what we’re called to do, how we’re called to embrace others and care for others and support others,” Ah Yun said.
Ah Yun’s presence seemed to be well-received by a number of Ignite students.
Nick Gross, a first-year student in the College of Communication, said having Ah Yun speak at the event brought an uplifting and positive atmosphere. He said that it shows his dedication to Marquette.
“At a lot of institutions, the president might say, ‘Oh, I’m too busy to come,’ right? But President Ah Yun thankfully had time for us tonight and I’m really thankful,” Gross said. “It illustrates the mission of Marquette too, because you have the president coming, inspiring the youth and the students in the future generations of Marquette to be the difference.”
Another student attendee, Katarina D’Amico, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said that Ignite offers her a strong faith community and that having Ah Yun speak reinforced her belief that he cares about the students.
“I think it’s really important that Ah Yun is here tonight because it shows that Marquette really cares, in the sense that it’s not just this institution that we’re all giving our money to for our education, but he wants to see what we think is so cool about this. I feel like it’s really nice and kind of down to earth that he’s here,” D’Amico said.
Marquette Campus Ministry, in addition to students, highlights the importance of events like these. Stephen Blaha, director of Campus Ministry, said that it is clear Ah Yun enjoys connecting with students along with growing his personal faith.
“It’s wonderful to see his joy in being with students and wanting to spend time and to connect, and it’s great for students to be able to connect with the president. It just strengthens us as the university community. But also for him to share his personal journey, his faith, it helps encourage each of us to deepen our relationship with God,” Blaha said.
Ignite is hosted every Wednesday from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Lunda Room at the AMU. The weekly meetings host a new speaker or theme, all with the goal of helping students connect with their faith.
This story was written by Ruby Mulvaney. She can be reached at ruby.mulvaney@marquette.edu.
