Guided by Faith: Student Leaders Bring Pastoral Care to Campus Life
There was a moment last summer when Kat Hannon found herself at an unexpected crossroads. The 2024 alumna had meticulously planned for a post-college year of service position, using the knowledge she’d gained at Saint Mary’s, drawing courage to move across the country from her home in Massachusetts to work at a non-profit in Phoenix. Then, as she was preparing to leave, it all fell through. The non-profit no longer had room for her and suddenly, her life upended.
“When that position did not work out, I felt really lost for a while. I was devastated," Hannon recalls. “I tried to figure out where I was supposed to go and what I was supposed to do.” She drew on her training as a ministry assistant at Saint Mary’s, encouraging herself to do what she’d often advised her fellow students when they’d asked “what’s next?”: she allowed the Spirit to guide her. Within a couple of weeks, she landed a position near her home, teaching theology and coaching track at a Catholic high school, the high school Hannon once attended herself. It was a position Hannon never could have imagined for herself.
“As a ministry assistant, we had to get used to not necessarily holding all the control,” she said. “We could have had all the training in the world, but at the end of the day, God is the one who is in the driver’s seat,” she said. “Understanding that as humans, we can't always plan for everything, but we can trust that we have a God who will be with us always, leading us to what’s next.”
For more than 10 years, the ministry assistant (MA) program has been offered at Saint Mary’s. Students are trained to serve their fellow students, acting as leaders of faith and role models, on and off campus. As Hannon did during her two years as an MA, they lead weekly faith formation nights and small groups, prayer experiences, retreats, offer hospitality to students, and connect them to opportunities in the Center for Faith, Action, and Ministry (CFAM). Structured as a parallel position to resident assistants (RAs), ministry assistants live in the residence halls, and serve as a dedicated spiritual resource for the hall.
Currently, Saint Mary’s College has six MAs—one in McCandless, Holy Cross, and Regina’s north and south towers; and two in Le Mans. The ministry assistant in McCandless also serves Opus, the College’s residence hall for seniors.
Molly Gower, vice president for Mission, and Nicole Labadie, director of CFAM, share in the care and training of the ministry assistants. Each spring, as they plan for the MA cohort for the following school year, the two identify the unique individuals who can fulfill the demanding role.
“These students are the critical link between CFAM and all the residents on campus,” Gower said. “They practice accompaniment and hospitality, build relationships, build community, and learn the skill of being really present at one-on-one conversations. They are also our hands and our feet in the residence halls, communicating and inviting students to different CFAM opportunities.”
To become a ministry assistant, students first apply, and then proceed through an extensive interview process. Candidates are screened for a variety of qualities. Because the position is intellectually and emotionally rigorous as well as time-consuming, each candidate is evaluated carefully to ensure they can manage the responsibilities while maintaining their classes, and other extracurricular activities. Once hired, they arrive two weeks early to campus for ministry leadership training. Like their RA counterpart, each MA receives a stipend along with a full room scholarship.
The training the MAs receive prepares them for the rigors of the job, Labadie said. It is holistic and guides them in human, spiritual, pastoral, and intellectual formation. In many ways, she said, MA training is more comprehensive than for other interns and leaders in CFAM.
“We attend to their ministerial leadership and spiritual development,” she said, noting that the training continues throughout the school year in biweekly mentoring and supervision sessions. “It is essential for the peer-to-peer work that they do, so their mentor supervisor checks in with them regularly.”
Gower agrees. “Some come to the position from a leadership role in their faith community back home or from another leadership role here at Saint Mary’s. I think what makes the best ministry assistant is a willingness to learn and to be formed, openness paired with steadiness. This is a demanding role. MAs are faith leaders. They need to be mature, developmentally, socially, theologically, and spiritually mature.”
Sara Caniglia ’26 is starting her second year as a ministry assistant. Previously in Holy Cross Hall, the Cleveland, Ohio native is moving to Le Mans for the 2025-26 academic year. Caniglia decided to apply when she was finishing her second semester of her sophomore year. “College is hard; something is constantly changing, and so much change can be challenging,” Caniglia said. “Whether it be the transition, making new friends, challenging classes, or even having little control over your dinner choices, something new is constantly happening, whether good or bad. I wanted to be an MA to remind people they are seen, known, and loved.” Caniglia, whose coursework in the accelerated bachelors-to-masters speech-language pathology program is equally demanding, says having the ability to walk with people in their faith and watch others draw nearer to their faith is the most meaningful part of her work. “Getting to hear other people’s stories of how God is working in their lives especially through events we have helped put on is truly a gift,” she said.
Caniglia has adapted to the demands of the role, which has led to great rewards. “It is really clear that the Lord is moving and working on this campus,” she said. “It is a gift to be able to help others, and I truly hope I am making a difference in others’ lives.”
This past year, Caniglia and her fellow MAs wanted to form a deeper faith community after Sunday Mass, which led to creative social events once a month. Typical attendance was between 60 and 70 students, Labadie said. For this particular group of students, their community was formed. “The MAs are thinking creatively, ministerially, about what students might need at the moment.”
Creating the MA Village
The ministry assistant program is supported by the College, Gower said, along with donor-established endowed funds which support the program’s expansion and programming. Gifts made to Saint Mary’s endowment allow programs, like ministry assistants, to grow and thrive in perpetuity, including the recent expansion from five MAs to six and providing additional formation opportunities.
In 2015 during its formulative years, Dr. Mary C. Rainey ’63 was one of the first to invest in the MA program. Rainey, who earned a bachelor’s degree in Christian Culture and history, and spent her life and career dedicated to literacy and the education of women, remembers her time on campus, particularly her involvement with the Young Christian Students club. This fellowship played a formative role in her own spiritual journey. “We discussed social justice issues using the club’s Observe, Judge, Act framework,” she remembers. “I used to think of the ministry assistant program as a ‘Newman Center’ within a college that would promote small, faith-sharing groups,” she said, referring to the Catholic ministry center found on college campuses, named after Saint John Henry Newman. “As I watch the ministry assistant program evolve at Saint Mary’s, I see it as the foundation of infusing purpose and meaning in our students' lives.”
While Saint Mary’s is a Catholic institution, and the majority of the College’s ministry assistants are Catholic, it’s not a prerequisite for the job. “Every MA begins with the affirmation that every person is a spiritual being,” Gower said. “They offer their full self to the role, and we do this work together from our place in the Catholic tradition.” In this way, she adds, the ministry assistants serve as an extension of the ministry team, supporting students of all faith backgrounds—or no faith background—ready to provide opportunities for spiritual growth at whatever level is appropriate.
Working in Tandem
Ministry assistants work hand-in-hand with resident assistants, in comprehensive and complementary support, in distinct but collaborative roles. According to Juls White, director of Resident Life at Saint Marys, RAs are student leaders who focus on building community within their specific wing or section, offering personal, day-to-day support and fostering connections among neighbors. MAs serve the entire residence hall, offering spiritual and emotional support to students who seek it, often through one-on-one conversations, reflective dialogue, and opportunities for faith or values exploration. This structure, White said, “ensures that students receive support both personally and holistically, with layers of care that adapt to their individual needs. It provides the student body with both proactive support and reflective guidance.”
Gower and Labadie would like to see the program expand to where there is an RA and an MA on every floor of every residence hall. A Catholic women’s college is just the right place to ensure that students have access to pastoral ministers in their residences and to enable women to grow as pastoral ministers in their residences, Gower said. “These are distinctive skills for women to learn, and it’s worth stating how meaningful it is that the College has built a system that enables the students to receive the best possible service and care, from their peers and from CFAM.”
Kat Hannon has understood this from the moment she became a ministry assistant as a junior. “If anyone is even considering becoming an MA, just say yes,” Hannon said. “God has put that nudge on your heart for a reason. Yes, it's challenging and difficult at times, but at the end of the day, it is such a special ministry that Saint Mary's offers and truly prepares people to go out and walk as disciples. I'm so grateful for the opportunity that I was given. It has formed me and I wouldn't trade that experience for anything.”
To learn more about the ministry assistant program at Saint Mary’s, email cfam@saintmarys.edu.
September 9, 2025