SPEAKER_08 0:00

Welcome to Beyond the Beacon with Bishop Kevin Sweeney, a podcast of the Diocese of Patterson, New Jersey. Join us for conversations about our Catholic faith, and together let's strive to live a life of faith, hope, and love. Jay Agnis with me is Bishop Kevin Sweeney. Bishop Kevin, how are you? I'm good, Jay. How are you doing? I'm doing just fine. Uh a little different uh environment here.

SPEAKER_07 0:23

Second time in the week we're at a new state studio. We were at uh Mary Help of Christians High School Academy, Mary Help in uh North Heldon on uh uh on Monday, actually. And uh so Dr. Crosby, the president of St. Elizabeth's uh University, is our host today. So thank you very much for hosting us in the wonderful studio you have here.

SPEAKER_06 0:43

Well, thank you so much for being here. It's always a pleasure when we can have uh you on the campus and just spend a little time together.

SPEAKER_07 0:49

Look forward to it. Very delighted to have you. Look forward to it. Thanks, thanks. And uh we're gonna begin with a prayer, if that's okay. We're gonna pray the Jubilee prayers we've do it been doing throughout this uh wonderful Jubilee year. Now, as we're about to enter into Holy Week, um, Saturday evening and Sunday on Palm Sunday, and uh um we pray for Dr. Crosby, for the students that we're gonna be chatting with here today, and for all those here at St. Elizabeth's uh as pilgrims of hope in this jubilee of hope. Um, we'll place ourselves in God's presence, name of the Father, Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. And together we'll pray the Jubilee prayer. Father in heaven, may the faith you have given us in your Son, Jesus Christ, our brother, and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit reawaken in us blessed hope of for the kingdom of your kingdom. May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the gospel. May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth. When with the powers of evil vanquished, your glory will shine eternally. May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, pilgrims of hope, are yearning for the treasures of heaven. May the same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer through the throughout the earth. To you, our God, eternally blessed, be glory. Be glory and praise forever. Amen. Our Lady of Hope, help Mother of the Church, pray for us. Saint Joseph, pray for us. Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us. Name of the Father, Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

SPEAKER_08 2:25

So have you have you memorized the prayer yet, Bishop?

SPEAKER_07 2:28

Praying it every day during Lent. And uh it's uh it's uh as I said to some groups, there's a few SAT words in this prayer. That's right. May I keep this? Yes, please, please. Great, great. Um so thank you, Dr. Crosby. Uh maybe uh how long have you been president now?

SPEAKER_06 2:45

So I'm I'm going into my fifth year. And uh as old the old adage goes, time flies when you haven't found it.

SPEAKER_07 2:52

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_06 2:52

Uh I can't.

SPEAKER_08 2:53

Is someone else at this table going to his fifth year as well?

SPEAKER_07 2:56

That's right, right. Uh I'll be finishing my fifth year in at the end of June. So finishing two. You came in the fall of 20? I came in the fall of 21. Okay, all right. So I'm finishing my fourth year going into my fifth. So um I got to the diocese just a little before you did. Um and um uh and I know uh I guess you've gotten to learn plenty about the Sisters of Charity, right? Who founded the wonderful um campus here in Convent Station. Uh the Academy of St. Elizabeth High School is here on campus, and the wonderful Sisters of Charity. And uh so maybe for those who may not have heard, even though we would hope all in our diocese know, but we want to share the news about uh St. Elizabeth University. So maybe before you give us a little of your personal background, just tell the folks about this a little history or and and who who what this university is all about here in Conversation.

SPEAKER_06 3:43

So so that's a a great setup, Bishop. Um the the university was founded in 1899 by the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, uh, with one clear goal at the time, and that was to provide a high-quality and affordable education to women. And uh St. Eves was one of two institutions to educate women, uh solely women at that time, uh, in the country, and the first in the state of New Jersey.

SPEAKER_09 4:10

Wow.

SPEAKER_06 4:10

And so there's a long history here of being committed to access and opportunities to those in need.

SPEAKER_08 4:16

181 years? Did I read that right on your own? 125 years. Okay. 125 years, yes. But over a few years. You've given us some years.

SPEAKER_06 4:26

Long history here, that beautiful campus. Long long history. Um d prior to 1899, uh, the sisters um founded the academy in 1866, if I'm not mistaken. Oh well that's the first time. The academy is the oldest sponsored uh ministry of of the congregation, and so the um the sisters recognized that the young ladies, the graduates of the academy, needed somewhere else to go to continue their education. And I'm told, and and based on what I've read, um the sisters uh asked Mother Xavier at the time for many years, and she would say no, or now's not the time. And she finally agreed to allow the sisters to petition um for for a four-year institution of high learning. And so the state reviewed the curriculum of the academy and said, You're already giving them the first two years, and it would make sense to extend this opportunity, right? And so um after receiving that that approval, the university was was founded, and from 1899 up through 2016, it was an all-girls school at the undergraduate level. Um young men were introduced to campus in the mid-1960s, um, but that was for a weekend um program, and so um very focused on again providing access and opportunities. And so in 2016, the the Board of Trustees um I think made a very wise decision to transition the institution to fully co-educational. And so thus young men arrived on campus and only less than 10 years. That's uh, that's right, yeah, right, right. That's right. And um 2020, the the university um became St. Elizabeth University. It was a college of St. Elizabeth. Right, right. And so that added a bit of prestige to the institution. Um, reaching university status is is is a significant milestone.

SPEAKER_07 6:26

Do I am I right that the first uh lay president who was not a sister was your predecessor? That is correct.

SPEAKER_06 6:33

Helen Struber was the first lay president, and her tenure began in 2013.

SPEAKER_07 6:37

And she and the board, uh with the support of the sisters, uh made the move from uh first to coed, fully coed, and then from college to university. That's correct.

SPEAKER_06 6:47

From from uh College of St. Elizabeth to St. Elizabeth University in 2020. And then I arrived in July of 2021.

SPEAKER_07 6:55

Uh tell us a little bit about yourself, your own background, where you're from originally and how you ended up uh here at St. Lies.

SPEAKER_06 7:01

So originally from a um I say small town, but it's it's it's a big big city as I like to call it in the southern part of Mississippi. So Mississippi is divided into three sections. You have the northern part, which is Mississippi Delta, the central part, which is central Mississippi, then the southern part. And I grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, about an hour and a large university there? The University of Southern Mississippi, which is my alma mater. Oh, great, okay. Yes, that is correct. Um and so I I I grew up an hour north of New Orleans. And so New Orleans was um our escape as a family, and as a teenager, my escape. I I I can't let my students hear this, but I I would leave I would leave school, high school, to go with my friends and their singing. Yeah, I was tenth grade, and we would go to New Orleans for the day and come back and you know, we would just go down. That's right, and have a ball. And so um my paternal grandmother raised me as my dad was an active Marine. Oh wow. And so he was off protecting and serving. Um, and my my mom, both of my parents were still alive, but my grandmother was was a strong, strong woman, and so she took me as her own and raised me. And I I think that that was the the the best thing that could have happened to me. I got um most of what I wanted and everything that I needed. Well, there you go. To include discipline and structure, and so um my I tell in faith. Oh, absolutely, right, absolutely, and and I'll come to faith, which aligns perfectly with how I ended up here at St. Elizabeth University. And so as my as I would spend the weekend with with my parents or perhaps travel to California when my dad was stationed there or South Carolina um to spend time with with my parents, um, I never ventured far away from home nor the lessons learned that my grandmother instilled in me at a at a very uh young age. And so graduated from high school, I attended Jackson State University for two years on a marching band scholarship. And then I made the decision to transfer to the University of Southern Mississippi, where I uh really became involved in in campus life. I did work studying and financial aid, and so that was my my introduction, if you will, into higher education. Um I I worked to pay for it in the 40 years. Yes. That is correct. That is correct. College, college is is is certainly expensive, and you have to from pool have to pull from any resources to pay for it, and that was one of the ways in which um I I I paid for college. My grandmother was also employed at the University of Southern Mississippi, and so there was uh a little wiggle room there with respect to to offsetting the cost of tuition to an extent. Um that move also um was was very timely for me, the transfer from Jackson State to the University of Southern Mississippi, because I met my wife at the University of Southern Mississippi in political science class. And so I I often like to say she saw how intelligent I was at the time and she wanted me to tutor her, but it was it was quite the opposite. It was it was quite quite the opposite. So um there on the campus, I, you know, became involved in in student organizations, the student government association, doing work study in in um in financial aid, thought about going to law school, did not prepare for the LSAT. And so before I knew it, it was time to graduate, and I had to figure something out quickly. And so I I re-enrolled in um school as a graduate student at the University of Southern Mississippi. And six months within uh uh into that, into my graduate studies, I received a call to um uh transition to jack back to Jackson State as a professional. And so I um moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where I um took a job as a residential programming coordinator at Jackson State University, the entry-level position, and worked my way up through And you've been in education ever since I've been in education ever since. I've only worked in higher education.

SPEAKER_08 11:54

And and why is and why what attracted you to higher education?

SPEAKER_06 11:59

I liked advocating for students, even as a student. Um there was something fulfilling about advocating for the student experience as a member of the student government association, advocating to to support students in their financial aid needs as a work study student in in financial aid, um, or perhaps a liaison in between the financial aid professionals and the students to uh to to be that voice of reason in a room.

SPEAKER_08 12:26

Oh, that's great.

SPEAKER_06 12:26

And so I j I just really enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_08 12:28

Um and and that might be a good transition back to Saint E's if you want to talk about some of what you do for the students here and yes.

SPEAKER_06 12:38

So I arrived um on on the campus here at St. E's in July of 2021. And um this was a classic example of uh purchasing the car um unseen. I did not get an opportunity to test to test drive it. It was traveling, so much. That's right. That's right, and so um I met the board, I met students, faculty and staff, and all great conversations, but um it was really my time with the students because I saw myself as a first generation college student in their comments and in the way that they saw the world and the college experience.

SPEAKER_07 13:19

And I believe uh the student population here, many come from underserved communities as well. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_06 13:24

Yes, so so when the university transitioned to co ed in 2016, I often tell people that the mission did not change. We just extended the mission to serve young men in need of an education, those looking for high quality and affordable education. And so um 33% of our student um population identify as first generation. Um over 90% receive some sort of uh financial aid from the uh uh federal financial aid program. First generation as a first. First generation to attend college. Children of the immigrants, right? Well well no first generation. Oh, I got you right, yes. Their parents have right, okay. That's right. Um many of our students, you know, come to us from Newark and Patterson, and um this is their first time in Morristown, and then they get here and fall in love. I fell in love when I first arrived to the campus, thank you. And so um what we do here at St. Elizabeth University, and this is what I think sets us apart from um an overly crowded marketplace, is our commitment to the student experience. We are unapologetically committed to our students. How many students now? Um we're right at a thousand students. And how many live on campus and how many community? We house uh right at 400 on campus, um, which is over 50 percent of our undergraduate population. So that thousand numbers, including our graduate programs as well. Um and so it it it is a campus that um is committed to the success of our students, but also uh to supporting the development of our faculty and staff and making sure that we create opportunities for them to be successful, um preferably here at St. Elizabeth University, but if they decide to take their talents elsewhere, then they know that they've gotten a start uh at St. E's and they can go anywhere and be successful.

SPEAKER_08 15:22

Good job. Uh what are some of the uh programs that maybe you're proud of or more prominent in for at St. E's?

SPEAKER_06 15:30

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_08 15:30

So What are kids studying here?

SPEAKER_06 15:32

A few students actually, yes. I call them kids. You know, because they are my kids. They're my kids, right? Um but but our students are are very committed to uh health sciences. Um the the nursing program is one of our strongest undergraduate programs. Business, of course, our recently accredited business program is very attractive to students.

SPEAKER_08 15:56

Um a couple of students that are coming on our psychology majors, one year. Yes, study psychology.

SPEAKER_07 16:02

I was I was about to say I think I saw you're hosting a uh psychological psychological association today.

SPEAKER_06 16:07

That is correct, yes, yeah. So psychology is is is um one of our most popular programs, undergraduate and graduate. Okay. Um our physician's assistant program at the graduate level is very attractive. And this fall we're launching the speech language and the pathology program, um, and we've already received significant interest in in that program at the graduate level. It is unique uh for this area, the way that it's it's designed.

SPEAKER_07 16:34

And a great partner to the diocese, Dr. Santa Maria, in particular, working with uh Father Manning, our evangelization director of St. Paul's, and Father Joanator Garcia, you've been so generous to host um catechetical convocations, youth days, but also that certificate program uh in pastoral ministry um for English and Spanish uh really has been a great blessing. So thank you for that. I mean it's it's so such a help to us in forming our own leaders in in our parishes that they can come here and get a great uh theological education. That's right. Um uh so thank you very much for that that partnership.

SPEAKER_06 17:08

Well well Saint Elizabeth is a partner, and and let me thank you for um having me to go first so that I don't I don't have to follow our students. They're fabulous, and uh so that I don't have to follow Anthony because Anthony is is is is is he's great. He's on a lot of great work here for the institution.

SPEAKER_07 17:27

And so we're gonna have some of the students on. Uh maybe just to go back to that uh um you said there was something about your faith that helped to lead you here.

SPEAKER_06 17:34

Maybe you could finish with uh so I I I was up until my um selection as the president, my my prayer was often for God to place me somewhere um where I could practice my faith and my professional commitment. Um up until my arrival here, I had served at uh mission-driven public institutions, and so there's a clear separation of church and state. And so um we did not do many of the things that I enjoy here, such as prayer before a meeting, right? Or or invoking the name of Jesus prior to taking on an initiative. And so my prayer was for God to lead me to a place where I could do the work that I'm committed to, with the type of student population that that I've worked with all of my career, and he led me to a faith-based institution. With a particularly beautiful chapel.

SPEAKER_07 18:31

Yes. The Holy Family for our listeners and viewers, if you haven't been to visit the campus, the the the chapel itself is is worth a visit, right? It absolutely is. As I often also say, um, you know, the beautiful churches that we have, the living stones, as Monsignor Kopke likes to call them, and um, as magnificent, uh even more beautiful is the the body of Christ gathered, right? And and and we see that as as you say when I've had the chance to celebrate Mass here, and um, I know Father Joe Farius does a great job with campus ministry, but to see the community coming, the student body coming together in prayer, I'm sure is uh a great blessing.

SPEAKER_06 19:06

It is, it it is. It it certainly strengthens the community ways, and my faith led me to St. Elizabeth University. Um and I I knew from my very first conversation with um the search committee that this was the place for me to um stretch and feel supported in my faith, but also at in my professional capacity. And so I'm again time flies when you're having fun.

SPEAKER_07 19:33

Well, we're very happy to have you, and again, thanks for hosting us today and for all that you do to welcome us as the diocese. And it's great working together.

SPEAKER_06 19:41

Absolutely, and look forward to it uh in the future as well. Thank you for being here. Thanks for having us.

SPEAKER_08 19:45

Thanks, Dr. Crosby.

SPEAKER_06 19:46

So we're gonna kick you off for the oh yes, that's the best part. I'll leave it with that.

SPEAKER_07 19:53

God bless you. Thank you. Take care. So we're back, and I'm here with two seniors and a junior. I got that right, uh uh Melissa, uh Zamine, Zamine, and Tanasha. Yeah. Um maybe just as we get started, just introduce yourself, where you're from, where you grew up, and maybe how you first found out about St. East and ended up here. You want to start, Tanasha?

SPEAKER_00 20:20

Uh yeah, I will. Hi, my name is Tanesha. But I'm Tay for short.

SPEAKER_07 20:25

Tay.

SPEAKER_00 20:26

Um, well, I am from Camden, New Jersey. I am a business and criminal justice justice major, and how I found about found out about St. Elizabeth is that um, well, one of my friends had told me, because I didn't get into my dream college, which was the College of New Jersey. So I just decided to, you know, come here, but I'm glad I made that.

SPEAKER_07 20:50

How's it worked out?

SPEAKER_00 20:51

It's been good. Yeah. I've been um I guess coming out of my comfort zone a lot, socializing more because when I first came here I was like really shy, very anxious. So yeah, that's my experience.

SPEAKER_07 21:02

A little different from Camden, I guess. Yeah. Were you in the city or in Camden? Did you grow up? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:06

Yeah, I grew up like around in Fairview.

SPEAKER_07 21:10

Fairview, okay.

SPEAKER_00 21:11

Yeah, that's like the city part of it.

SPEAKER_07 21:12

Right, right. And uh how's life on you've been living here now for years on campus.

SPEAKER_00 21:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 21:17

How's life?

SPEAKER_00 21:17

It's been good. I feel like my whole life is here actually.

SPEAKER_07 21:21

And earlier you mentioned um when I asked about the experience here, you used the word family.

SPEAKER_00 21:25

Yeah. Um, well, like Zamine said in our earlier conversation about EOF, like that's like a family to us. Because you know, we EOF. Yeah, educational opportunity fund.

SPEAKER_07 21:36

Right, right. Um maybe Zamine, you want to tell us a little bit about EOF and then we can hear a little bit about your own story and where you're from.

SPEAKER_02 21:43

So EOF, um, I could definitely say that it's prepared me. So uh my earliest memories of coming to St. Elizabeth actually was EOF, starting off with the five-week program. So starting from June, right after I graduated to all July.

SPEAKER_07 22:00

From high school during the first summer after graduation.

SPEAKER_02 22:03

It prepared us basically um giving us work that we had to turn in by Thursday, so that got us mentally prepared and physically prepared for when the semester comes, and um, you know, having like a lot of work being piled up and stuff like that we had to get to. So also having supportive teachers and um on top of that having the advisors. So we got to meet everyone that we were gonna be coming into the school year with. So that actually helped us all around the board, basically um, like I said, getting us mentally prepared and then also presenting us with opportunities. To come back to be a peer mentor. So I have experience and even uh ten years, she has experience with being a peer mentee and a peer mentor to where we were actually able to um introduce new incoming students.

SPEAKER_07 22:55

Paying it forward, right? Yeah, but given what you receive, right?

SPEAKER_02 22:57

Yeah, yeah, yeah, right. So um a little bit about me, my name is Zamine. I'm from Norfolk, New Jersey. And how I found out about St. Elizabeth University is the basically I came here through the Guarantee Education Program, which is funded by the Mayor of Norte. And I found out through um meeting the director at the time, Dr. David Hip, multiple times, and he was saying, be the first 40 No students to sign up to go to St. Elizabeth for free. And that's his warm welcome, is what brought me to even know about the school. I didn't know what St. Elizabeth was at first. I actually planned to go to C Hall University. Oh yeah. So coming here, uh, I'd never seen the campus prior to it. So seeing the campus, I actually love the nature vibe and um how spacious it is. So I come from North and it's really, so it's the city, so it's more like I grew up in Queens and served in Brooklyn, so I we see it. And so coming here, seeing that my that I had family that wasn't too far, and that I wasn't up here by myself, and I also had other people that came from North, it made me feel more welcome and accepted. And I had supportive mentors, especially. So uh yeah, I had supportive mentors, supportive uh professors, and ever since then I just love the um community.

SPEAKER_07 24:25

It sounds like EOF um maybe is a smaller group, but then also the larger um student community. There's that sense of family and community support uh that that that you've experienced here.

SPEAKER_09 24:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:37

And they present us with opportunities to be a part of Honor Society and they reward us for having uh a good GPA and maintaining our grades and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_07 24:47

Melissa, right?

SPEAKER_05 24:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 24:49

Has that been similar experience?

SPEAKER_05 24:51

Uh well, I'm actually not a part of the EOF program, so I can start with introductions. Hi, I'm Melissa. I also go by Mel. Yeah. I come from Springfield, New Jersey, which is just a small town. And uh how I found out about this campus, I don't know, I don't remember specifically how I found out, but I have family that have gone here. Um like I have cousins that have been here and all graduated, and uh I wanted a smaller school because I knew a bigger school I would get easily overwhelmed. So I was between here and Sentenary University. Sentenary because I originally came here for because I wanted to be uh forensic lab technician, but I've switched to psychology. And um so I came so came here. I knew I actually wanted to commute for my first um for my first year or so. So I commuted for the first three years, and as you say I'm a senior, so I live on campus now this year. Uh so I wanted to school that was closer, and centenary was like about an hour away. Okay. So I chose the closer school.

SPEAKER_07 25:58

God works in mysterious ways, right?

SPEAKER_05 26:00

Yeah, really.

SPEAKER_07 26:01

But is you've been happy with the decision, right? As a senior now. Um and uh looking forward to um it continuing your studies in psychology, you said, right? Yeah, so at the graduate level.

SPEAKER_05 26:10

Yeah, most likely, since I like to say you can't get a quote unquote decent job in psychology without it.

SPEAKER_07 26:16

Right, right, right. And to Tanasha Tay, uh psychology as well, right?

SPEAKER_00 26:21

No, I'm business and critical. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_07 26:23

Uh talk a little bit about that. What do you oh you I think you said you're thinking about law school?

SPEAKER_00 26:27

Yeah, I'm thinking about law school because at first I wanted to I wanted to become a detective, but then I was like, no. Maybe something else. But I'm really like, I don't know, I watch a lot of Law and Order and I watched the special victims one, so I'm like really tuned in with that. And plus, you know, I love helping people. And, you know, I feel as though not everyone gets the help that they want, right?

SPEAKER_07 26:56

Especially when they um run into difficulties in in terms of the law, right? And and we um we don't we strive for justice, but we know that the system is not always as as as good as we would want it to be, right? So someone having a a good defender uh i is is important, right?

SPEAKER_00 27:13

Yeah, I just want to be that person that can like at least try and help. Like, you know, I'm like I can't make promises, but I'm at least I'm trying.

SPEAKER_07 27:21

Right, and you're willing to be there for someone in need, uh and uh Zamine, uh you major again?

SPEAKER_02 27:28

I majored in psychology.

SPEAKER_07 27:30

Right, you and Mel Melissa, right?

SPEAKER_02 27:32

Yeah, so at first I plan to be a sports psychologist. That's still in the plans because um I played a lot of sports growing up and I dealt with performance anxiety, and I think that it's not addressed enough. So I want to address the um performance anxiety and the anxiety that people carry from outside of the court or on the field that they bring to um the field in the court.

SPEAKER_07 27:57

Are you a sports fan?

SPEAKER_02 27:58

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 27:58

Uh yeah, it's been nice to see some athletes being a little bit more open about some of the struggles that they have, right? Yeah. Uh favorite sport or favorite team or athletes?

SPEAKER_02 28:08

So my favorite sport is basketball. I love basketball.

SPEAKER_07 28:12

Uh well, no, my favorite is baseball, but I love basketball. Uh who do you root for?

SPEAKER_02 28:15

Uh OKC and well, yeah, the Oklahoma City Thunders was my original team. Wow. We win right now. We win it. SGK. Uh also um the Brooklyn Nets. I like the Brooklyn Nets when they had Kyrie and Kevin Durant. Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_07 28:33

Uh and Hardin was the big three, but that didn't work out. Although he's he's still going, he's amazing. Um, I've always been a Knicks fan. And even though I was serving in Brooklyn when the Nets came to Brooklyn, uh, I wanted to root for them and I I would, but when you're a Knicks fan, you know it's hard to it's hard to change. And uh they had a tough loss to the Celtics yesterday, but I decided that uh uh maybe Knicks and S and Oklahoma City in the finals. Any sports fans?

SPEAKER_05 28:59

Yeah, I'm actually a big fan of hockey. Oh really? Yeah. New York Rangers.

SPEAKER_07 29:04

Oh wow. Uh they're trying to get in, right? Yeah. I used to root for the Islanders and I know that they're uh Yeah, they're trying to get into the playoffs.

SPEAKER_05 29:11

They're like fighting for that second wild card spot.

SPEAKER_07 29:14

And it's it's a struggle.

SPEAKER_00 29:17

I would say I like basketball. I just don't have a favorite team. It's just hard.

SPEAKER_07 29:23

Um well, you know, uh we enjoy watching this uh good athletes uh uh at at the top of their game, right? So um uh it's uh and that's an experience of community as well, right? I I went to college at St. John's University and it was the first time in a long time they had a good year, but then they it was disappointing in the end. So um thank you for your time, and uh we're gonna get another group of students in. But um, before we go, there might be someone out there thinking about coming uh to St. E's as a student. Uh what would your message be um to uh a high school senior or junior that that is thinking about St. St. Elizabeth's uh maybe um uh for both the academic and and maybe the the the the communal experience here or campus life or give a little uh commercial uh from your own experience for someone thinking about sustaining easier way to go, Mel?

SPEAKER_05 30:13

Oh yeah, sure. Okay. Uh I'd say like my advice is like have to think about it a little bit.

SPEAKER_07 30:21

Um we'll come back to it. Okay, exactly.

SPEAKER_05 30:25

What's that mean?

SPEAKER_02 30:26

Um something that I could speak about for especially from my experience is be open to new things. Don't limit yourself and don't sell yourself short. Basically get all your all of your money's worth first of your four years and make sure that you get into clubs and that you basically exercise your gifts and embrace who you are because it's really hard to be yourself in a world where everyone wants to be like each other. So that's my main thing is um learn your identity and don't necessarily tie it to who you were or where you came from and just make a new story and like basically pick up the pen and not let anyone else write it for you because it's really hard to come to college and be yourself without you know mixing in and blending in with everyone else. So create your own idea.

SPEAKER_07 31:21

You also spoke about a second chance, right? You feel that uh that the the um coming here saying that he's gave you a new opportunity to grow and develop, right? Yeah. So if there's someone young high school student out there who thinks I may never go to college, you can tell them this never tell yourself never. Never know right, right. You never know.

SPEAKER_02 31:38

It's full of um it's full of possibilities, all I guess. Right. Yeah. Tenacious.

SPEAKER_00 31:43

Well, my advice was the same what Zamine had said. Well, I guess like get out of your comfort zone, don't let anyone tell you you can't do anything.

SPEAKER_07 31:51

Don't be afraid.

SPEAKER_00 31:51

Yeah, don't be afraid. Don't even let don't even tell yourself you can't do anything because you can do anything you want to do. It's all about you trying to do it.

SPEAKER_07 32:00

And you I think you both said if a student comes here who might be a little uncomfortable, they can get a mentor, right? You then that can that can make a big difference, right?

SPEAKER_05 32:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 32:09

Yeah, yeah. Melissa.

SPEAKER_05 32:10

Okay, yeah, I think I'm ready now. Uh I say if you come to college, make the most of your four years, because four years goes by really fast. I'm sure Tay can attest to that since we're both seniors. Four years will go by really fast, and like everyone said, you know, you need to step out of your comfort zone. Like when I came here first, I was definitely very, very shy. And I could um talk to people who know me now, and they're like, wow, yeah, you're actually really extroverted. But I'm like, no, I don't think.

SPEAKER_07 32:39

You should have seen me.

SPEAKER_05 32:40

Yeah, you should have seen me three years ago when I was a little freshman and I didn't know anybody or anyone, and I was just in my own little shell. So I think make the most of it. Uh use your resources wisely, I'd say, since you've got teachers who are willing to help you, you've got pro you've got students who are willing to help you, especially we have a lot of tutors that are really good. So you just make the most of your four years because it will fly by.

SPEAKER_07 33:05

And saying it is a good place to spend those four years.

SPEAKER_05 33:08

Yeah, yeah, making memories.

SPEAKER_07 33:09

Well, thank you so much. Really appreciate your time, and God bless you as you look forward. I might see you at graduation. I think I'm gonna be coming for graduation. See you again. Thank you, God bless you. Thanks a lot. Thanks, everybody. Well, welcome. Uh so uh happy to have you here. And uh I've when we started, did we say have you any of you been on a podcast before? Is it all the first time?

SPEAKER_01 33:34

Uh this is my first time. This will be the first.

SPEAKER_07 33:35

All right. So maybe you could just uh introduce yourselves and where you're from and uh what year you're in, uh a little bit about yourself. Christine? Christina or Christina?

SPEAKER_03 33:44

Christina.

SPEAKER_07 33:45

Christina.

SPEAKER_03 33:45

Yeah, hi, I'm Christina. Um I'm a senior. I'm double majoring in criminal justice and psychology with a minor in victim services.

SPEAKER_07 33:54

And uh two sport athletes. Ah, yes.

SPEAKER_03 33:57

Uh I'm on the volleyball team and the chair and stud team.

SPEAKER_07 34:01

Great.

SPEAKER_01 34:01

John? Hi, uh my name is Jonathan, but I go by John. I am a business administration uh major here, and I minor in accounting and sports management. I also play on the basketball team here.

SPEAKER_07 34:15

Oh, great. How was the season?

SPEAKER_01 34:17

Uh it was good, but unfortunately it got cut short for me. Uh oh, injury. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 34:21

Sorry about that. What year are you in again? Uh I'm a senior. Okay. Um and where'd you grow up?

SPEAKER_01 34:27

Uh I grew up in uh Passic, New Jersey. Oh, right. And later on moved to Clifton.

SPEAKER_07 34:31

Right, right. Uh Jennifer, right? Yes. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

SPEAKER_04 34:35

Hi guys. Um, my name is Jennifer. I am a sophomore here, and I am from North Bergen, New Jersey, so Hudson County area. Um I am not on a sports team, but I did start my own club on campus called the Performance Club.

SPEAKER_07 34:49

The Performing The Performance Club, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:51

Yeah, what performing um it's basically like dance.

SPEAKER_07 34:55

Freestyle singing um and acting. Oh, then everything.

SPEAKER_04 34:59

What inspired you to um so originally it was um a dance club. I started as dance. Um when I came here that's what I wanted to do. Um and then they had took out the arts program here, so I um ended up starting the dance club and then um I later then realized that you know, because it's so small, there really isn't that many dancers on campus and people do have other talents. So I was like, okay, well performance club is a variety of the whole arts. So um we changed the name this semester. How's it going? It's been going well, it was going really good for um fall semester, but you know, it's gotten downspring. Each semester is a little different. Yeah, it is different, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 35:35

And uh support from the administration in terms of starting your own club, that's pretty good. No, yeah, for sure. Yeah, great, great. Um, so uh maybe Jonathan and Christina, uh um somebody who doesn't know what things are like here what life is like here at St. Eliz at St. East and and might even be thinking about coming here, what would you say to someone who's who's not familiar with the university or uh might be thinking about uh coming here as a student?

SPEAKER_03 36:04

Oh sure. Um I think what's what's really important about this school is well, one, the community here. Uh we're all so close. Um and it's so nice to be able to walk through campus and to actually know everybody by name and being able to wave and and all that. I mean, there is there is a day, um, I can't remember if it was last year or the year before where we all just went outside and had like a whole snowball fight, like little kids. Um, and it's it's just a really awesome community to be a part of, um, especially like in terms of the resources that we have here. Um, just having all of that at your leisure, it pretty much gives you the option whether or not you want to succeed in college. Um, because all the resources are there, it's just up to you whether or not you want to use them.

SPEAKER_07 36:53

Right. Do all three of you live on campus? Yes. No, okay. Uh Jonathan, tell us a little bit about uh what would be a reason for someone to come here to St. East.

SPEAKER_01 37:02

So, like Christina said, uh the community is very big here. I find that to be like one of the main reasons I did come here. I wasn't familiar with St. Elizabeth, but um through my AAU travel team. Oh yeah. Um I was originally supposed to go to another school, but um unfortunately that didn't work out. But in my luck, it did work out in my favor because I got to come to St. Elizabeth and I got to meet a bunch of new people. Um I would say like the community is like a family, honestly. And you talked about EOF with the last group. Right. Oh EOF, you're EOF as well, yeah, yeah. They are also like a big family, right? They help you with whatever you need. Um, but yeah.

SPEAKER_07 37:41

And um you could say something to uh young people like myself, it sounds like uh that uh in grammar school and high school sports might have seemed like everything in life. I don't know if that was the case with you, but if you played AAU, I'm guessing you spend a lot of time in a basketball court and uh and then we can get to college and realize wow there's there's sports is great, but there's a lot bigger world out there, right? And uh and education is so important.

SPEAKER_01 38:03

Yeah, so for people who think uh sports and sports is that it, you're much more than an athlete, I promise you. Um I wasn't the best student in high school, but uh when I came to St. Elizabeth, it really opened my eyes that I'm more than just an athlete. And um even though I love the game of basketball, I will still play it to like whenever I can. Uh you know, I'm getting better better with my injury, but um you're more than an athlete. Like if you put your mind to the books, it can really help you. And you can actually take it somewhere.

SPEAKER_07 38:35

Right. And uh Jennifer, maybe you can talk about your experience of the community and you're you're you're a sophomore, right? So um what would you say um in your own development or experience from thinking back to when you first came as a freshman almost two years ago now and to where you are now? Has how's the how's the community impacted you and what's the experience been like?

SPEAKER_04 38:55

Yeah, so I definitely can say it did start with EOF. So I always vouch for EOF um because when I first came in, um it was basically you know the summer program of EOF kind of gives you like an upper hand because you're meeting all the freshmen and the freshmen are just as scared as you are. So it kind of gives you that feel of campus, it gives you that like okay, this is what my class is gonna look like, this is what the um campus looks like. Um so definitely it started with with me for EOF and when I came in I didn't feel like a freshman. I felt like that. Did you have the five-week summer program like the others that yeah, so um yeah, I had the the five-week summer program, so it it did make me feel like okay, like my eyes scared when I came in, and um so definitely EOF and then having the orientation to the week before um has definitely impacted my freshman experience. Um and then I could definitely say you again going back to EOF is um just the community is always there, like my advisor, my advisor and the advisors are also just like you know, I'm always in their office and stuff, they're very welcoming, um, and they're they're just always there. And like they they never make you feel like like you can't use me. And I always say, like, I'm paying for a college, so I'm gonna use all my resources.

SPEAKER_07 40:02

Um a lot of support, huh? A lot of support. Uh and um what was your connection originally with the EOF, John?

SPEAKER_01 40:10

So actually, like I said, uh I was supposed to go to another school, but um I came here, so I came a week late. So originally I wasn't EOF. Okay. But a good friend of mine put in the word for me.

SPEAKER_07 40:20

And oh, so you came here before you knew about EOF?

SPEAKER_01 40:24

Yes. Okay, yeah, so I started actually school had already started, and then I came, so I was a week late. I didn't move on to campus until like another week after.

SPEAKER_07 40:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 40:34

But like I said, the community opened me with lovely. You caught up pretty quickly, huh?

SPEAKER_07 40:38

Right, right. And Christina, um, where did you go to high school?

SPEAKER_03 40:41

I went to Colonial High School.

SPEAKER_07 40:43

And uh how did you hear about uh St. East or what led you to choose to come here if you remember four years ago when you were a senior in high school?

SPEAKER_03 40:50

Yeah, um I was looking at a lot of schools in the area, of course, like athletics played a really big role. I came here for volleyball originally. Um so I was I was looking at FDU right next door, I was looking at Drew, I was looking everywhere. Um, and I think what really sold me was the first ever open house I came to here. Um because I think that was the first ever open house I'd ever been to where it didn't feel like everybody was working. Like it just felt like they were just talking and they were just like just having fun.

SPEAKER_07 41:20

They weren't doing the hard sell.

SPEAKER_03 41:21

Yeah, like it wasn't so scripted, it was just natural, yeah. Um and that's what really sold me on it.

SPEAKER_07 41:27

That's great, that's great, and it was a good decision, huh?

SPEAKER_03 41:29

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 41:30

Great. Um, well, uh being here at a Catholic university, um, what is uh your experience of the faith like been? Whether you participate or whether it's just kind of something in the background, um uh how how has it uh been for you that that that that St. E's is a Catholic university? How how's that experience been for you? John, you wanna?

SPEAKER_01 41:52

Yeah, I'll start it. So um I do believe in God. I'm not uh big on religion, but I always keep God with me. I do pray at night, every night after uh my day is over. I pray before games sometimes, you know. So I like the fact that they don't try to force it on you, but it is there if you do need to go to church or to chapel, you know. So that I'd say.

SPEAKER_07 42:15

Okay, great. Others Catholic, but it's like being in a Catholic university.

SPEAKER_03 42:19

Uh yeah, I mean I faith is huge to me. I think faith drives all motivation. Um and I I agree. I think it's really nice for people who aren't super religious that it's it's not really pushed. Um but we we learn a lot of a lot of um principles about faith, things like inclusivity and morals and service opportunities.

SPEAKER_07 42:44

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 42:45

We have a we have a whole class about like community service and and basically being um like what it means to be good to others. Uh those are basically what a lot of our general education courses consist of. Right. And I think that's beautiful. I'm I'm not sitting here taking a math class that I don't need, instead, I'm sitting here talking about what it means to be human and how to be kind.

SPEAKER_07 43:04

Right, right.

SPEAKER_04 43:07

Um so I definitely do agree that the resource is there. Like um, if you do believe in God, um I do believe in God, so I I am a Christian, um, and I know that Christianity is a part of um Catholics. Um so yeah, it's been a nice experience that the church is there. I think when the um sophomore, my sophomore year, the beginning, how they do the mass beginning. Yeah, so I had went to that.

SPEAKER_07 43:33

Gets the year off to a good start.

SPEAKER_04 43:34

Yeah, yeah. So it definitely gives you that like okay, like you know, the the prayer and stuff like that and the music was definitely nice. So it was a nice experience.

SPEAKER_07 43:43

Um, so uh um it's uh it's great to see, as you say, that um it's it's uh part of the identity of the university, and I'm sure you've heard about the Sisters of Charity, right? And uh the history and uh and and to think of some of those women that uh just started with very little here in Convent Station. They actually started, I think, in in Newark and in Patterson. Um they founded a hospital, you know, in St. Joe's in Patterson, and uh they moved out here and uh they were here before the train station. I think they got a train station here, and that and that's why it's called Convent Station, right? Because the convent is here and there's a train station here. So uh so we're grateful for the assistant of charity and the great foundation uh that is here at St. East. And uh maybe as we conclude, um uh maybe something somebody doesn't know, or what's just the best thing about uh life here at St. East and and again, somebody who might not be thinking about coming here. Um What what would be something that they may not realize that you could tell 'em kind of from the inside?

SPEAKER_01 44:44

Um, so something they might not know is everybody watches movies and they see professors on movies and they're like, Oh, they're they're not nice, you know, but that's very opposite here. Right. Like the professors are here for you at this university. Like they're actually there to help you. If you're having a problem and let's say uh let's say you had a family issue and they're very like they're very willing to give you an extension sometimes, understanding, supportive, yeah. So because they know that although you're here to learn, life still goes on, you know? So everything comes before this. It's not us and them, right?

SPEAKER_07 45:22

There's the the there's the the the the the professors are part of the community experience as well, huh? Yeah, that's great, that's great. Something else?

SPEAKER_03 45:28

Yeah, um, I would definitely say in terms of learning, I think it's really important to find your own reason to learn. Um there's so many amazing things when it comes to learning, and to be able to view it as something that's valuable instead of something that's just, you know, you have to.

SPEAKER_09 45:51

Right.

SPEAKER_03 45:51

Um so being able to find that value in it is so important. And it's also a lot a lot easier than you'd think, especially like when you're in college and you're starting to learn for your career. Um, it becomes a lot easier to sit here and to like want to understand.

SPEAKER_07 46:06

When it's something you want to do as opposed to something you have to do, right? Right, right, right. Jen, I'm not sure if you told us, have you picked your major?

SPEAKER_04 46:12

Yeah, I declared my major, so psychology. Psychology. Yeah. I want to tell one thing about that somebody might not know about saying these that um Um I could definitely say it's not as intimidating as people um try to say college is. I believe that college is what you make it. So again, going back to using your resources, and I think how we all agree about the support in the community here, it's definitely like okay, like the support is here. The community is here. Um it's a small school, so it's uh definitely a better opportunity to get to know people and for people to know you and who you are, and making yourself known here is pretty easy.

SPEAKER_07 46:47

I think sorry, go ahead.

SPEAKER_04 46:49

And yeah, so it's just not as intimidating as like John said, like at the movies and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_07 46:54

And as Tanacia said, I think on the last segment, uh don't be afraid, right? Uh uh come on in. You'll be you'll find a welcome uh and support here at St. Eve's, right?

SPEAKER_03 47:03

Yeah, yeah, there's a home everywhere.

SPEAKER_07 47:05

Beautiful, beautiful. Well, thank you very much. I really appreciate you spending the time and you're great spokespersons for the university. So God bless you. Thank you. Great to meet you. Take care. God bless you. God bless you. Thank you very much. Thanks, everybody. Let's hear for our students at St. East. God bless you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_08 47:27

Okay, and we're back, Bishop. It's good to be back with you. It's uh I keep getting kicked off lately. I feel like uh I'm not sure how I feel about that. But uh you do a great job as a as an interviewer, I have to say. And uh, how was your time speaking with the students and Dr.

SPEAKER_07 47:41

Yeah, what did um uh Michael Smallin, the the director um of um uh development here at at St. He's the made the connection and uh and I've had the you know working relationship with Dr. Crosby and as we mentioned uh St. Paul's, our evangelization center, and Maria Moncagliano, our um director of Hispanic Ministry for the Yohanator um uh the the team at St. Paul's have been working so closely with St. East going back to Bishop Zaratelli's time. And so it's wonderful to have that relationship. And then when we saw that the uh that they have this great studio and uh we offered to uh maybe have an episode here, they were Dr. Santa Maria and again uh the whole uh administration here at um Saint E's working with us and then choosing such great students. And we should mention Brandon and Josh right behind the uh behind the uh the the camera there uh for their technical help. So we're very grateful. And yes, Jay, thanks for jumping back and forth. But uh and uh I don't want to forget we have a um uh the um Saint E's is coming up on May's uh Saint St. Elizabeth's brick by brick, a celebration of 125 years, an elegant evening um with guests and uh celebration of the commute the commitment of the mission and future of St. Elizabeth University. So that's gonna be a Thursday, May 1st, uh the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, Thursday, May 1st, at the Morristown Hyatt Regency Um uh Hotel. Uh and you can get more um uh information on the show notes, right? Joe, we'll have that up there.

SPEAKER_08 49:15

Yeah, you're good at this. So and I see one of the honorees is going to be the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth. Right. Do you want to touch on their presence here on the other side?

SPEAKER_07 49:25

Again, they're they're really the the ultimate host of the university because they were here first in uh in Convent Station and as Dr. Crosby shared, beginning with the academy and then the college and now the university, uh we we're so grateful for the Sisters of Charity and they do a lot of work in our neighbor in the Archdiocese of Newark, and uh and we know the the um they're gonna be recognized for that uh at the gala. And uh there's also gonna be some Hall of Fame uh honorees, right? Maureen Lavin, Yolanda Kunz, and Elaine Grill Grillo, the class of 67, 68, and 77 respectively. So uh I'm hoping to try to be there myself for the gala, so we encourage others to check it out.

SPEAKER_08 50:05

RSVP by today when this episode comes out. But uh details will be in the show notes. So um anything you want to reflect on uh from today, any of the conversations with the students or President Crosby that stood out to you?

SPEAKER_07 50:19

Uh just uh that wow sense of community. Uh really good to hear. And you could tell the students uh uh felt that uh they were nervous first coming, and those who were in that I hadn't heard that so much about the um education opportunity fund. I think it is AOF, and uh you could see the impact uh that the that first five weeks before freshman year helped them to get uh kind of situated and and feel at home here and uh um built up relationships and you could see, especially in the seniors, you know, that um they're they're very much part of uh the family here at the university and uh and that's great to see. So uh I think I'm gonna be at their graduation, so I'll be glad to uh connect with them again.

SPEAKER_08 51:00

So then we'll have some photos in the online beacon. Um all right, before we wrap up, any uh final thoughts? You are you what are you what are you reading lately?

SPEAKER_07 51:10

Uh-huh. So um we're this will come out after Easter, and we're recording uh just before Holy Week. Uh but um Pope Francis' biography, I'm not sure if I mentioned that before, but his autobiography, um about halfway through it, uh been busy lately, uh, but uh maybe by the time it's in progress I will um I will uh have finished it. But um yeah, um uh God bless him and uh we pray he made a a surprise appearance at the Vatican on this past Sunday, which was great, and he looked really good, I thought, uh, you know, for all that he's been through. And uh so we we keep in him in our prayers and uh he's certainly an inspiration, uh especially as a pilgrim of hope in this jubilee of hope.

SPEAKER_08 51:48

So uh Yeah you wrote about it in your column. Right.

SPEAKER_07 51:50

And now um in the Easter season we uh celebrate the the joy of the Lord's resurrection and just a wonderful time in the church, first communions, confirmations, graduations. Um so and we'll have the um family day coming up at the end of May, May 31st, the Jubilee of Families. So stay tuned for all the activities happening here in our our wonderful diocese, and we thank all those like Jay and so many in our leadership who who make those things possible. So it's uh it's great to have the opportunity to be here at St. Elizabeth and continue the mission uh day by day.

SPEAKER_08 52:23

Well, and thank you for your leadership, Bishop. And I want to be the first to tell you happy Easter. There you go. And with your spirit. Yeah, thank you. Um with your spirit. Uh okay. Well then uh why don't we uh why don't we call it call it a day here? Um thank you for joining us. Please subscribe, comment, and leave a positive rating. Get to know us better by following Beyond the Beacon on Facebook or Instagram. Email questions and podcast topic ideas to beyond and Patterson Dicee. To beyond at pattersondioces.org. Discover our other podcast, coffee with Kupke and the Paul Street Journal. See you next time.

SPEAKER_07 52:59

Thanks, everybody. Thank you, St. Elizabeth's University, Dr. Crosby, and all here at St. East. Thank you. God bless you.