Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
(At Creighton), there's a strong emphasis on not just improving your resume but discerning how to become the best and truest version of yourself, how to understand your talents and contribute to the world. I learned the most about myself in the process of serving others.
By Micah Mertes
Kathryn McGovern, Class of 2026, could be a case study in how to make the most of your Creighton experience.
During her time studying theology, justice and society, the Chicago native took on as many opportunities as she could:
The Honors Program, Christian Life Community (CLC), leading Encounter Retreats with Campus Ministry, singing in the choir at St. John’s Mass, Service & Justice trips around the country, and a four-month Encuentro Dominicano immersion in the Dominican Republic, where she worked on an aqueduct and at an elementary school. Outside of Creighton, she spent much of her free time working with children with disabilities through Nebraska Medicine’s Munroe-Meyer Institute.
“Through these experiences,” Kathryn says, “there was a strong emphasis on not just improving your resume but discerning how to become the best and truest version of yourself, how to understand your talents and what you want from life and how you're able to contribute to the world. I learned the most about myself in the process of serving others.”
Jesuit charisms like cura personalis served as the framework for making the most of every experience. She learned how to place her passion and purpose into context during long discussions at the Retreat Center or in the classroom. (Her favorite classes included Vocational Discernment and the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises.)
Kathryn has continued her journey in Catholic education, both as a student and (now) an educator. She’s a master’s student at the University of Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education. This summer, she will take courses in Catholic education. Starting in the fall, she will teach third grade full-time at an underserved Catholic school in Milwaukee.
Shortly before commencement, we spoke with McGovern about the many things that made her Creighton experience worthwhile and how they shaped the person she’s become.
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Why did you choose Creighton?
McGovern: I visited during spring break of my junior year in high school. It’s very cliché, but I definitely fell in love with the place. I loved the sense of mission and purpose, the strong sense of community.
Did the past four years confirm your first impression of Creighton?
I loved it all, of course. I was reflecting on all the experiences I’ve had since freshman year, and I think that thing that still surprises me is just how many things I got to be a part of. The Creighton education and the Jesuit charism of cura personalis exposes students to so many different facets of life.
What were some of your favorite classes? Who are some of your favorite teachers?
Do you know Father Gillick and Father Carlson (Rev. Larry Gillick, SJ, and Rev. Gregory Carlson, SJ)?
Oh, of course.
My gosh, I love them. I took their Ignatian Spiritual Exercises class last semester, and it’s given me a better understanding of my faith and helped me discern where God is working in my life and where He might be calling me. I’ve also taken many classes in justice and peace studies that have provided me with a framework for thinking about some of the harsher realities I’ve encountered while traveling abroad with Creighton.
What Creighton experiences and traditions will you miss most?
I know "community" is a big word around Creighton, and it has really been a hallmark of my time here in so many ways. I’m part of a Tuesday night choir with a few other female students. We sing at the 9 p.m. Mass at St. John’s. I’m in the choir with three other girls who I also live with. We met because we wanted to sing together, but we’ve become a really close community that prays together and supports each other.
I’ll miss the Campus Ministry retreats, too. I led a fall adventure retreat at the start of this academic year. I was one of about eight members of the leadership team, and we got to the campsite three hours early to set up tents for everyone. It started raining, and everything was going wrong (laughs). It’s one of my favorite memories of Creighton.
How have the last four years with Creighton changed you?
The thing I’ll take with me most from Creighton, beyond the sense of community, is the idea of continual discernment. I changed a lot at Creighton, and I will continue to change. Fortunately, Creighton showed me so many ways to keep growing as a whole human being. I might be graduating, but everything I learned and everything I became at Creighton will always stay with me.
