Answering the Church’s call for a new evangelization, FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, is a national outreach that meets college students where they are and invites them into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and the Catholic faith.
The Main Thing: Inviting college students into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church. Inspiring and equipping them for a lifetime of Christ-centered evangelization, discipleship, and friendship in which they lead others to do the same.
If you're a college student interested in growing in your faith, exploring faith, Bible Study, serving on a mission trips, attending national conferences of Catholic Students, etc., contact Josh.
All of our missionaries are happy to grab coffee with you (keeping social distance), hear your story, talk about college life, and help you live out your faith on Berkeley's campus! We invite you to connect with any of the missionaries below!
Meet our missionaries
(and your new friends)
Josh Schroeder (Team Leader)
Where I serve
I am serving this year as the Team Director at the University of California Berkeley! I can’t wait to walk with students on campus as we grow closer to Jesus together! Go Golden Bears!
My Story
My faith has always been important to me, but I really struggled to live in a personal relationship with Jesus after I reached the age of 14. When I got to San Diego State I looked for happiness in the people I was with, the activities I was a part of, and other pursuits I thought mattered in the world. While none of these things were bad innately, I didn’t find the life that I was searching for in any of them.
Right before my senior year, I started to pray every day before the Tabernacle, and this totally revolutionized the way I lived and the way I saw my Catholic faith. I have found the joy I was searching for in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and all I want is to share it with others. I have loved getting to enter into the lives of others the way Jesus became incarnate in our world. I am amazed by the way I have seen Him work in the different souls I meet on campus.
Jency Clement
Where I serve
I’m blessed to be a first-year missionary at UC Berkeley!
My Story
I think most of my life has been marked by a deep ache for something truly meaningful. At the beginning of college, I went deep into my faith praying every day while also experiencing some of the deepest loneliness and emptiness I had ever known. Nevertheless, I kept praying and began to grow deeper in relationship with Jesus. To pursue a degree in Human Centered Design & Engineering, I chose to transfer to the University of Washington, back in Seattle. There, the roots I had begun developing in prayer grew even deeper and I began seeing some fruits of my prayer. I joined a vibrant faith community and met a Clare, a FOCUS missionary, who challenged me to grow in my faith and help others do the same. Through her witness, I learned that as a Catholic, I was called to an abundant life that was firmly grounded in Jesus and his Church.
I attended Seek ‘23, where I received a book on St. Elizabeth of the Trinity. She was a nun who always, always wanted to do the will of God and had a profound peace in the midst of the seasons of both joys and sufferings in her life, all because she trusted that what she was experiencing was the will of God, and she was totally at peace of that. As someone who is prone to worrying and has a tendency to be deeply impacted by my external circumstances, I found myself inspired by her gentle yet profound perspective. After discerning the call to be a Focus missionary, I am trying to pursue the will of God in ministry and in my life in general. I’m realizing that I want my life to be simply for God with everything I do—big or small—pointing back to Him.
Jordan Pinaroc
Where I serve
God has called me to serve college students at the University of California, Berkeley! Go Bears!
My Story
Coming into my first year at the University of California, Irvine (Go Anteaters!), I knew that I wanted to maintain my Catholic faith. However, I soon realized that despite the intellectual knowledge I had of the faith, and the various involvements I had at my home parish, there was one thing I was lacking: a personal relationship with Jesus. Even with attending Mass every Sunday, going to weekly Bible studies, and weekly prayer meetings, my faith started becoming a checklist in college and I very quickly became tired.
It wasn’t until I attended SLS20 where my faith journey started to change. Myself and thousands of other attendees had the privilege of having Eucharistic adoration right after the New Year countdown into 2020. As I was kneeling, being vulnerable to God and recognizing all of the baggage I was carrying, I felt Jesus looking intently at me in the Blessed Sacrament. It was at this moment where I was overwhelmed and convicted that the Lord knows, sees, and loves me, and desires a relationship with me. Although I don’t have a perfect relationship with Jesus, more and more He has called me closer to His heart, and becoming a FOCUS missionary is another call in this great adventure!
As a missionary, my greatest desire is to lead all students to Christ. My life has been transformed by Jesus and I want nothing more than to bring this joy to others and introduce them to the life-changing message of the Gospel. In His ministry on earth, Jesus humbled Himself to meet us on our level, taking on our humanity, and spent most of His time investing deeply in a few. I look to Jesus’ own example to find the best method of reaching the world. I've been constantly amazed by the different souls I've encountered on campus, and can’t wait to encounter the souls I will meet at UC Berkeley.
Rhianna Thomas
Where I serve
This year I am honored to serve the University of California, Berkeley! This will be such a change from my beloved Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas, and I am so excited for the adventure! Particularly, I feel called to share all the blessings that I received while in college with other college students and provide virtuous friendship and a home for those inside the Newman Center and on campus at Berkeley.
I would love for you to be on my team, whether that be through prayers or financial support! Together, we can bring Christ to California. Go Bears!
My Story
Growing up in a strong, Catholic, Air Force family, I experienced living out my Catholic faith throughout many states around the country. At each new church, and with each new year of school, I learned more and more about my faith — primarily because of my parents. From a young age, I fell in love with Christ, apologetics, and sharing Catholicism with people around me. So it was a no-brainer that I would join the Newman Center at Kansas State when I went off to college.
It was at St. Isidore’s Catholic Church that I learned how to truly give of myself and be generous with my time to others–whether that be through leading retreats, leading my praise and worship team, investing in deep conversations, having people over for dinner, etc. The paradox of the Gospel is that you will be more joyful and more fulfilled when you pour into others, as long as you have a firm foundation in Christ. And through coming to this understanding, I made many extremely close friends at K-State that I will always treasure. There is mutual love and a higher call for each other in virtue.
I chose to be a FOCUS missionary because others do not have a similar experience. So many college students are lonely and unfulfilled, looking for truth, goodness, and beauty. As a missionary, I truly hope that I can share Christ and bring community and friendship to Berkeley, California.