Common Thread: Xavier Saints FOCUSing on Their Love for God

All students at Xavier are encouraged to be the best person they can be and to serve the Lord in any way possible. Five Xavier alumni have done exactly that by serving as FOCUS missionaries. Ethan Holverson (X16), Camryn Miller (X17), Kyle Skoumal (X16), Tristen Perreault (X18), and Sarah (Bouska) Perreault (X18) have all been working at changing the world and serving God after graduating from Xavier High School. 

FOCUS is a Catholic outreach group whose mission is to share the hope and joy of the Gospel with college students. Many colleges have campus ministries available, but FOCUS missionaries are closer in age to the students and bring a fresh perspective to the way most college-aged students think of Catholicism. The Xavier community is very lucky to have multiple connections to the FOCUS missionaries, including Fr. Jon Seda, the newly-appointed priest at St. Pius X.

Before his Cedar Rapids appointment, Fr. Jon Seda was involved with FOCUS missionaries for four years; one year at Iowa State and three years at UNI. When starting the FOCUS group at ISU, Fr. Seda believed that the campus ministry program had grown so much that they needed more help. Instead of finding more adults to be campus ministers, Fr. Seda decided to add a group of FOCUS missionaries. The four FOCUS missionaries at ISU helped create the environment to be more experience-based and added events like SEEK conferences and spring break mission trips. 

Because of the FOCUS program, the younger Catholic populations on campus were able to draw themselves into real relationships with Jesus and sustain them. Fr. Seda’s favorite part of being involved with the FOCUS missionaries at ISU and UNI was the thrill of watching young people understand who God really was to them for the first time. The missionaries were able to connect with the younger students and help them learn more deeply about their faith and what God meant to them. While at UNI, Fr. Seda tells us that before the FOCUS missionaries came to their campus there were about seven students attending daily Mass compared to more than 40 students after they had come. This can be attributed to the students finding authentic friendships with other students celebrating Mass. Fr. Seda loves that there are so many Xavier alumni becoming missionaries for the FOCUS group because of the ways they have grown in their faith.

Ethan Holverson (X16) is a FOCUS missionary at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh where he has an emphasis on helping college athletes grow in their relationship with Jesus. After graduating from Xavier, Ethan went on to play baseball at Loras College when another FOCUS missionary showed him how to live an authentic, genuine life with God in the center of everything. This is why he was motivated to apply for the missionary position that changed Ethan’s life.

Ethan tells us about why he loves being a FOCUS missionary: “My favorite part of FOCUS is the amazing people who work for the organization. The organization is founded and based on the model that Jesus lived out Himself, but FOCUS would be nonexistent, if not for the continual ‘Yes’ of every employee in our organization. Everybody is living their lives with Heaven as the goal!”

Camryn Miller (X17) is currently a FOCUS missionary at the University of Wisconsin. Camryn always knew that she wanted to strive toward making Christ the center of her life. She attended the University of Iowa where she met a team of FOCUS missionaries and started attending bible studies, outreach, and discipleship accompaniment. Camryn was then invited to become a missionary for FOCUS and she is now so happy that she decided to join the group.

Camryn believes that she has received a glimpse of the thirst that God has for His sons and daughters to be in relationship with Him. Being a part of the FOCUS missionaries has called Camryn into deep sacrificial love that has humbled her greatly. Camyrn has realized that she cannot do anything without God. As a FOCUS missionary, Camryn starts each day with an hour of silent prayer, followed by a half hour coffee social with students, attends daily Mass, and prays the rosary. The rosary each missionary prays daily is meant to help them prioritize their own relationship with Jesus Christ. 

Kyle Skoumal (X16) is a FOCUS missionary at Wayne State University in Detroit, and loves being able to lead college students. “It’s exciting to see students make breakthroughs in their understanding of passages, and then be able to hear the voice of God speak through it. For many, they are hearing God speak through scripture for the first time and this is what sparks their relationship with Jesus.”

Kyle first learned about FOCUS missionaries while a student at UNI when a few missionaries were sent to the campus Kyle’s senior year. He was already involved in campus ministry but shared that FOCUS is what brought him to a deeper level of faith. Kyle decided to join this group after graduating college because he wanted to serve God and the missionary group offered such a beautiful mission and opportunity to do so. Kyle says if he could go back in time, he would absolutely join FOCUS again. He believes that joining the group was the best decision he could have made for his future and that no matter where he ends up, Kyle knows that he will have received some of the best formation possible for his vocation and responsibilities to Christ and His Church.

Tristen Perreault (X18) and Sarah (Bouska) Perreault (X18) serve as a married couple for the FOCUS missionaries group at Northwest Missouri State. Tristen was led to know about FOCUS while attending college at UNI when Kyle Skoumal (X16) reached out to him and invited Tristen to a national FOCUS conference. During this conference, he had an encounter with Christ that led him to re-evaluate his calling in life. Tristen decided to change his major and proposed to his now wife, Sarah. After continuous prayer, Tristen was led to ‘go and make disciples of all nations’ and felt called to live a life of full time mission with FOCUS.

Tristen feels strongly about his Catholic roots as he tells us how being a Xavier student has impacted him: “Xavier certainly impacted my life in a way that led me to becoming a FOCUS missionary. God has used every event in my life to lead me to where I am today, and Xavier was definitely part of it.”

While in college, Sarah attended bible studies and a small group formation called Discipleship; both groups had a huge impact on her faith journey. Sarah discerned not to become a full-time missionary but still wanted to be involved wherever she and Tristen were placed. Sarah is now an affiliate missionary, working part-time with FOCUS, and is planning to work at a local hospital as well. Being a part of FOCUS has inspired Sarah to pray more consistently and with greater intention. Her personal relationship with Jesus is continually growing and she is excited to share her faith and life with others.

As Fr. Seda mentioned in an interview, Xavier students thrive exceptionally and continue to seek God after graduating. Continually choosing to love and serve God is a common trait among Xavier graduates and is seen often in their passion to serve others. As a Xavier community, we are proud to call these five graduates Saints as they live the Xavier Way, every day. Fr. Seda summarized his favorite thing about Xavier students: “Xavier is the best Catholic high school in Iowa, the students are motivated to serve and lead. This school produces such a distinctive student and Catholic; the atmosphere creates an overall good graduate.”     

To learn more about FOCUS, visit www.focus.org.