Come to Life @ La Roche University

When Kaylee chose La Roche University, a college close to home, she couldn’t have guessed how far her faith would travel. So close to home, she would find abundant life in the company of students from all around the world!

This was unexpected. She chose La Roche simply because it was a Catholic school with a good interior design program. “I was raised Catholic and wanted to keep my faith going,” she said. “And they were accredited for interior design.”

Still, like every student, she didn’t know how college would go. “You get all different backgrounds, people, cultures, everything. I just felt like it was too vast for me to find my group.” So Kaylee prayed that God would send her to people in college who could be by her side, people who could help her grow in her faith. 

When a friend told her about the CCO ministry on campus, she thought “Okay, this could be an open door to answered prayer.”

So Kaylee joined Life. This is the name of the  weekly CCO fellowship group at La Roche because, as CCO staff Julianna Kish explains, “It’s a place for students to come, explore, and encounter the abundant life offered by Jesus Christ.” Every week they have snacks, play a game, worship together, and study the Bible. 

And every week, there are students from at least seven different countries gathered in fellowship.

Maya is from Equatorial Guinea, Sophie is from Kenya, and Abel and Dania are from Burundi. Other students hail from Zimbabwe and Canada. And Samuella, or “Sammy,” came to La Roche from the West African nation of Sierra Leone. 

Sammy is a biology major at La Roche. She wanted an undergraduate experience that would prepare her for a medical career, but the options in her own country were limited. So she decided to take an ocean-wide leap of faith!

It wasn’t easy. The adjustment to college was compounded by culture shock and full of unexpected transitions. About a year in, Sammy wanted to give up. She reached out to a friend she had met through CCO ministry. 

“I called her one day, just so stressed out, feeling so bad, and she told me something that will forever stick with me. ‘God will not bring you this far to just leave you.’”

This gave Sammy hope—and a new resolve to draw closer to God. When asked to be a part of the CCO leadership team, she said yes. It was a way of growing deeper in her faith, and also a way to invite others into what she had found. 

“I’m a friendly person and I like to make the first move to talk to people,” she said. “So when I see someone new at La Roche, I always try to get to know them more. And then I say, ‘You should come to Life.’”

You should come to Life. 

This is an invitation that travels down the road from La Roche, but can also cross oceans. And it is an invitation that brings students from many backgrounds and cultures together as the Body of Christ.

Julianna says, “Life is a place where everyone can feel like they belong and bring their whole selves. That includes their race, their ethnicity, their culture, and the experiences that have formed them. Because of that, we get to experience the beauty of God’s diverse Kingdom here and now!”

This year, Kaylee is a junior and Sammy is a senior. Both are student ministry leaders and sing on the worship team. And together they are there to welcome students—from near and far—to share the abundant life in Jesus they have found.