Thanks to Benedictine, He Is Headed to New York

Gabriel Maday says Benedictine College leadership formation prepared him for his next destination: The Bronx.

He came to Benedictine College in Kansas from Traverse City, Mich., and used his time here to prepare to be an effective teacher. He still remembers driving to campus with his whole family, including his dog (pictured). Now, he will be taking his next step alone.

“After graduation, I am heading out to New York to work as a Seton teaching fellow. I am excited to be able to work with kids again and to be able to interact in environments that the Lord is calling me to,” he said.

He owes his bigger horizons to his college choice, he said. “Coming to Benedictine has helped to expand what I thought about the world and our involvement in the world.”

Each aspect of Benedictine College’s mission to educate in a community of faith and scholarship, and the integration of all three, made its mark on Maday.

“Benedictine has taught me the importance of being a human. In everything that I did at Benedictine, such as RA and classes, all of them helped me to become a better human as a whole,” he said.

First, he was deeply involved in the community at Benedictine College as a Residence Advisor, responsible for providing weekly formative events for the men on his floor in St. Gabriel Hall.

That will help him in New York, he said. He told the college’s student newspaper that the college’s Leadership Seminar “changed my perspective on leadership by showing me what Benedictine is looking for in a leader. It used the same foundation as most leadership courses, but it polished them to reflect Benedictine values.”

Especially, he said, he learned that “we are all a team, and knowing how to plan helps leadership as a whole … because it is applicable everywhere.” Even The Bronx in New York.

Second, the faith life he found at Benedictine College has became very important to Maday also, and he took advantage of all the college has to offer.

“It has given me great pride in being Catholic and wanting to share with the world the beauty and the joy that come from the Church and loving Jesus. The best part has been being able to see if the Lord is calling me to serve with Seton and to offer the next generation a chance to come into contact with the beauty of the faith and Jesus,” he said.

Maday’s father, Jason, has been on a journey of his own, becoming a deacon shortly before Gabriel started as a freshman at Benedictine College.

Third: But scholarship was of fundamental importance to Gabriel.

Last year, Maday gave a presentation to the Annual Meeting of the Association for Psychological and Educational Research in Kansas when it met at Benedictine College. His team’s presentation was “Student Leadership: Personality Correlates and Motivations for Leading.” He described it this way:

 “College students aspire to leadership roles on campus for a variety of reasons, such as resume enhancement and personal fulfillment. Previous research shows that individual differences in personality might also predict leadership aspirations. In this study, we measured levels of narcissism, volunteer motivations, and self-esteem, and compared leaders versus non-leaders.”

Now, in the next chapter of his life, he hopes to continue the mission of Benedictine College in the wider world — “to be in New York and spend time in prayer, service, and community.”

He is especially grateful that he will be bringing the faith to new people. “Seton also offers a chance to serve in a setting that does not know Jesus and his Church. So to be able to enter into that as a missionary is very exciting,” he said, adding:

“I cannot wait to continue to grow during my time spent with Seton, and to help everyone, parents, children, and fellow missionaries, to continue to grow closer to our Lord and do everything to help them to fall in love with our Lord and his Church.”

By Editorial Staff