GLory Story: App Edition
March 2021
A Glory Story is a holy success story! More specifically, it is a short story sharing how God has become better known in the lives of people who have had contact with the ASJB. These stories are full of hope and give all glory to God! Every month we share a new story here so be sure to check in monthly to be uplifted by how God works in the lives of so many!
If you have a Glory Story of your own to share or have seen God work through the ASJB, contact us and we can feature your story!
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For over three years the ASJB has been working to create an app meant to assist rising College Freshman and it is finally here! In this month’s Glory Story, we share the beauty behind its creation and some of our favorite aspects of this phenomenal tool. If you want to learn more about the specific functions of the app and how to download it, click the button to the right!
So why did we create this?
In Father Vaccaro’s experience as a University Chaplain he observed that “year after year even though thousands of students would tour the university, less than 10 would tour the campus ministry.” He notes that this was especially troublesome given the fact that there are roughly 1,000 incoming freshman each Fall semester. He says, “I have had more than a few encounters with students who, even though they had been at their college for two or three years, had no idea where their campus ministry was even located.” This observation, together with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of course, led to a question: is there an app for that?
Despite Fr. Vaccaro admittedly having no experience with app development, the ASJB pulled together and worked to create this amazing tool that is now accessible to any person with access to an app store. It is the hope of Fr. Vaccaro and the ASJB team that it “will be part of thousands of Catholics’ college touring processes and a help to students as they arrive on campus to get connected with various campus ministries.”
What can it do?
We asked our Associate team what their favorite feature of the app is and why. Here are some of their responses:
Caroline
“I would say my favorite feature of the app is the map and contact information for each Catholic Campus Ministry. This puts you directly in touch with the ministry and is such a helpful and concise tool to use when you need to find the location of your campus Church or Catholic center! The fact that all the ministries can be found in one place really streamlines the process of contacting a ministry, which can sometimes be an inconvenience.”
Fr. Vaccaro
“The mapping feature is the feature I think that I think will be extremely helpful to students and prospective students right off the bat. With the ease of clicking a button on the app they are able to get directions literally to the front door of the campus ministry they are looking for!”
Laura
“My favorite feature of the app is being able to have easy access to a university's campus ministry information. I remember when I was looking at schools it was never easy to learn about the Catholic life on campus at any school but with the ASJB app it right at the tip of my fingers!”
How would this app have helped you as a rising College freshman?
Theresa
“This app would have allowed me to find out which schools seemed to be a good fit in regards to my faith. Many times, it is easy to find a school with our majors or our favorite sports, but we overlook a very important part, and that is our faith.”
Laura
“An app like this would have made it so much easier to keep track of all the schools I toured and what I liked about each one. In the process of touring schools it is very easy to forget everywhere you have been, but with the ASJB app, it is easy to do so!”
Caroline
“As a rising freshman, the questions for touring would have been most helpful to me. Looking through the questions, I realize how important the answers have been for my college experience and how many of the events and resources they inquire about have been essential for my faith. Although I found a strong community within the University of Virginia’s Catholic ministry, having the questions for touring at the time of my college decisions would have made me even more secure in my choice and could have helped many others decide what college is best for them!”
As a current member of CCM leadership, how can this tool be useful?
Father Vaccaro
“The first feature helpful for campus ministry staff will be the ease of having students find the campus ministry via the mapping feature. So often you will meet a student at an off campus location and it can be difficult to describe the exact location of the campus ministry or chaplaincy. Now, I can just suggest they download the app (perhaps while we are talking!) and say, ‘follow the map and see you soon.’ Second, the ease with which the app enables students to connect via phone or email with the campus ministry will make it easier for prospective students to set up tours and incoming students to make initial contacts with their campus ministry staff.”