Dear Friends,
It’s been a long time coming, but we are extremely happy and excited to announce that the position for the Associate Director for Campus Ministry & Young Adult Ministry has been filled! Our new Associate Director is Mary Gandeza. She officially starts on Monday, September 21. Mary comes to us with a strong formational background and also a wealth of experience in young adult ministry, particular in a college setting.
Mary is a native to the Bay Area and grew up in Sunnyvale. Several years ago, Mary was a participant at our Diocesan Youth Retreat, then known as the “Tahoe Retreat”. She was an active parishioner and leader at her home parish of St. Lawrence the Martyr in Santa Clara prior to going off to college. Mary attended Notre Dame de Namur University for her undergraduate work, with a double major in Sociology and Religious Studies, also obtaining a certificate in Inner-City Studies. During her tenure there, she gained extensive professional and ministerial experience working in various offices on campus, but mostly at the NDNU Center for Spirituality where she held coordinator positions for Liturgy and Spiritual Events. After her undergraduate work, she returned to San Jose and became one of the founding members of young adult ministry at Saint Lawrence Parish in 2010, a time when there weren’t many YAM programs throughout the diocese. Mary then accepted a position in the Office of Youth & Young Adult Ministry in the Diocese of Seattle to work as Young Adult Service Team Member before pursuing her graduate studies in theology at Villanova University where she held a Campus Ministry Internship for two years. At Villanova, Mary honed her leadership and ministerial skills in campus ministry by leading small groups, serving as a mentor to students, training new interns, supporting retreat teams, and facilitating business meetings. Now, she will be bringing everything she has gained and learned in campus ministry over the years back to our diocese and take the Newman Center and young adult ministry to the next level!
Mary is a great fit for our team and a great fit for the Newman Community and the greater diocese. We look forward to having her on board and meeting all of you.
Blessings,
Steve Do, Director
Robbie Ocampo, Associate Director
Bernard Nemis, Administrative Assistant
Diocese of San Jose Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries
Love Boldly. Live Fearlessly. Make Christ Known.