October 16, 2019

Ambassadors of Mercy

Born: Chicago
College and major: Loyola University Chicago, finance
Position: Financial Advisor at Edward Jones

“I advise people on how to plan for retirement, plan for their kids’ educational needs, plan for different things that they might be saving for, insurance needs. Basically, planning for life from the financial perspective.”

Passions outside of work:
“The Chicago Marathon – that’s been a bit of a passion of mine over the past four years. Fundraising, and mentoring, and advocating for Mercy Home. I spend a lot of time with my family and my kids, going to the different events, whether it’s dance recitals, or music recitals, or baseball games. I love to fish, I like to camp, I like to do things outside, whether that’s biking or running or walking or hiking – I’ve even climbed a mountain in Eugene, Oregon.”

Finding Mercy Home:
“I was dropped off at Mercy Home on my 15th birthday. It wasn’t an ideal situation that brought me there – I was actually pretty upset at the time but realized that this was the best option for me. I was under the impression that I was there because I was a bad kid, but I came to find out I wasn’t a bad kid, it was that I had a mother who, let’s just say her priorities were a little mixed up, and I wasn’t at the top of that list of her priorities. As I matured, I understood after a while that Fr. Close, and Br. Edmund, and Br. George, and all the people that were contributing private donations to Mercy Home – these people were truly interested in my wellbeing; living a happy and healthy life.”

Most influential person growing up:
“I had a number of different angels along the way. I had kind of surrogate grandparents – they were very good to me. Some of my counselors in school, people like Fr. Close and Br. Edmund, and Br. George. People like the Melandorf family, which when I left Mercy Home, I stayed with them for a little bit to finish up my last year of high school.”

Favorite part about Mercy Home’s mission:
“The one thing that I think about is that I was given a spot, which meant that somebody else wasn’t given a spot – and that’s the thing that sticks out in my mind the most. I was given an opportunity – so what do you do with that? How do you at least show your appreciation to not only Mercy Home, but to God for being so merciful and so gracious and just blessing me? I think I’ve done well – I think I’ve done extremely well. And I think it has a lot to do with that foundation that Mercy Home was able to provide for me. I was standing on very shaky ground prior to coming to Mercy Home.”

Proudest accomplishment:
“My family – that’s an easy one. I don’t even need to think about that. I was able to achieve something that I never had.”