A few times a week, staff from the Catholic Student Center at Washington University in St. Louis drive a golf cart across campus, handing out free coffee and snacks to any student who wants one. It's a small thing. But for many students, it's the first sign that someone at the CSC already knows they exist.

That sense of being known has shaped the Catholic Student Center, or CSC, since it began as a Newman Club in 1948. Through generations of priests, staff, students, and supporters, this Catholic campus ministry has grown while staying rooted in relationship, hospitality, faith formation, and student leadership.

Today, Campus Minister Kate Sanderson and the CSC team are carrying that mission forward, building a community where Washington University students can encounter Christ, form real friendships, and grow into compassionate, courageous leaders.

Building Catholic Community Around Faith and the Table

There are many entry points into the CSC. Each year, students take part in the peer-led Awakening Retreat. Weekly Core Communities give students a smaller setting for faith sharing, prayer, and friendship. Monthly service opportunities help students live out their faith in the local community.

But some of the most effective ministry at the Catholic Student Center happens around something simple: food. Tuesday Mass is followed by a soup dinner. Sunday Mass is followed by Sunday Suppers.

"The CSC is very well known on campus for our free food. The staff offers coffee and snacks to all students from the golf cart as they drive through campus... Sunday Suppers provide the opportunity for students to gather around the table, build relationships, and make the CSC feel like home." — Kate Sanderson, Campus Minister at the Catholic Student Center

These meals give students a reason to linger, talk, and gradually make the CSC feel like home. That welcoming, relational approach is central to how this campus ministry works.

A Growing Hunger for Faith Among College Students

The Catholic Student Center is seeing real fruit, especially among students seeking a deeper relationship with Christ and the Church. Last Easter, the CSC welcomed 20 students into the Catholic Church through OCIA, the process of becoming Catholic, including 10 who received Baptism.

At the same time, more students are stepping into leadership. They're volunteering at Mass, taking ownership of the community, and looking for ways to serve.

"We believe this fruit is rooted in a deeper hunger among this generation for faith, meaning, purpose, and community. The CSC has become a magnetic place, and our chaplains' and campus ministers' relational, approachable presence creates an environment where students feel welcomed and comfortable taking the next step in their faith." 

For Kate, retreats and shared meals have become especially powerful places for those relationships to take root — not because of what the CSC offers, but because of how students feel when they're there.

Knowing When to Try Something New — and When to Let Go

Campus ministry also takes a willingness to experiment. Students regularly ask the CSC for new formation opportunities, community events, or more chances to receive the sacraments. Some ideas take off. Others don't work the way anyone hoped.

That's especially true at Washington University, where students often want to do everything until their time and energy catch up with them. For Kate, part of walking with students well means noticing those limits herself, and helping students discern what matters most rather than adding one more commitment to their plate.

"Sometimes ministry means being willing to experiment, listen to what the students need, and trust God enough to pivot when something is more straining than fruit-bearing."

Ministry Is Not a Sprint

Kate has learned to apply that same lesson to herself. One of the biggest lessons campus ministry has taught her is the importance of healthy boundaries.

"I have learned that protecting time outside of work and intentionally filling my own cup actually allows me to be more present and available to the students I serve."

For Kate, that has meant staying part of a small-group Bible study outside of work and keeping relationships and faith formation in her life that aren't tied to her job title. It has also meant trusting God with what she can't control — including the days she feels behind, only to find that an unplanned conversation puts her in the right place for a student who just needs someone to listen.

"Campus ministry has taught me that I don't have to do everything. My job is to be faithful, present, and willing to let God work through the moments given to me."

Why the Catholic Student Center Partners with Newman Connection

That same emphasis on relationship is part of why the Catholic Student Center chose to partner with Newman Connection. Through the partnership, Kate and her team can start connecting with incoming Washington University students before they ever set foot on campus — so a new student navigating a new city and new independence already knows a Catholic community is waiting for them.

For Kate, the partnership's value goes beyond incoming students. It has also connected her to a wider network of campus ministers who understand the specific joys and challenges of serving college students.

"The one-on-one conversations, check-ins, and genuine desire to get to know me and understand our ministry have made the partnership feel relational rather than simply programmatic."

That relationship mirrors the same kind of ministry Kate and the CSC are trying to offer students: know the person first, listen well, and walk alongside them.

A Place Where Students Can Be Known

The story of the Catholic Student Center at Washington University is ultimately a story about presence. It's in a student's Baptism at Easter. Friends gathered around the table after Mass. In a cup of coffee handed out from a golf cart. In a student stepping into leadership for the first time. And in the conversation that happens because a campus minister was simply available when someone needed to talk.

Since 1948, campus life at Washington University has changed in a hundred ways. But students still need the same things: real relationships, a place to belong, people who know them, and opportunities to encounter Christ.

Through Newman Connection, we're grateful to partner with campus ministries like the CSC — ministries creating places where students can arrive on campus already knowing a Catholic community is ready to welcome them, know them, and walk with them in faith.

Every soul matters. No one walks alone.