--- title: Finding Catholic Community on Campus 12 Hours From Home description: Discover how the Newman Center at Wichita State helped Alex find community and deepen her faith after moving away from home. image: https://blog.newmanconnection.org/hubfs/4bfeacdd-0880-4168-9204-508397fd6ebb-share_your_story_photos-IMG_3823.jpeg --- [![Horizontal-2](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Horizontal-2.png?width=1679&height=428&name=Horizontal-2.png "Horizontal-2")](https://connection.newmanministry.com/) ![Students2.Blog.Header](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/hubfs/Students2.Blog.Header.png "Students2.Blog.Header") # The Newman Blog #### Helping College Students Grow Their Faith. ## What's Happening - Filter By Topic - [All](https://blog.newmanconnection.org) - [Campus Ministry](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/campus-ministry) - [Faith Forward Stories](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/faith-forward-stories) - [Catholic](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/catholic) - [Faith Forward Movement](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/faith-forward-movement) - [Evangelization](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/evangelization) - [Student Stories](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/student-stories) - [Catholic Blog](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/catholic-blog) - [Lent](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/lent) - [Student Story](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/student-story) - [Faith Journey](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/faith-journey) - [Spirituality](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/spirituality) - [Prayer](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/prayer) - [Leadership](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/leadership) - [Saint](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/saint) - [Called+](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/called) - [Catholic Lifecycle](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/catholic-lifecycle) - [community](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/community) - [ministry](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/tag/ministry) [Faith Forward Stories](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/topic/faith-forward-stories) # Finding Catholic Community on Campus 12 Hours From Home ![](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/hubfs/4bfeacdd-0880-4168-9204-508397fd6ebb-share_your_story_photos-IMG_3823.jpeg) #### Share [mailto:?body=https://blog.newmanconnection.org/finding-catholic-community-on-campus-12-hours-from-home](mailto:?body=https://blog.newmanconnection.org/finding-catholic-community-on-campus-12-hours-from-home) ![Newman Connection](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/hubfs/%E2%80%A2%20LOGOS%20%E2%80%A2/Newman%20Connect%20App/Screenshot%202025-06-30%20at%208.28.46%20AM.png) Written By [Newman Connection](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/author/newman-connection) On Oct, 15 2026 3 minute read ## Twelve Hours From Home Twelve hours. That is how far Alex moved from home to start grad school at Wichita State. When she arrived, she knew no one. She had no friends nearby and no Catholic community on campus to lean on. In her own words: "I moved 12 hours away from home for grad school, and I knew absolutely no one on campus." Think about what that feels like. A new city. New classes. No one to sit with after Mass. No one who knows your name. Many students face this same moment every fall. Some find their way. Others quietly drift, not because they stop believing, but because no one invites them in. ## How the Newman Center Became Her Catholic Community on Campus For Alex, things changed at the [Newman Center at Wichita State.](https://connection.newmanministry.com/colleges/wichita-state-university/) > "The Newman Center at Wichita State gave me the opportunity to make friends that helped me to grow in faith," she says. Notice what Alex names first. Friends. Not an event or a class, but real people. Those friends gave her a reason to come back. Over time, they also helped her find something deeper. ## Growing Closer to God, One Friend at a Time ![Alex with her Catholic Campus Ministry friends at Wichita State](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/hs-fs/hubfs/4bfeacdd-0880-4168-9204-508397fd6ebb-share_your_story_photos-IMG_2889.jpeg?width=4284&height=5712&name=4bfeacdd-0880-4168-9204-508397fd6ebb-share_your_story_photos-IMG_2889.jpeg) Alex is honest about where she started. She did not know much about her Catholic faith before grad school. > "Before going to the Newman Center, I didn't know a lot about my faith, but the people and missionaries there helped me to learn more and grow closer to God!" The missionaries and friends at the Newman Center did the work that matters most. They helped her learn. They walked beside her. Because of them, Alex grew closer to God in a place where she once knew no one. [This is what a Catholic community on campus can do.](https://connection.newmanministry.com/find-a-campus/) It meets a student right where she is. Then it helps her take the next step. ## Why Every Student Needs Catholic Community on Campus Alex's story is not unusual. Every fall, students move to campuses where no one knows them. Most do not plan to leave their faith behind. They simply arrive unknown and uninvited, and no one reaches out. That is why Newman Connection has the [Faith Forward movement.](https://connection.newmanministry.com/faith_forward_movement/) We connect Catholic students with the campus ministry at their new school, so someone can welcome them by name. Campus ministers, missionaries, and friends do the welcoming. We help them find each other. Alex found her people at Wichita State. We want every student to have that same chance.  ## Help the Next Student Like Alex Find a Home ![Alex's photo of a Cross while on a hike with Newman Center friends](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/hs-fs/hubfs/4bfeacdd-0880-4168-9204-508397fd6ebb-share_your_story_photos-IMG_3841.jpeg?width=4032&height=3024&name=4bfeacdd-0880-4168-9204-508397fd6ebb-share_your_story_photos-IMG_3841.jpeg) Right now, a student is packing for a campus hours from home. They may not know a single person there. [Your gift can help make sure someone is ready to welcome them.](https://connection.newmanministry.com/?form=impact_giving) When you give to Newman Connection, you help connect students like Alex to a Catholic community on campus. You help a campus minister learn a new student's name before she arrives.[Help a student who feels alone find friends who will help her grow in faith.](https://connection.newmanministry.com/faith_forward_movement/) [![ ](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/4720238/interactive-199791797327.png)](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLIi3ZV8eSALBxbMnEHV2OqxrwInlkMo0Hz%2FVU7tf8KcxqN7eZAVCPPm0iJ3l4v0DTeGDSY%2BvPn6XYrPI9ij1ffNFjvMAOv9EQYXuW0OvvUIosSVFgvk6zY8wmKS3apCzjVdMm%2Fr6kT9aflYAnO01LqdC3TBVGzg91MGG%2FPHFobyCu7GVhvEolz2yTh1sfbk1UghHt4klgz%2BhGYCETcIZnK%2BXkKCtrjGDlW5lJ3jnA%3D%3D&webInteractiveContentId=199791797327&portalId=4720238) ### Recommended Articles: [Faith Forward Stories](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/topic/faith-forward-stories) ##### [Morgan's Story: Becoming Catholic at Kansas State](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/morgans-story-becoming-catholic-at-kansas-state) 9 Oct, 2026 ![Picture of Newman Connection](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/hubfs/%E2%80%A2%20LOGOS%20%E2%80%A2/Newman%20Connect%20App/Screenshot%202025-06-30%20at%208.28.46%20AM.png) [Newman Connection](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/author/newman-connection) [0 Comments](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/finding-catholic-community-on-campus-12-hours-from-home#comments-listing) [Faith Forward Stories](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/topic/faith-forward-stories) ##### [Finding Home: How Newman Helped Anna Find Community and Faith](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/finding-home-how-newman-helped-anna-find-community-and-faith) 9 Oct, 2026 ![Picture of Newman Connection](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/hubfs/%E2%80%A2%20LOGOS%20%E2%80%A2/Newman%20Connect%20App/Screenshot%202025-06-30%20at%208.28.46%20AM.png) [Newman Connection](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/author/newman-connection) [0 Comments](https://blog.newmanconnection.org/finding-catholic-community-on-campus-12-hours-from-home#comments-listing) ### Subscribe to our newsletter We hate spam. 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