Erica Figueiredo is the Recruitment and Enrollment Officer at the Faculty of Theology. Prior to this role, she completed her Master of Divinity degree at Regis College and served as a Director of Campus Ministry for seven years. She has been married to her best friend Carl for over four years.
I was 22 years old, sitting in my cubicle at the first job I landed after graduating from university. On my computer screen, I found myself oscillating between two tabs: one, an Excel spreadsheet compiling something about reinsurance companies (companies that insure insurance companies, I learned) and the other an application form for a Master of Divinity degree program. I recall the motivations I had to proceed with each tab. On the one hand, I could remain here and continue what likely could have been a quickly rising, lucrative career in the financial district. Conversely, the prospect of studying theology and entering ministry was something that had not even registered as a possibility until recently.
My mind raced back to the surprising turn of events during the last two years of my undergraduate degree. After a profound experience at a retreat, I finally felt convinced that instead of waiting for someone else to form a Catholic club at my university, the person whom God was calling to do that was me. From there, an unforgettable journey ensued. Once I plucked up the courage to start this club (which only two other students had agreed to support thus far) God led me past the realms of what I thought possible. Within a year I was the inaugural president and co-founder of a vibrant Catholic community. Students from all fields of study came to the meetings with an eagerness to know their faith more deeply. For my part, I couldn’t be anything but honest about the doubts I had also had as a cradle Catholic. But the philosophy student in me sought to tackle these doubts head-on and in a Lewisian style, embark on a journey to conclude if Christianity was true or completely false, in which case I should abandon it entirely. In His own beautiful time, God revealed to me that the former was undeniably true and the quest for truth, beauty and goodness could be found within my Catholic faith instead of looking elsewhere. As I graduated from university and fondly recalled my latter two years of journeying with this group, I also recalled a priest I met telling me that this club could over time develop into a formal campus ministry. Upon graduation, I pushed this thought to the back of my mind and preoccupied myself with finding a ‘normal’ job.
Close your eyes and think about a moment in your life when you had the most joy.
Erica Figueiredo, is featured smiling in a picture above, wearing a white top and glasses, standing against a brick wall.
For me, the reasons were two-fold. The theology degree was where God had been leading me to finally figure out the “why” behind the “what” of Catholic teachings. Furthermore, a theology degree would, in turn, serve to professionally prepare me for a future career in ministry. When I sat in the cubicle of the insurance company thinking about what I wanted to do with the rest of my life I took a piece of advice I heard at a Catholic talk: Close your eyes and think about a moment in your life when you had the most joy. The answer for me was simple–I felt most alive when I was ministering to university students and meeting them in their spiritual joys and doubts. Thus, though I had no idea how to even go about translating this joy into a career, I left my full-time job and began my MDiv studies full-time in the upcoming Fall. Lo and behold, before I could complete my thesis, I was hired as the first Director of Campus Ministry at the exact university where I had founded the Catholic club.
You now know a little about my journey and what led me to study theology. In serving as the Recruitment and Enrollment Officer at the Faculty of Theology, I hope to be able to help you think about your potential or ongoing journey with theology!
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