Quite the job

The characteristic that sets Marika Donders, Director of the Newman Center, apart from others is the journey that has brought her to Keene. “This is what I’ve always wanted to do,” Donders said. Donders has worked as director for five years and is in charge of planning all Newman Center events both religious, such as bible studies and social activities such as “Rock Band” events and community dinners at Keene State College.

According to the KSC Campus Ministry Web site, the Newman Center is a place for students to pray, meet with friends, relax, have lunch, take a break and play pool. The Newman Center is located off Main Street and is regularly open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Times differ when events and social activities are held.

During the academic year, many different events are held. Donders described past events such as picnics, movie nights and also some collaborations with other KSC organizations. An upcoming event Donders has planned with the Protestant Campus Ministry includes a weekend program involving arts and spirituality. “It’s a cool way to look at religion,” Donders said.

Donders said she tries to engage people through Facebook and posts the events to make students aware. She said it’s sometimes difficult for students to attend social and religious activities because of their differing schedules. The problem she runs into is the amount of people that participate in the different events. For her, it’s hard to find a designated block of time when everyone can attend.

One day, Donders hopes to have an activity planned for each week day. Donders said, during the first year of college, many students are not being forced to go to church and attend events since they’re no longer home. “Students are in the process of figuring out who they are,” Donders said.

The advantages and disadvantages of having the off-campus ministry are factors that come into play when discussing the number of attendees at religious and social events. Donders said the advantages of being located off campus are having the chapel upstairs, the church next door, a library and all the extra space. A disadvantage, according to Donders, is some students are unaware of the off-campus building.

“This is what we have to work with,” Donders said. Donders has worked hard to improve the overall turn out of events and the publicity of the Catholic Campus Ministry. She is also a member of the Diocesan Young Adult Core Team as Campus Ministry Representative. According to the Diocesan Young Adult Web site, the core team serves and informs young adults between the ages of 18 to 39 in New Hampshire about religious retreats and events. Joy Davis, Donders’ co-worker and director of religious education at St. Bernard Church, described Donders as faith-filled and friendly.

“She is willing to do whatever it takes to accommodate the needs of students,” Davis added. Anita Plourde, director of the Catholic Faith Formation Center, works with Donders on a daily basis. Plourde described Donders’ incredible commitment to the ministry and to the college students. “She puts her whole heart and soul into it and I admire her for that,” Plourde said. Plourde and Davis added that Donders is multi-talented, great with computers and when they have problems, she is great at helping. “She is willing to go above and beyond,” Davis said. Interaction with students is what Donders said she enjoys most about her job. Donders described her life and work experiences as a yo-yo; moving up and down and sometimes hitting knots in life.

Those knots happened when Donders knew she wanted to explore a new career path. She said there have been many trial efforts that ultimately led her to her current career. As a student at Georgia Tech University, Donders became involved with the campus ministry. For her, it was a comfortable place where she also used her singing and music talents. After graduating college, Donders tried different career paths and dabbled in architecture, campus planning and even joined a convent for four years. She also traveled back and forth from Georgia to New England.

The final step on her journey to KSC happened when Donders returned from vacation. She saw an ad on the back of an old issue of a catholic paper for a position in campus ministry. Donders thought the job would be gone, but sent in a resume anyway. A week later she had an interview and Donders said two days after she had the job at KSC. The journey has been a long one for Donders but she said she feels she is at the place where she always wanted to be. It has taken many different jobs and experiences for Donders to realize this and throughout her life she has worked hard and adapted to many new situations.

Donders said her journey has ultimately produced a great resume and has lead to her finally being able to pursue a career she’s passionate about.

Brittany Murphy can be contacted at bmurphy@keeneequinox.com.