CHARLESTON — Several students involved in Catholic Campus Ministry received awards after Mass at St. Patrick Church April 26.
Jane LaMarche, Ph.D., director of campus ministry, presented the St. Thomas Aquinas–St. Catherine of Alexandria Award to Jon D. Roebuck; the Catholic Campus Ministry Leadership Award to Jessica Nicole Sisco; and the Father Scott J.A. Buchanan Memorial Scholarship to William David Epperson.
St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Catherine of Alexandria are the patron saints for the Catholic Student Association, LaMarche wrote to The Miscellany in an e-mail. The award was given to Roebuck, a graduating senior, for excellence in peer ministry. He has served as a co-president of the student association for two consecutive years.
“He is a convert to Catholicism and exemplifies the very core of what it means to live your faith,” LaMarche wrote. “He has been a strong supporter and participant of 40 Days for Life, as well as a member of the men’s Bible study, CSA weekly adoration, and numerous CSA sponsored service projects. One of his greatest qualities is a positive attitude.”
The leadership award recognizes a student who demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities in service to the Catholic community at the College of Charleston. It is given to a student entering his or her senior year or in graduate studies at the college and is intended to assist with the expense of academic texts.
LaMarche described Sisco as someone who takes the helm.
“She has been a member of the Catholic Student Association for four years, having served as both secretary and co-president,” LaMarche stated. “She has also been a valuable addition to the CSA music ministry and participated in every CSA sponsored service project. Her peers would no doubt admit that she is not only a competent leader, but she is also the first to step forward in a situation of need.”
Epperson is the first recipient of the Father Buchanan scholarship. It is an endowment that will continue to be awarded each year to a sophomore, junior or senior. It is named after the late Father Buchanan, a graduate of the College of Charleston and a priest in the Diocese of Charleston, who died in a car accident at the age of 31.
The criteria for the scholarship is to be a practicing Catholic involved with campus ministry who maintains a minimum grade point average of 3.0. LaMarche said Epperson received it because he is a role model of his faith.
“He’s a quiet and humble young man with an effervescent smile,” she said in the e-mail. “He has served as the sacristan for the 5 p.m. student Sunday Masses for two years, taking responsibility for setting up for Mass each week and caring for the sacred vessels that are used for the liturgy. He is a member of the men’s Bible study and a serious student.”