Christopher Hueg, First Campus Minister

Christopher Hueg ’11 ’16 has recently been named the first ever campus minister at St. Mary Immaculate Parish. Having found a meaningful career in education and his true calling in life, he has big plans to inspire and empower children of all ages, both personally and spiritually. 

“To be hired as the first campus minister is both scary and exciting!” says Chris. “Every day I am working with the administration, teachers, and students to introduce a new initiative that has been shared across multiple positions for years. I can say that it is thrilling to be the first person to create a program for the school that will continue to foster positive faith development.”

In this new position, Chris developes faith development exercises for students, teachers, and staff through engaging activities and classroom instruction. One of his primary tasks for the beginning of the year is implementing a new culture focused on the life the Blessed Mother, Mary, and her son, Jesus. Using these faith figures as the foundation, he has been reflecting and working with the students to make connections to their personal lives on how they are able to act more like Christ or His mother in their everyday lives.

Chris came to Lewis in 2007 with the intent of becoming a math teacher, but after struggling with his first calculus class, Chris quickly realized that the program was not for him. Trying to find a career path that he was rooted in and passionate about, he found his calling in the Pastoral and Youth Ministry track through the theology department. While studying on campus, he was actively involved with University Ministry by participating in retreats, service trips, and other activities.

“My experiences at Lewis allowed me to develop skills that help me not only succeed in my position today, but also with my spiritual well-being; finding time to reflect and slowdown has already been an integral part of my daily work routine,” says Chris.

At Lewis, Chris was also a dynamic member of the Philip Lynch Theatre, working and acting on over 25 productions. His dedication to performing arts inspired him to become the director for the school’s spring musical, which was his initial connection to St. Mary’s.

Shortly after earning a bachelor’s degree in Theology and a minor in Theater, Chris served as a Lasallian Volunteer for two years as a campus minister at a Lasallian high school in Brooklyn. “This was my introduction to the job that I have come to love every day,” Chris adds.

Chris returned to Lewis in 2013 to begin pursing a master’s degree in Secondary Education and English/Language Arts. He also worked as a Graduate Assistant for University Ministry, a position in which he developed skills that he still uses today.

In his current position, Chris is able to carry out the Lewis mission in the work of association within the education community, and also the larger community of religious believers. “Every day, I strive to introduce and infuse a culture amongst my students that is filled with faith, justice, knowledge of Christ’s teachings, and love,” says Chris. “In this association, I strive to foster a more positive place of learning as was created for me while at Lewis.

Chris reflects on his passion to work as an educator from a very young age. “My mom always reminds me of an afternoon that I came home from kindergarten and proclaimed that one day I was going to become a teacher,” says Chris. “I cannot think of a time that I have not wanted to be a teacher ‘when I grow up.’”

His favorite part of working in the education field is that he gets to learn new things every day alongside his students.

“I can talk with students about their faith and discuss ways to make it more practical and relevant to their interests,” says Chris. “I have the unique opportunity to work with students from pre-school through eighth grade, so my discussions are very different each hour.”

Inspired by several influential teachers and role models throughout his life, Chris hopes to positively impact the students he works with every day. “My biggest inspiration was my high school campus minister, Ms. Hodapp, who taught me about social justice issues and encouraged me to be a voice for those without by remaining active in the church in and outside of the classroom.”

Besides staying involved with theater, Chris enjoys sampling new restaurants and reading Young Adult novels to stay current with his students, in his spare time. Chris encourages others to go down a career path that allows them to be excited to get up and go to work every morning, and enjoy a rich and comfortable life. 

 

 

October 2016

<< Back to decade