By Mary Stadnyk | Associate Editor

For Catherine Ziesmer, the opportunity to attend The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., seems like a perfect fit.

Several years before she was named the 2014 recipient of The Most Rev. David M. O’Connell Service Scholarship recipient, Ziesmer, a senior in St. Rose High School, Belmar, had her sights set on pursuing studies in the prestigious Catholic university that’s endorsed and supported by the bishops of the United States and sits in the midst of the nation’s capital.

Ziesmer fondly recalled how her interest in the university was sparked a few years ago when she traveled to Washington on the Diocese’s biannual pilgrimage to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, whose grounds are adjacent to The Catholic University of America.  It was the first Diocesan pilgrimage that Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., had led since becoming Bishop of the Trenton Diocese in 2010, Ziesmer said, and she was happy that during the pilgrimage she had some time to explore the university, knowing very well that Bishop O’Connell had served there for 12 years as president. As a matter of fact, she said, when she had an opportunity to greet Bishop O’Connell during the pilgrimage, she mentioned to him her interest in attending college in The Catholic University, news that brought a smile to the chief shepherd of the Diocese of Trenton’s face.

During his 12-year tenure as president of CUA, Bishop O’Connell emphasized commitment to service, a reflection of his Episcopal motto – Ministrare non ministrari – meaning “to serve and not to be served,” from the Gospel of Mark. First awarded in 2011, the scholarship that bears Bishop O’Connell’s name – a four-year, full-tuition award – is open to all students from the Diocese of Trenton applying to CUA with the qualifications that the recipient have a demonstrated record of service and a commitment to service while at CUA and beyond.

When it comes to her interest in doing works of service and helping others, Ziesmer credits her parents, Eileen and Werner, for raising their only child in a “culture of service.” The steps the teenager has taken to live out the Corporal Works of Mercy speak for themselves in how she more than meets the requirements for the CUA scholarship of which she is very well deserving.

As a youngster, Ziesmer recalled visiting and helping her mother care for her great grandmother who lived in a nursing home. She became active in St. Rose Parish as an altar server at age eight, a ministry she continues to serve in to this day. Around age 11, Ziesmer joined her mother, who is a social worker by trade, in volunteering in a hospice care center.

Ziesmer vividly remembers as a child seeing how the poor “really lived” during the time she was being treated for Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder, in the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. En route to the hospital, Ziesmer recalled traveling through “some pretty tough” city neighborhoods and people who “were on the streets.” That vision stayed with her as she got older and eventually served as the inspiration for her wanting to begin a junior St. Vincent de Paul Society in St. Rose Parish. “I remembered seeing the poor and homeless who lived in Philly and I thought there are probably people in similar situations closer to where I lived that I could help,” she said, noting that there are pockets of poverty in Asbury Park and Neptune – “two towns away from Belmar.”

As Ziesmer’s parents and grandfather, William Pavincich, watched their daughter and granddaughter accept the scholarship to The Catholic University of America from Bishop O’Connell at the April 29 Catholic Schools Mass, they beamed with pride.

“I always wanted my children and now my grandchildren to know the Lord,” said Pavincich.”That was something I wanted them to come to do on their own – to fall in love with God. As a parent, I prayed for them and encouraged them to listen to God,” said Pavincich, a member of St. Catharine Parish, Spring Lake. “I’m thankful that Catie received the scholarship. It’s a good investment. CUA is a good school and will allow her to maximize her education in service of God. I’m happy for her.”