Catholic Women in the Workforce
Interview Series
Photo by Chelsey Shortman
A life with Christ is a life fully given over to Him. As we grow closer to Him, He gently shows us bit by bit how we may offer more of ourselves to Him. He asks us to let our life be His too. The surrender may seem particularly difficult in the context of a career where self-centered ambition and notoriety are often idealized. How then, are women of faith living fully with Christ within their professions? How are they experiencing their work not as a distraction from their life in the Church, but as a vocation that brings them more fully into the person that they were created to be? This series explores the fullness to be had in a life that includes a career where one’s faithfulness is not limited to evenings and weekends.
The Professional Life as a Training Ground for Virtue
Interview with Rosie Gregerson
“If I had to pick one thing that my faith has done for me in my profession, it is to gift me with eyes to see the dignity in others.”
A career path can seem meticulously planned but there is often a providential, though sometimes subtle, hand guiding us along. Rosie speaks on the ways God has drawn her servant heart toward becoming a nurse and uses this career as a space to practice virtue and prepare for heaven.
About Rosie
Rosie is 27 years old and was born and raised in the great state of Minnesota. She grew up in a Catholic household and was lucky enough to go to small Catholic and Christian schools for her formation and education. After high school Rosie spent a year traveling and evangelizing with NET ministries. She finished her education at the University of Minnesota where she earned a Bachelors of Science in Nursing. She started off her career in the Cardiovascular ICU and was called away after 4 years to work at the VA hospital to serve our vets. She loves her job! And she loves her husband. They just recently got married in June and have been learning how to do the married-life thing ever since! Rosie finds growing up to be very fascinating because no one gives an instruction book when it matters most, or so it seems. She is blessed to have an incredible community of Christians around her to muddle through it all and run towards holiness. Rosie is looking forward to 2020 and all the adventures it has in store!
A Deeper “Why” In the Work of an Engineer
Interview with Brigitte Pinsonneault
“My work is just another area of my life where God is maturing me in Him.”
Brigitte reflects on the essential role of femininity in a male-dominated industry, work as a vocation, and setting professional boundaries all as a means of Christian maturation and wholeness.
About Brigitte
Brigitte is an aerospace engineer by day and a missionary all the time. Her heart’s burning desire is to see God’s Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven and the name of Jesus praised and adored. She grew up in the northern tundra of the middle of nowhere Minnesota and has since migrated to the warmer climate of Kansas City where she is a discerning member of the Heart of the Redeemer Covenant Community and where she helps to lead the SPO MissionKC community for young adults.
A Providential Career in Law and Academia
Interview with Lisa Schiltz
“Having a job that is so integrated with my faith has strengthened my faith; it surrounds me with people with similar commitments, who are doing similar work, which is affirming.”
Life’s events can seem to obstruct and derail our perfectly planned professional trajectory. These happenings, though, may be just what we need to let God push us in the direction that he has been preparing for us all along. Lisa looks back on the events that led her to the career as a law professor that she had never planned for and the blessings of following God’s providence.
About Lisa:
Elizabeth R. Schiltz (B.A. Yale University), J.D. Columbia School of Law, M.A. Catholic Studies, UST) is the John D. Herrick Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law, and Public Policy at the University of St. Thomas School of. Elizabeth teaches Contracts, Sales, Consumer Law, and Disability Law. She serves on the Board of L’Arche USA and the National Catholic Partnership on Disability. Schiltz received the Dean's Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2019, the Mission Award for Scholarly Engagement and Societal Reform in 2012 and 2017, the Dean's Award for Outstanding Scholarship in 2007, and was elected Professor of the Year by the graduating class of 2007. She and her husband, Judge Patrick Schiltz, have four children.