University of South Florida's Catholic Student Union Hosts Annual Our Lady of Angels Reception for Donors, Alumni
The reception on Saturday, April 26, at USF’s Research Center South featured live music, dinner, raffles, and testimonies on how the Catholic Student Union has transformed students’ lives at USF.
The reception on Saturday, April 26, at USF’s Research Center South featured live music, dinner, raffles, and testimonies on how the Catholic Student Union has transformed students’ lives at USF.
The Our Lady of Angels Reception encouraged those impacted by the Catholic Student Union's work to help build towards the future and prepare for more students to fill the union in the coming years. Beautiful and stirring testimonies by alumni, current students, and the CSU's executive director, Fr. Kyle Bell, touched many who attended.
One of the CSU’s alumni, Teresa Werthmiller, shared her personal story of how the union changed her life as a young adult. “Weekly bible studies and meetings at the CSU occupied our time. Our schoolwork was done around CSU events,” Teresa recalled during the reception. She went on to describe how the CSU strengthened her faith in Christ through community, and how it led her to meet her husband, fellow alumnus and CSU member Brian Werthmiller.
The couple is still a part of the CSU community today and has two adult children participating in CSU leadership positions while attending USF next door.
Stories like the Werthmiller’s aren't uncommon at the union. During his reception testimony, current student Michael DiLeonardo highlighted the effect of the CSU’s community on his life over the past year.
“There are thirty lighthouses in Florida, but I swear there is one on North 50th Street in Tampa…,” DiLeonardo insisted.
He shared how the student union’s leadership and Christ-centered approach to outreach were a guiding light during a difficult period of his life.
Desiring wholeheartedly to give back to the community that gave him so much, DiLeonardo will serve as the CSU’s new vice president in the fall.
Testimonies like the Werthmiller’s and Michael DiLeonardo’s display the many fruits the Catholic Student Union has produced over the years. As its current guardian, Fr. Kyle Bell has watched the union grow exponentially since his arrival in 2021.
“We need a bigger boat,” Fr. Kyle Bell told the reception attendees. “To see our campus transformed, we must keep expanding.”
The Catholic Student Union has ministered to USF’s students for decades. Just a crosswalk away from the main Tampa campus, the union has reached generations of students through its consistent outreach and openness to Christ’s call. The union hopes to continue reaching further and further onto USF’s campus, with the goal of fully immersing every soul in the love of God.
