In this part 2 of 2 episodes of Saints Spotlight, we speak with Henry Driscoll ’23. Henry discusses his experience studying at Thomas More University and the opportunities presented.

To listen to or read part 1, click here.

(Written interview compiled from in person and Q&A responses)

David Klenk: Hello there and welcome back to another edition of Saint Spotlight today we have rising senior Henry Driscoll from the Thomas More Community. Henry, thank you so much for joining us for another edition of Saint Spotlight. Would you mind sharing with our audience a little bit about yourself and how you found the Thomas More community and news the right place for you?

Henry Driscoll:  Thank you for having me on. Basically I did a long hard look at what my finances would be, if I were to came here, just like every other student. Then I looked at the tuition that I would be paying at NKU because it’s two feet away. While tuition there is already lower as a base, Thomas More offered me a lot more money and scholarships. It was way more affordable for me. I was also a lot more familiar with this campus. I practice soccer here, my dad went here, it’s really really close to my house; it was a no-brainer.

DK: What has your experience been like working towards a criminal justice degree here at Thomas More?

HD: It’s definitely been interesting because I’ve had a lot of really, really good classes. If I could recommend one class that you have to take if you’re in criminal justice student, it’s the student police academy class where (police departments) Crestview Hills/Lakeside Park come in and they teach half the class. (Professor Elle) Megerle teaches the other half. It’s just phenomenal, you learn so much practical information. It’s just an interesting class format. It’s not a boring lecture note-taking class, you get to do a lot of really fun stuff that’s really unique.

DK: How has your time been as president of the Phi Alpha Theta National Honor Society here at Thomas More University?

HD: It’s been rough, only because I’ve never been a club leader before. It’s definitely been a  different format as far as what all I have to do. I still need to learn all of that but also it’s like pretty much only intellectual. A lot of the people this semester went ahead and submitted research papers and they presented them at a Regional Conference down at Western Kentucky University which was really, really cool. I’m dealing with some really, really smart people here and then I’m just there chilling so it’s definitely a wake-up call.

 DK: How has community service had an impact on your life?

 HD: Well community service allowed me to go to high school where I did, at Holy Cross. Tuition there is kind of expensive. It’s a Catholic school and so your parents end up paying for it, but there are all sorts of fundraisers and things that allow for tuition to be lowered. Then for athletics, we went to different soccer tournaments and things like that; all those required money. Fundraising and stuff like that allowed me to go to school where I went. Community service; being able to give back to your community, it’s just something that is important. You get to see some big changes in people that you see walking down the street or you see at work, or you see at church it’s really, really powerful. So a big impact on my life. 

DK: Now what has been your favorite aspect of your internship with the Brighton Center?

HD: The Brighton Center, I started off, actually my first full day was last Thursday (July 13). That was really, really awesome. Working there and seeing kids, being in an environment where I’m putting my degree to good work and kind of giving back to my community is something really special for me. Then it also presents this very unique task that I would like to accomplish, changing kids lives early on and redirecting some of that energy in a really positive manner. Definitely been a big change. It’s not the work environment I’m used to but it’s been really fun so far. I’ll come in later today, to go work there and hopefully, I’ll have another really good day.

DK: What are you hoping is on the agenda for when you head into the internship today?

HD: Hopefully I can get dinner, then I’ll go in there and hopefully they’ll have their food all made and I can sit down with them. I’m hoping that everybody just does their chores and goes to bed on time. Maybe they’ll sit down and they’ll talk to me; if they want to sit on their phones, it’s okay, that’s fine. Middle schoolers to high schoolers aren’t necessarily always like the most talkative type. We’ll see.

DK: Can you share a little bit more exactly what the Brighton Center offers to the community as a service and why that appeals to you?

HD: Particularly with the Brighton Center, they’ve got a whole bunch of different ministries that they run for different small institutions. The other day I was actually doing CPR training at this place called the Opportunity House at NKU. It’s kind of like right by that Kroger that sits next to campus. That’s actually a dorm. One of my buddies from my CRU Bible study that goes to NKU actually dorms there and so I’m doing my training, I look to my right and there’s my buddy and I’m like, “You’re gonna get me fired.” We were laughing, it was really fun. So different ministries like housing for students, counseling services, there’s an addiction recovery service where they’re essentially housing people and trying to get them clean. If you go into (Professor) Megerle’s substance abuse class, they actually came in and talked about that particular aspect of their organization in that class. It’s been really powerful for me, I love doing what I do. Where I work right now, I work as a resident assistant at Homeward Bound. It’s a shelter for kids that wind up without housing in the custody of the state. The state brings them in and they’re accepted; there are usually about six or seven kids at any given time. Right now there’s six boys and girls and it’s just a really awesome environment compared to what other alternatives there are out there. The Brighton Center just does a really good job of assisting our local Northern Kentucky community and I knew I wanted to be a part of it.

DK: Do you have any advice you’d like to share with the incoming freshman class or the Thomas More community?

HD: The biggest thing, if you have the opportunity to join a group, be spontaneous and say ‘yes.’ You never know where it’s going to take you, I mean I joined CRU and I went to a completely different country twice. I went across the ocean twice and went to a completely different world. That is something I never would have expected and I did all that within the span of a year of joining them. If you have the opportunity to make friends in your class, maybe you just do an assignment together – stick with that person because chances are you’re gonna see them later on. The more friends you, the easier it is. It is a little bit more difficult to maintain friendships when you’re isolated, but if you can get into a group, whether it’s a club, you go and you eat dinner in the Commons, you hang out outside the Lude. Those are probably my two biggest pieces of advice, is just keep your friends close and join a group. That’s it.

DK: Right on. Thank you very much for sharing that advice and everything else you’ve talked about here with me today. It’s been great to hear from you and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for you.

HD: Thank you for having me on.

DK: Thank you all back home for watching another edition of Saints Spotlight, be sure to tune in next time for the new edition. Have a good one.