Our Woman of the Week is Caroline Lowe, nominated for her work with Orthodox Christian Fellowship as a Real Break Leader and now Chairwoman of the Student Leadership Board. We asked her to tell us how she got from where she started to becoming a Real Break leader with OCS:
“Real Break is an alternative spring break or summer trip that offers college students the opportunity to be able to see the Church out into the world. We usually offer one spring break trip within the United States, and one summer international trip. This past year, I ran a spring break trip serving a missionary in Puerto Rico, and an international trip to Romania. There were about 30 of us in total. We went to Romania for 10 days, and to a few different countries. We got to see a lot of monasteries and churches, trying to live out the Church in another Orthodox country.
“It all started my freshman year of college through OCF (Orthodox Christian Fellowship). I had an OCF chapter at my school, Southern Methodist University, which I just graduated from this past May. Our OCF chapter was really small at first. There were 2 of us, sometimes 3. Christina Andresen asked if I wanted to attend the Summer Leadership Institute with OCF. When I went to SLI, I met so many people, some of whom are still my closest friends that I still keep in contact with and visit. It was in Dallas, maybe a week long, and I was able to connect with other OCF leaders in the area and discover ways that I could grow and get ideas that I could bring back to campus. From there, my OCF chapter grew a lot. I left this spring when I graduated, and there were probably 15 of us regularly. It was really, really special to see the whole process grow and come together.
“After the Summer Leadership Institute, I went to an OCF college conference. I was talking to one of the girls who was on the board at the time and she told me, “I really think you should apply. I think you'd be a great fit for this role.” And so I applied to be a Real Break student leader and I got it. The girl who invited me to apply was Chairwoman, and I was also really close with the past chairman of the board. And they both told me, “We think you should apply for this.” I admire both of them. So I said to myself, “OK, if they can do it, I can do it.” So I applied for Chairwoman of the Student Leadership Board this past year and I got it. I just started my Chairwoman term on June 1st.
“I have a very large passion for alumni engagement. I think it's really important that after college,OCF doesn't have to be over. I am graduated now and I'm not in college, and I still want to be connected to OCF. So that's something that I really want to bring to life this upcoming year. I also think it's important to hear from other OCF alumni that didn't go to seminary or become a priest, who can still carry their faith out into their lives. For example, I want to do speech pathology - how can I carry my Orthodox faith into speech pathology with me?”
“As a Real Break leader, I worked with Peter Mansour, Ivy Gabriella, and Luca Torra, who was the past chairman. We met every week, which involved a lot of logistics. I was reaching out to multiple people in Puerto Rico to determine their needs, finding trip leaders, building the schedule, managing registration pages, and identifying social media posts for OCF to spread the word. Romania involved more talking to the travel agency that we had contact with in Romania and building a program, getting rooms for hotels and accommodations, and food, finding trip leaders, and answering everyone's questions about traveling abroad. I didn't realize how many students had never been outside the country, let alone flown before. They had a lot of questions about packing, traveling, passports, and all of that.
“The trips this past year were really special for me, especially to Romania. Getting to see everyone excited and getting to experience that with them was really special. I appreciated that there was a mixture of students who were cradle Orthodox and those who were not. I myself am cradle, and while the majority were people who had converted, there were a few catechumens, and then maybe 5 or 6 of us who were cradle. It was very diverse, and it was nice getting to hear everyone's perspectives.”
As always, we asked our Woman of the Week, Caroline Lowe, about her morning routine:
“I just graduated from Southern Methodist University with a degree in psychology and education. Right now I'm working at a behavioral therapy center for kids with autism! My mornings start when I have to be at work around 8 a.m. On days I don’t work, I'll typically wake up around 10. I'll do morning prayers and then come downstairs. I'm not a big breakfast person, but I'll have some yogurt and a muffin or something small, a banana, or one of the little fruit tray boards that you can get from the grocery store with apples and crackers. Then, I'll usually read or do other work on my computer - most of the time, I have OCF work to catch up on, like sending emails about upcoming meetings and getting ready for the SLI this summer. Then, I'll usually go to the pool, run errands, or go outside.
"When I'm working, I'll wake up, do morning prayers, get ready, and go to work by 8. I love the clinic that I work at! It’s so special and rewarding getting to work with kids with autism and see them grow and blossom. It's really special to have those connections with them."
Thank you, Caroline!
