Cormac O’Connor knew he’d regret it later if he didn’t seize the opportunity now.
That’s why the Saint John’s University senior chose to become part of Benedictine Volunteer Corps’ latest cohort.
The BVC is a service opportunity offered to recent graduates of SJU. According to its mission, “grounded in Benedictine values and spirituality, the BVC provides a unique encounter with the Catholic monastic tradition, the multitude of needs expressed in religious communities around the world and the challenge to commit one’s talents to meeting those needs.”
Since its founding in 2003, the BVC has sent around 345 volunteers to Benedictine monasteries around the world. Participants spend a year supporting those communities in their work, prayer and common life.
O’Connor – a double major in political and computer science who graduates this May – will spend his year of service at Saint Maur’s Hanga Abbey in Hanga, Tanzania.
“I was going back and forth about signing up,” the Hill-Murray High School graduate said. “But this voice in the back of my head kept telling me if I didn’t apply for this, I’d be kicking myself down the road. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get the chance to immerse yourself in another culture and make a real impact on people at no (financial) cost to yourself.
“Once I get settled into a career and start a family, it won’t be possible to drop everything and go somewhere for a year like this. So I wanted to take advantage of the chance this program provides to do that now.”
O’Connor – who has been part of SJU Student Senate all four of his years on campus – hopes to one day pursue a career in public service. He said the opportunity the BVC provides to broaden his global perspective will prove valuable on that career path.
“I’m expecting it to open my eyes to a different part of the world and to provide me with a better understanding of how people there live their lives,” he said. “It’s such an incredible opportunity we have here at Saint John’s and I don’t think it gets talked about enough.”
Fellow Johnnie senior Robert Adderly agrees with that assessment.
Adderly will spend his year at Newark (New Jersey) Abbey while teaching at Saint Benedict’s Preparatory School.
“I first heard about the program through Jervon Sands ’23 (just the second SJU student to become a Rhodes Scholar),” Adderly said. “He took part in the program and really liked it. I was unsure if I wanted to lock into a career right away after graduation or go back to school. But this seemed like an amazing opportunity to leverage my education degree and get some experience teaching while also giving something back to the world.
Several of Adderly’s teammates on the SJU rugby team attended school at Saint Benedict’s Prep so he already has a familiarity with his destination.
“Through them, I’ve been able to develop a great understanding of the school, and the approach they take to education was really interesting to me,” he said.
“It was an opportunity that really checked all the boxes for me. It was too good to pass up.”
This year’s full cohort is as follows:
Santa Maria de Montserrat – Montserrat, Spain
- Max Winters
- Jake Beton
Abadía del Tepeyac – Tepeyac, Mexico
- Aiden Blaeser
- Clay Megaw
Newark Abbey – Saint Benedict’s Preparatory School
- Robert Adderly
- Murphy Setter
Abadia de Jesucristo Crucificado – Esquipulas, Guatemala
- Sam Mancino
- Joshua Anderson
Colegio Sant Anselmo – Rome, Italy
- Gilbert Torvinen
- Alex Schmitz
Saint Maur’s Hanga Abbey – Hanga, Tanzania
- Cormac O’Connor
- Allan Chu