His work has grown from high school youth ministry, to college ministry, and now to an administrative role, but for Adam Setmeyer, vice president of mission and ministry and director of campus ministry, at the core was always a calling to share how his life was change by his faith.In his role on campus, Setmeyer works with faculty, staff, and administrators to help the university remain faithful and promote its Catholic Franciscan identity. He and other ministry staff also work to empower student leaders and make sure students can explore their faith. Last year, his team ran 65 different programs, engaging about 30 percent of the student body.
Q&A with Adam Setmeyer
Q: What are some of your current projects?
A: The biggest project that I’m working on right now is a Hispanic leadership initiative. President Elsener made that one of the top priorities for the university for the year. I am going to be organizing people around the university to help Marian grow into a Hispanic serving institution. It’s not just about recruitment. It’s about empowerment and the education.
Q: What is your favorite part of working here?
A: Easily the students. More specific than that, I would say the Marian University Koinonia retreat. I’ve just seen that retreat every semester literally change students’ lives. They come in, and they are hesitant and a little worried, and by the end of the retreat, it’s a discovery of faith that they didn’t know they had or they changed life decisions. The retreat is so diverse that you see students discover new friendships that break them out of all the cliques that might exist. A really amazing community is formed. This semester, we’ll do our seventh retreat, and well over 200 students have participated in it already in just three years.
Q: Outside of work, what do you like to do?
A: I like to play with my kids. I have three. I am a gigantic Star Wars nerd, and I am obsessive about the Colts and United States Soccer.