Hi girls! First of all, welcome to the Maria Goretti Society website! No matter how you have stumbled upon us, please know that you are both welcome and wanted here. I am thrilled to be apart of this group, and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us!
Getting to know me: I have spent most of my life living in the Kalamazoo area, and love living in the Midwest. Growing up I attended Saint Monica Catholic School and eventually Hackett Catholic Central. After that I ventured to Saint Mary's College of Notre Dame where I graduated with an Elementary Education and Early Childhood degree. I currently teach Young Fives in Portage, and am loving every second of it! I am a parishioner at Saint Monica Parish, I love chocolate, I put lime on almost everything I eat, and my two younger sisters (the other two leaders) are my best friends. When I was your age, a group of women from my parish who were about 10 years older than I was, reached out to me as both mentors and friends. They gathered a group of us high school girls, and together we would meet up regularly for fellowship. We did everything from going out for coffee at Water Street, to praying together, to having sleepovers and staying up all night laughing and night eating junk food. The time with those women was invaluable. My hope is that Maria Goretti Society can offer you the same kind of fellowship! Please know of my prayers for you. Saint Maria Goretti, pray for us!
Christina Piñón Leader
Hey there! First of all, what a privilege and a blessing it is for me to be a leader for MGS! It has always been such a dream of mine to be apart of a group that strives for sainthood and creating new friendships all at the same time! I am looking forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for us!
However, in the meantime here are some fun facts about me:
I have grown up in Kalamazoo most of my life. I attended both St. Monica School and Hackett Catholic Central. I graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville with a degree in Business Management and a minor in Spanish. My time at Franciscan was truly some of the best years of my life. I was challenged to grow deeper in my Catholic Faith while having the opportunity to take incredible theology courses in Theology of the Body, Christian Marriage, Human Embryology and many more. These courses where instrumental to me growing and understanding the foundation and summit of our Catholic Faith.
Currently, I am working at St. Monica Preschool as an aide while pursuing a career in financial planning. In these last two years after graduation, the Lord has really shown me the importance of letting Him reveal His plans in His timing. Patience really is a virtue! :)
Coffee and music go hand-in-hand. These two things bring me so much joy!
I am so blessed to be sharing this opportunity and working alongside my sisters Alyssa and Marissa. I am so excited to see what the year brings, but I am mostly looking forward to striving for holiness with all you ladies!
Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam (For the Greater Glory of God!)
Marissa Piñón Leader
The other lovely ladies who help out as they can:
Theresa Lytwyn
Former Leader, Theresa Lytwyn, has left the Kalamazoo area to live closer to her fiancé in Minnesota. We pray for her constantly and miss her dearly, but know that she will join us whenever she is in town and able. Maria Goretti Society loves you, Theresa!
Welcome! I am so excited to see what God does with this group as we strive together to grow in our Catholic Faith and be "bearers of hope" as Pope Francis says, not only for each other, but for our families, and the rest of the Body of Christ. We have been given such a rich and beautiful Faith and I look forward to sharing in the life of the Church with you as we enjoy time together with tons of events that we'll be telling you about soon! I was born and raised in Kalamazoo where I was home schooled and have continued living here while completing a double major in Dance and Elementary Education and minors in Science and Language Arts at Western Michigan University. I now work at St. Monica School as a fifth grade teacher for an awesome group of students. I have also been involved with pro-life activities throughout the Michigan area serving as the President of Students for Life at WMU 2011-2013, working as the 2013 March for Life Coordinator for Students for Life of Michigan. I attend St. Augustine Cathedral, I am so thankful for the time I have to enjoy life with family and friends, probably ninety percent of my wardrobe is purple (okay, maybe more!), love bike riding and I would run a marathon for any dessert that has lemons. I look forward to meeting and getting to know each of you! May God bless you!