Accounting senior Craig Koenig at the All Saints Catholic Newman Center on South College Avenue and East University Drive. While the church itself is still undergoing some renovations, weekly mass still goes on as frequently as possible. (Photo by Dominic Valente)
This is the third in a series of six articles profiling individual students and their religions to coincide with this week’s centerpiece story.
Craig Koenig may have been raised Catholic, but it was not until his sophomore year of college that he accepted his faith and allowed it to become an integral part of him.
It is this acceptance that drives Koenig, an accounting senior, to devote two hours each day to scripture study, prayer and Mass, in addition to striving towards chastity, sobriety and excellence.
Koenig said that by consistently pursuing these goals,he is better able to understand the purpose of life and his place in it.
"The Christian life is the best one to live," Koenig said. "If our main purpose in life is to get to heaven, then what are we doing wasting our time with mediocrity? There is no better time to figure things out."
Koenig was raised Catholic and attended Mass with his family, but he said he wasn't living his faith.
"I was raised Catholic, went to Mass every Sunday as a child," Koenig said, "but didn't take ownership of it until my sophomore year at ASU. I was quite the typical student, struggling with chastity, sobriety, and mediocrity."
However, Koenig began to accept his faith and change his actions after being invited by his community assistant to attend a small Bible study held in his hall at Vista del Sol.
By studying the Bible, Koenig said he was able to come closer to Jesus and understand his need for a change in his life.
“It was learning to know who Jesus was, specifically," he said. "Actually being in a relationship with him was something I didn’t have before."
It was after he began attending the Bible study that Koenig began to attend mass and eventually become involved in Fellowship of Catholic University Students, a program that seeks to evangelize college students and promote the tenets of chastity, sobriety and excellence.
As part of striving to live these values, Koenig quit drinking alcohol and had to constantly check his actions to be sure that they were in line with his values.
He said that by working to attain these values he has been able to make his life better.
Koenig said he is able to focus his life on the things that really matter to him instead of the other things that he used to focus on.
One of the biggest changes in his life is his outlook on his education, he said.
“I am using my talents that are God given more effectively and looking at school differently,” Koenig said. “Instead of just being a chore, it is using my gifts to the fullest.”
Reach the reporter at sgslade@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @shelbygslade
