Clare Rodriguez, Dominic Smith, and Teagan Byrne have been named the winners of Christendom’s 2023 Padre Pio Full-Tuition Scholarship Competition.
98 students participated in this year’s Padre Pio competition, making it the largest and most competitive event in the college’s history.
Rodriguez, who hails from Concord Township in Ohio, has been studying at the Lyceum, a Catholic liberal arts school. She wanted a similarly rigorous education for her college education, which ultimately led her to her top choice: Christendom.
“Christendom College is alive with a vitality which can only be had through vibrant Catholic culture, Christocentric academics, and a serious mission to restore all things in Christ,” says Rodriguez, who intends on majoring in Theology. “Because Christendom focuses on forming not only scholars but saints, I am confident that it will best prepare me for whatever vocation Our Lord has planned for me in this world.”
Like Rodriguez, Dominic Smith sees Christendom as the best place where he can learn the truth, live out his Catholic faith, and thrive. He grew up in Lovettsville, Virginia, studying through Mother of Divine Grace School.
“I want to seek the truth, and I believe that at Christendom the academic programs will point toward that end,” says Smith, who hopes to major in Philosophy or Classical Early Christian Studies. “I am looking forward to this because I believe that at Christendom, I will be able to be active in my faith and strengthen my mind against the evils of the world, while creating good and lasting friendships with all the great people there. Christendom is special as it is one of the only colleges that promotes the Truth as the ultimate end and has such a vibrant Catholic culture, which is the heart of campus life.”
Byrne, who was also homeschooled, comes to Christendom from nearby Warrenton, Virginia. Thanks to her proximity to the school, she discovered Christendom early in life and quickly saw it as the ideal school to go to. Attending the college’s Best Week Ever high school summer program in the summer of 2022 helped solidify this interest.
“Christendom College offers an environment where students become saturated in the liberal arts, taught from an authentically Catholic perspective,” says Bryne. “The beauty and worth intrinsic to truth are encountered, and the revelation of truth through Christ is acknowledged in a way that stands out to me from any other college. These central missions of Christendom, as well as the culture built around them, are the reasons that I am excited to attend this college in the fall.”
The college also awarded $5,000 runners-up scholarships to Maureen Loftus, Audrey Speier, Paul Summers, Jacob Twyford, and Jessi Josefsberg.
The college looks forward to welcoming these exceptional scholars to campus in August, along with the rest of the Class of 2027, where they will learn the Truth, live the Faith, and thrive.