MEET OUR SEMINARIANS

Shawn Dresden
St. John's Seminary
2nd Year Theology

My name is Shawn Dresden, and I am the youngest of eight children.  I was born on December 11, 1979, to the parents of Robert and Mary (Perko) Dresden in Junction City, Kansas.  My parents have been married for over 45 years.  I have only one sister and six older brothers.  Their names are Michael, Patrick (deceased), Joseph, Marcia, Robert, Matthew and Mark (my twin).  Currently I have 14 nephews and nieces.

My father was a career military man and he retired from the US Army, after thirty years of service.  In 1989 he relocated to Sandy Valley and started his second career with the state of Nevada's Department of Corrections (retired in 1998).  Once in Sandy Valley my father fulfilled one of his dreams and started a horse ranch.  I have a lot of great memories of day long trail rides, exploring the mountain ranges that surround my home to family get together's where I developed close relationships with many of my cousins and strong family ties.  (I think I should also mention that I also have tons of memories of chores).  One of the first things I think of when I am thinking about my father is his wonderful sense of humor.  He always has a joke that I have never heard or some funny saying for just about any situation.  My dad is a great person who always put his family first.

Another person that has helped shape my life is one of the most spirit filled individuals I have ever known, and I have the greatest honor of having her as my mother.  The best description I have found for her is 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and how it describes love as patient, kind and enduring (sounds like mom to me).  Having eight children, she has devoted her life to their needs and wants.  She is an inspiration to me and the best example of faith that any person could hope to have. 

Other memories I have of my mother, is every morning I would see her reading her bible or some other religious text and she would point out some great new insight or new fact that she would find and share it with me,  and this was almost a daily occurrence.  Or if I had some question she would always do her best to get me an answer; she never disappointed me.  Come to think of it my mother is the most influential person in my life and for that I am thankful. 

Most of my primary education was at St. Francis Xavier in Junction City, Kansas.  I attended middle school at Sandy Valley School.  My High School experience might sound like one of those stories that your grandfather used to say about walking to school up a hill both ways.  Living in Sandy Valley has given me great time management skills.  I had to get up at 4:00 am every morning and go out to feed the horses on my father's ranch (at that time we had about 24 horses) and when that was done I had to get ready for school and walk the 1/4 mile to my bus stop where you guessed it, I was the first student on (which subsequently made me the las one off) and I rode on a bus for about two hours and some 100 miles to Las Vegas where I got to Durango High School about 6:45 am, and the trip home was just as bad.

I really did not get too involved in extracurricular activities until my sophomore year.  At this point in my life I contemplated a career in the military, so I joined ROTC.  It taught me the importance of the chair of command and how to interact with different personalities, and aerospace history.  I also decided to join some clubs which included FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) this was a club that taught it's members basic business skills and we were also the ones who ran the student store (which is another story all together) and the model rocketry club. 

In my junior year I was one of a few students to get into the National Honors Society.  (If my memory serves me right I was only one of about four or so Juniors to make it into the club and the only member of ROTC that year).  I graduated in 1998 and was in the top 10 percent of my graduating class.

Well, I think that I should describe Prim, NV for you all considering that I have spent the last seven years of my life there.  It lies on the Nevada-California state border.  It consists of three casinos, three gas stations and a mall.  For lack of a better description it would be a tourist trap/truck stop.  (Yes, you read it right, I have spent seven years there).  I started in the wonderful world of work right out of high school, and it was just by chance a new mall opened up and my family and I went to check it out and as we were walking by the toy store my aunt suggested that I apply for a job, and the very next thing I knew I had a job.  And that is where I met a very important person in my life, my first manager Barbara Kruse.  This woman was a great teacher for me and I owe her the success that I currently enjoy in my retail career.  She gave me a great opportunity by giving me a promotion to supervisor, and she took me under her wing and taught me the key of being a good manager and It was very simple..... Just be fair, and treat people with respect.  To this day we are good friends.

My first job was with a company called Toys International.  I started off as a regular employee and I worked my way up the ladder and within a year I was the Asst. Manager.  I think that, by working my way up the "corporate ladder" was a great way to learn all of the aspects of a job.  I held every position in the store, everything from stock to management.  The experience taught me the inner workings of the company, and how important every roll is in the overall operations of a business.  Once I got a given job under my belt, it was then up to me to train my fellow staff members.   This was one of the best jobs a kid could have right out of high school.  I got paid to play with toys!  This store had a great staff and we all were with the company for about four and a half years.  Unfortunately the company went bankrupt and shut their  doors.

My second job was with a company called Cole Haan  (a shoe store owned by Nike).  I was hired as the assistant manager.  It was a great learning experience working for a fortune five hundred company.  I had many responsibilities, but first and foremost I was responsible for the training and development of the staff and to make sure that all company standards were met.  When I was brought aboard to this company, the store was a bit of a problem.  It was under performing and had a large shrink rate (stolen product).  It took a bit of time, but in partnership with the store and district managers we were able to weed out many of the problems that was facing that store and turn it to the number 3 store in our region.  I was with this company for about two years.

I made a name for myself as the Toy Guy of Primm, NV.  When my mall friends found out that KB toys was coming they all suggested that I should apply, and so I did and was hired as store manager.  It was a great experience to be the first manager of a store, to be there from the beginning.  To be the one who decided what went where and who was going to make up my new team, and what challenges were to be taken care of first.  In my first year, my store beat it's sales projections, and was the only new store opened that year to make a profit.  (When a store was opened in this company, all the cost of the construction, and set up is included on the profit statement for the year, so in essence the store started out in debt and know one expected it to pull out of the red in it's first year).  I was with this company about a year and a half, when a good friend of mine offered me a position that I could not pass up.

My last job I worked for GAP Inc. as the store operations manager.  This was the highest volume company I have worked for.  It was a great job with many challenges.  I was the behind the scenes guy whom everyone called.

Well, here is the story of my vocation.  As far back as I can remember, I have thought about being a priest.  Growing up in a large family I have been exposed to the church my whole life (I guess I would be a "Cradle Catholic").  Some of my earliest memories are connected with the church in some shape or form.  One of my earliest memories involving my faith was in religion class in about the third or fourth grades.  There was a question asked in class of how come or why we show Jesus on the cross?  And this answer has been with me my whole life.  The teacher (whose name I can't recall) said, "We show Jesus on the cross because it is a reminder to us how much he loved us".  A simple but most effective answer.... As I think about this answer, I think epiphany would be a more accurate term for how I felt about the answer.

Another mile stone, growing  up in my faith  was moving to Sandy Valley.  After attending Mass in a church that was built in 1905 with beautiful stain glass windows and looked like a castle (at least to a 9 year old boy) with hundreds of families; to St. Catherine of Sienna mission, which (when I first got there) was a building on a dirt lot with 10 to 20 people, one room, one door, four multicolored windows, no pews, plastic chairs, former wedding chapel used at a casino... needless-to-say, I was in shock.

Having a very limited amount of people there left a list of volunteers very limited, and so my involvement in church began.  I can remember doing many activities for St. Catherine's every thing from pulling weeds out in the parking lot to re-painting walls, to being on the parish council.  I am very thankful to God for bringing me to a spot like St. Catherine's (or St. Mary's of the sagebrush, as my sister calls it), because with all I had done for that little church, it has taught me the lesson of a labor of love.  I am very proud of my church and I known that God has something very special for it some day.  I have learned much abut community, family, friendships, and how they are connected with the meaning of Catholic.

The "Call" to the priesthood, has been a very interesting journey for me.  For the longest time in my life I had a feeling of being unworthy, but through prayer, I have come to an understanding that it is not so much a question of worthiness but more of a question of service.  So I ask myself am I willing to serve God?  YES is my answer.

Neil Gian
Mt. Angel Seminary
1st Year Philosophy

Fernando Ruvalcaba

Mt. Angel Seminary

1st Year Philosophy

Miguel Corral

Mt. Angel Seminary

1st Year Philosophy

My name is Miguel Corral (Michael) and I’m the youngest of seven children. I was born in the state of Durango, Mexico. I have one brother and five older sisters, they are all married. Their names are Eva, Gloria, Bertha, Angel, Consuelo and Maribel (my twin). Currently I have 13 nephews and nieces. My parents Miguel and Consuelo have been married for 45 years. I was always a quiet child, very shy and reserved, but good hearted. My mother taught us what she could about God and the church. She did a great job.  We never got into trouble and always knew right from wrong. I remember going to Mass every Sunday, no exceptions, and I served as altar boy (thanks to my mother). We used to be farmers and had a lot of cows, horses, chickens, pigs and many other animals. I have a lot of great memories of day long trail rides, exploring the mountain ranges that surround our home and family gatherings where I developed close relationships and strong family ties with many of my cousins. My parents taught us very high moral values.  They always made sure we attended school and as parents they always wanted the best for us.

Looking for a better future in 1995, we relocated to Las Vegas. I attended middle school and High School in Las Vegas and enjoyed it very much.  I built good relationships with friends, some of which I still keep in contact with today.  I am blessed with many good friends. Immediately after high school, I began attending the Community College of Southern Nevada.

My first job was with a company called Burger King. I started off as a regular employee and I worked my way up the ladder and within a year I was promoted to Cashier Coordinator. My second job was with a company called Circus Circus.  I also started off as a regular employee and I worked my way up as Cashier Coordinator. The past seven years, I am employed with Bank of America. I was hired as a Teller and I worked my way up to Senior Personal Banker. I have always cherished and appreciated employment with Bank of America with exceptional associates, especially exemplary supervisor and wonderful customers.

Since 1995, I have attended Mass every Sunday at Saint Bridget Roman Catholic Church with Fr. Swenson.  In August 2005, Fr. Swenson began having Spanish Mass with the help of Fr. Jesse Cortes.  Fr. Swenson coordinated a Spanish Community since he did not speak the language and depended on Spanish parishioners to assist in organizing the Spanish Community liturgies.  I volunteered in many different aspects of the Church. I began as Guardian of the Blessed Sacrament in our Chapel which is open 24/7days a week.  I was asked to be a lector at the Spanish Mass and just before Fr. Swenson died, I was asked to help Fr. Jesse with the coordination of the Spanish Community.  Fr Jesse was appointed the administrator of Saint Bridget after Fr. Swenson passed away and once again I was asked to help with the coordination of the Spanish Community.

Since then, I have been the Coordinator of all Spanish ministries at Saint Bridget. This exposed me to many different ministries, such as working with the other communities in our Parish.  I was involved in the planning of our services in our new church which was dedicated February 3, 2008 by Bishop Joseph A. Pepe. It was a very good experience because I learned how to deal with cultural differences and conflicts. I also learned how Parish life is and working with Fr. Jesse, I have learned how the life of a Priest is. I began to feel the desire to help people know God more, especially our youth.  In 2008 with the approval of Fr. Jesse, I was enrolled in L.E.M.P with Dr. Mark Gonzalez and Fr. Felix Just.  This Program assisted me in opening a Youth Group consisting of 30 teenagers. In 2008, I was able to teach Adult catechism for those who needed to do their First Holy Communion, Confirmation or just wanted to learn more about our Catholic faith, as well as Spanish RCIA. In 2009, I was working very close with Fr. Bruno Mauricci (Hispanic Ministry Coordinator) and Dr. Mark Gonzalez (Department of Faith and Ministry Formation) to establish our Diocesan Youth Ministry. With the combination of my daily visits to Jesus in Perpetual Adoration, my involvement in Parish life and with the help of many people such as Fr. Jesse Cortes, Fr. Mugagga Lule, Joanna Pollard (our Parish Financial Administrator) and Eva (my sister) which has been very helpful during my discernment, that through guidance of the Holy Spirit, my eyes opened to a whole new world.  It was after all these experiences that I decided I wanted to help the people of God by becoming a priest in the Diocese of Las Vegas.

Mass of Sending Forth for our Seminarians, August 5, 2010

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