Rarely do people discover their passion and pursue it, but for Jacquelyn Ferzacca, who is passionate about both her Catholic faith and media, it is more of a challenge to pursue both. Jackie is a junior Visual Media Arts: Media Production major with a minor in Marketing Communication. She’d be happy working as a producer in the media industry, and is willing to try her hand in just about anything. Being a leader is what is most important to her. Her leadership skills shined through as she mentioned her position in Newman Club, the Catholic organization on campus.
Jackie is the president of Newman Club after getting more involved this past year. She joined the organization her freshman year at Emerson and has been a member ever since.
Religion is not something new to Jackie, though. After attending Catholic school her whole life, she felt like something was missing in her college experience. She stepped away from religion during her freshman year to see what life would be like, but realized she felt like she was missing her spiritual connection to God. Newman Club has become a “home away from home” for Jackie, and has given her an opportunity to develop her faith even more.
The club recently went on their spring retreat to Maine where they were able to “spend time together, bond together and grow together as a club.” In addition to the spring retreat, they also have a spring service trip. Currently, the club is celebrating Lent until Easter. They have also paired with the Christian Fellowship group on campus to recognize such an important holiday. They will be having a Palm Sunday Mass April 9th, open to anyone who would like to attend.
As for the future, Jackie disclosed some plans in the making of potentially taking a pilgrimage to Vatican City. “It would give us a lot to look forward as Catholics,” she says. While those plans are still undergoing work and approval, the club will continue to bond over the remainder of the semester and into next year with their weekly meetings and retreats, under Jackie’s leadership as president of the club.
As for Jackie, she hopes to continue to have religion play a role in her career. It had never occurred to her that she could incorporate religion into film until she saw a screening for The Shack. A representative for the company that produced the screening was seeking out Catholics to see the movie and voice their opinions on it. Jackie, who is currently a representative for Universal Pictures on Campus and hosts screenings as a part of her internship, would love to potentially host some movies that are about her Catholic faith and spread the word about them. Connecting her two loves is something that she will definitely have to work toward doing, but both will always be a part of her life!