Mount Michael is a community that has long been rooted in the Benedictine values, one of which is service. Last year, in an attempt to step up the Knights’ involvement in this area, Mrs. Amanda Schleimer was hired as the Campus Ministry Director. Since then, Schleimer has done a great deal of work helping the Knights to better serve the community.
A native of Baltimore, Schleimer had lived for most of her life on the East Coast before her husband took a job at Creighton University as the Director of Residential Life.
Moving to Nebraska was quite a leap for her family, but Schleimer soon found a community to immerse herself in. Dr. Peters hired Schleimer last April to fill the gap left in the staff by Father John Hagemann’s retirement. Schleimer did not have much time to ease into her new job, however.
Just a few weeks after she was hired, tornadoes wreaked havoc across the Elkhorn area, destroying neighborhoods near Mount Michael. Schleimer was instrumental in organizing a day of service through Omaha Rapid Response Disaster Relief Team to help the victims of this disaster. The Knights cleared debris from fields and filled dumpsters full of rubble, providing a tangible help to the community.
“I want Campus Ministry to be student-driven.” Mrs. Amanda Schleimer
After a stellar beginning to her tenure at Mount Michael, Schleimer began working to enhance the Campus Ministry program. One of her main goals was to make choosing to serve a cakewalk, not a chore. “I want Campus Ministry to be student-driven, and I am hoping to give the student body freedom to serve their community in ways that are the most meaningful to them.”
One of the ways Schleimer intends to accomplish this goal is by reaching out to the student body to hear their opinions on what makes service the most effective and enjoyable. An overwhelming majority of students reported back that their main concern when arranging to do service was whether their friends would do it with them. “Students really enjoy doing service with their peers,” Schleimer remarked, “which is really a testament to the strength of the community here at Mount Michael.”
With this in mind, Schleimer reached out to coaches and players on the football team to gauge their interest in a service project with the entire football team, and received much positive feedback. The result of this was the Knights football team making the trip to the Heart Ministry Center to help at a food drive.
Schleimer’s hope for this service day was for “students to grow in community while doing service for their community.” This goal was achieved, with the service day being a great success.
Junior Derek Brewer described the experience as a “drive through except instead of selling them McDonalds, we handed them free groceries.”
The football team thoroughly enjoyed their time at the Heart Ministry Center, with Nathan Bluvas ‘25 saying, “I enjoyed doing service with my teammates because it was a great chance for us to bond as we give back to the community.” With this great success, many other coaches and teams have already arranged for their own service projects.
These service projects are not the only task Schleimer has been working on, however. She is also focusing her attention on Mount Michael’s Liturgical Ministry program, which includes helping out during Masses by being ecumenical ministers, singing in the choir, and reading Scripture.
Many students have gotten involved because of Schleimer’s efforts, including junior Will McTaggart who said “Mrs. Schliemer got me to become an EMHC, which has really deepened my commitment to my faith.”
Schleimer’s effect can be clearly seen at Mass this year, with many new faces serving as EMHC’s, lectors, and choirmen. “It has been really wonderful to see students want to be involved in the Mass in different ways,” Schleimer said.
Schleimer also is helping to grow the Mount Michael community by bringing a future Class of 2042 Knight into the world this winter. Schleimer goes on maternity leave in January, but Campus Ministry will still be in full swing.
As the new Campus Ministry Director, Mrs. Schleimer has made a significant impact on how Mount Michael lives out the Benedictine value of service. She will continue to find new ways for students to make an impact on the greater community.
