Meet Mary Beth! - 2018 Summer Interns

Hi! My name is Mary Beth Zerwic and I just finished my sophomore year at the University of Illinois where I’m studying History and Secondary Education with the end dream of becoming a High School history teacher. I grew up in a large, Catholic family with the best parents around. I witnessed, through their actions, the meaning of living a holistic pro-life ethic. These actions including, but not limited to: welcoming five of us kids into this world; my dad teaching me about respect not just for my grandparents but all elderly; and sharing our sandwiches with those experiencing homelessness every time we’d venture into downtown Chicago. I didn’t realize it then, but my parents were teaching my siblings and me about the moral responsibility that our faith gives us. Coming to college, I quickly became active with weDignify. Beginning as a member in the very first UIUC Small Group, I fell in love with the concept of weekly meetings which cover various pro-life disciplines (apologetics, law/policy, science, etc.) and growing into a knowledgeable pro-life leader on my campus. Small Group combined two things that I care deeply about: education and the pro-life movement. The more I learned, the more I was affirmed in the beliefs that I grew up with. After a couple of months, I stepped up to lead my own Small Group, which began the following semester.Fast forward a year, I was still involved with weDignify and my affinity for Small Group and weDignify’s Mentorship Program continued to grow. I decided to apply for the Summer Internship Program to spend my summer steeped in something that has become so dear to me. weDignify’s model of upholding every person’s dignity really resonates with me. The way they build up students to be strong and educated pro-life leaders while also teaching us how to respond with compassion and love are life-long skills which can be applied to almost any situation. Being pro-life is not just a belief that I have, it is a lifestyle I live, and weDignify is helping me understand the role that I can play in this movement. The weDignify team is amazing, and it is a gift to be guided and mentored by such experienced and skilled pro-life leaders. There is no doubt that this summer is going to be filled with counsel and direction. As an education minor, I’m especially interested in the education side of weDignify. I’m really looking forward to revising old lesson plans and creating new ones for the Small Group program to use this upcoming fall all while keeping the concepts I’ve learned in my education classes at the forefront of my mind. I can’t wait to see all that this summer has in store for me and to come back to campus rejuvenated and ready for another school year of Small Group, mentorship, and growth.