Meet Sarah! {Summer Intern Series}

I come from a deeply rooted Catholic family that follows the religious rules without question. So, in theory, I have always been pro-life without giving the subject much thought.The first discussion about being pro-life and pro-choice in my family came up during my second year of high school when my nineteen-year-old cousin got pregnant unexpectedly. She was faced with two choices: choosing life or the alternative. She had a similar religious upbringing as I, and so she decided to parent her child who is now my goddaughter.I was beginning to see the positive impact of choosing life, but fully labeling myself as “pro-life” did not happen until I met one of the other summer interns, Carina Greico. She and I went to a few Loyola Students for Life meetings on Sunday nights. But still, my attendance was irregular and infrequent.One night, after attending an LSFL meeting which discussed feminism in the pro-life movement, Carina and I came back to my dorm room to further discuss the topic. My roommate and her friend, who were both pro-choice, overheard our discussion and we started to debate. At the end of the night, Carina and I felt uninformed and defeated, so Carina texted our SFLI Campus Mentor, Anna, and scheduled a meeting with her the next day.At that meeting, Anna was extremely patient answering every single question we had. We went to a pizza place and sat talking about all these issues that came up during our debate. Sitting and debriefing for two hours, Anna helped me gain a better understanding of the beliefs of the pro-life movement.Though it was a lot of information and very helpful, I still resisted being completely involved in the pro-life movement. I was ignoring the fact that I was nervous about becoming outwardly vocal on such a controversial topic.At the beginning of my sophomore year of college, I received a text from Carina asking me if I’d consider being LSFL’s 2017 March for Life Coordinator. This sounded like something far outside of my comfort zone because I have never been one to outspokenly voice my opinions. After having another meeting with Anna, I decided that even with 18 credits and 4 different extracurricular activities, this was something I needed to do to stand for life.Being the March for Life Coordinator inspired me to show up to all of the meetings that fall semester. I gathered together 17 Loyola students to go to Washington, D.C. SFLI and other Illinois-based student groups, which was a huge step up from only 3 students going the previous year.Stepping up as the March for Life Coordinator helped me see the work and effort it takes to be pro-life and with my success, really inspired me to step up again in the spring by running for Vice President of Loyola Students for Life. With this new role, I continued to go to meetings and gain more knowledge about the pro-life values and beliefs. This again pushed me to step into becoming more educated to join and lead a Small Group.Over spring break is when Anna encouraged me to apply for the SFLI summer internship in Champaign. After thinking about the internship, I realized that this was something I was feeling called to; this was something I felt I needed.These opportunities to continue stepping up in leadership kept coming up in my life so finally, I said yes and applied. This internship is not something I had expected to happen because I have always been set on becoming a music therapist. And yet, in knowing the need and having the desire to continue my pro-life leadership skills, I am constantly called to this work focused on life and love.With this internship, I hope to gain more knowledge about what the pro-life movement embodies. I look forward to my growth over the summer and to use what SFLI has to offer me to become a leading individual!Sarah Storto is a summer intern with Students for Life of Illinois. She is a junior at Loyola University Chicago majoring in music and social work. Sarah aspires to be a music therapist for individuals with disabilities.