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Meet Our Missionaries

These are the incredible FOCUS Missionaries who serve Catholic Hoos at the University of Virginia! FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) is a collegiate outreach whose mission is to share the hope and joy of the Gospel with college and university students. Learn more here!

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JACK GUIDERA

FOCUS Missionary, Team Director

[email protected]

My name is Jack Guidera! This is my third year serving as a missionary at UVA. I am from Baltimore and graduated from the University of Maryland in 2022 with degrees in Finance & Political Science. I am a fan of anything Maryland related, especially Old-Bay Seasoning, Blue Crabs, & lacrosse. I have grown to see Charlottesville as a second home, and am so blessed to walk with many of you in faith. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like to connect or get more involved in Catholic Hoos.

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Francesca Battista

FOCUS Missionary

[email protected]

Francesca Battista graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley. She was raised, for the most part, in Menlo Park, California where she and her family were parishioners at St. Raymond Catholic Church and where she first met the Dominican Order through the Western Dominican Province. After encountering FOCUS for the first time in college, Francesca discerned that it was to this mission that the Lord Jesus was calling her after her time as an undergraduate. She is blessed and honored to serve as a missionary at UVA and prays especially that all the souls at the University of Virginia may be drawn very close to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

SHANE CHILCOTT

FOCUS Missionary

[email protected]

What’s up Hoos, I’m Shane and I am a third-year missionary! I grew up in Cleveland Ohio, and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in May 2023 with a degree in social work with a focus on Gerontology. While a senior at Pitt, I served as a FOCUS missionary, and I am super pumped to be now serving my third-year here at UVA!! I had a beautiful encounter with our Lord my second year of college and it sparked a massive reversion in my faith that had been stagnant since my Baptism as a 6-month-old baby! I was fully received into the Catholic Church on April 3, 2021… Praise God!! I would love to share my story with you all, and hear yours as well! I am a diehard Cleveland fan and may or may not be overly defensive of Ohio, so please make fun of me for it! I also love going for walks, hiking, paddleboarding, and basically anything outdoors! My two favorite sports to play are basketball and volleyball, and I can’t wait to play them with y’all! I am so grateful to be back serving as a missionary at UVA this year and I cannot wait to meet you all!

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Lindsay Veech

FOCUS Missionary

[email protected]

Hi y’all! My name is Lindsay Veech and I am a first-year missionary from Texas! I grew up in Houston and I graduated in May with an Allied Health degree from Texas A&M! Gig’em Aggies!! In my time at Texas A&M, the Catholic faith that I had always grown up with came to life for me in a whole new way, as I came to know Jesus more, pray more deeply, and participate more fully in the sacraments. It was my greatest joy in my time in college to come to know Christ more and to walk with others in their journey to know Him more as well, so I am beyond excited to be here at the University of Virginia! I feel so blessed to be here and to be welcomed into this community with such open arms. I truly cannot wait to see all the things God has in store here! So far, my favorite things about Charlottesville are the beautiful views, Grit iced coffee and of course the incredible people I have met. God has truly invited me into abundant life on this side of eternity with Him, and each day here truly is such a gift no matter what it holds. I’ve been praying a lot about this idea of joyful and abundant life with Christ, and I would love to tell you more about it! For those I have already met, thank you for welcoming me here with such warmth and for those who I have yet to meet, I cannot wait to meet you! GO HOOS!!!!!
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LANDON MCDERMOTT

FOCUS Missionary

[email protected]

Hey everyone! I’m Landon, and I’m a second year FOCUS missionary who’s new to UVA! I grew up in Minnesota, and got a BFA in Musical Theatre from Montclair State University in New Jersey. I grew up Catholic, but didn’t receive the sacrament of confirmation while I was busy as a teenager performing in musicals. I had lost interest in Catholicism until I rediscovered my love for the one true Church while on a FOCUS mission trip in the summer of 2021. I received the sacrament of confirmation when I was a junior at Montclair and started leading a Bible study soon after. Once I realized how much fulfillment I had from sharing the faith I’d found with others, it was a natural decision for me to apply to be a FOCUS missionary! Last year, I served at Doane Univeristy in Crete, Nebraska, and I’m happy to be back on the East coast in Virginia! I am thrilled to serve the students on Grounds at UVA this year by showing them how Jesus Christ can meet their deepest spiritual poverty through the Catholic Church! I have already been so amazed by the Catholic Hoos community and the St. Thomas Aquinas parish. I can’t wait to see what God else has to offer for the school year! Go hoos!
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CAROLANNE VAN ZANDT

FOCUS Missionary

[email protected] 

Hey y’all! I’m Carolanne and I am a second-year missionary! I grew up in Louisiana and graduated from Brown University in May of 2023. At Brown, I studied Biology was on the gymnastics team. God has invited me to serve here at the University of Virginia this year, and I am so grateful to be making my way back closer to home to serve in this wonderful community. You’ll often find me enjoying some praise and worship music, seeking the best coffee shops in Charlottesville, or soaking up time outside! Jesus has transformed my life and I’d love to share the story with you: His generosity and His plans are beyond our understanding and have been so beautiful! My favorite scripture passage (recently) has been the story of the Prodigal Son in the gospel of Luke. It reminds me of the Heavenly homecoming we were created for and of the Father’s love for me! I’d love to meet you and tell how Jesus has worked in my life through this passage.