Narrative Summary
Interview with Carolyn Mitchell by Grace Akin
Though she volunteered to help a friend out with a project that was looming, she still was
a little nervous as the stage was set. With a glass of water in one hand and a pen in the other, we
sat at her kitchen table to begin the interview. She asked if I should warn the listening audience
that we were friends who spent many hours laughing about things nobody else understands just
in case this were to happen to us during the interview. We laughed, of course. I responded by
letting her know that our professor had warned us that, more often than not, people actually cry
because it is not every day that they really sit down and focus on what their religion has meant
throughout their lives. We laughed again thinking that could never happen to us, but it did.
I began my interview by asking for the basics—where she was born, her parent’s
information, how many siblings, and things of that nature. As I began to dig a little deeper into
her past, I found that this carefree spirit, who I thought I knew very well, had a very strong
foundation within the Catholic Church. Not only did she attend youth group and mass regularly,
but she was even head of the student organization. As a woman, I thought it was very cool that
she could do so within a male-dominated faith.
As a child she grew in the church, learning and participating in studies of the Catholic
traditions and history. When she was 17, she was confirmed. Confirmation within Catholicism
means to vow your life devotions to the faith and all that it stands for—in return, the church
community sees your decision as a leap into adulthood.
Carolyn laughed as she thought of all the different places she lived in her short lifetime
and how many times she returned home to Missouri. Once, she returned with only four weeks
left of high school to graduate with the class she had grown up with. At the time, her dad had
been transferred to Kansas for his job, and she had to go to a new school as a junior and senior.
Missouri State University
Fall 2010
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We all know how challenging this must have been for a teenager, but Carolyn was able to dive
into their new church and get involved in the Catholic youth organizations. After high school,
Carolyn ventured out into the world only to return home and complete her degree at Missouri
Southern State College. There she made lifelong friends and discovered her passion for helping
those less fortunate than herself.
With a criminal justice degree in tote, she headed to the bright lights and the big city. She
found herself working at a youth correctional facility not too far from Kansas City. During our
conversation, I could really feel her devotion to those troubled teens and how disheartening it
was for her to have to send them back to the homes that broke them to begin with. When she left
that job she relocated to work as a parole officer.
Being her friend, I have seen the unmarked office she worked in, the one where she saw
murderers and drug dealers come, go, and come back again. A lot of heartache came with this
job. She heard horrific stories of gang violence and crime; she says that her faith in God is the
only thing that kept her sane during that time. She told me a story of a man that came in to see
her who, she later found out, had a gun on him the entire time. She was frightened by this fact
and went home and prayed for safety the entire night. She was offered a job as a pharmaceutical
rep for Novartis and, needing a break from tragedy, she happily took the raise which also came
with a move back home. She has been very successful in this field and is very proud of her
accomplishments.
Her greatest influences are her grandmother and her mother. These two women stand as
role models for the kind of life she strives for every day. They have both been strong Catholic
women throughout Carolyn’s life. She cherishes every moment she currently has with her mom
and also treasures the memories she has of her grandmother. A recent point of transformation for
Missouri State University
Fall 2010
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Carolyn happened when her family found out that her mother was diagnosed with cancer. Not
only is her mother her greatest influence, but she is also her best friend. As Carolyn spoke on her
leaning back to a faith she had set aside, tears filled her eyes, and she was overwhelmed with
God’s love for her mother and for herself. She knew God would hold the situation together; she
only needed to lean on him for guidance. Carolyn is truly an amazing woman that has lived,
traveled, loved, and laughed throughout a very blessed Catholic journey. It was my honor to
learn of her life as a woman within the Catholic religion.
Missouri State University
Fall 2010
Religious Lives of Ozarks Women