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Narrative Summary
Interview with Sister Michelle Nguyen by Deanna Kluesner
For the topic of this interview assignment, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sister
Michelle Nguyen, whom I have known for approximately 3 years. Sister Michelle is a Roman
Catholic nun, and she is a member of the Congregation of Mary, Queen. She resides with several
other nuns at a residence in Springfield, Missouri. Although Sister has lived in the United States
for a large majority of her life, she was actually born in Vietnam and spent part of her childhood
there. Sister was only a freshman in high school when she made the decision to join the religious
life within the Roman Catholic Church. She attended high school in California, where she used
to live with one of her sisters prior to her life as a nun. After high school, Sister obtained her
bachelor’s degree in theology from Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri in 2001. She
then attended the Aquinas Institute in St. Louis, Missouri where she obtained her master’s degree
in Pastoral Studies in 2007 and in the year 2009 she became a certified chaplain. Currently,
Sister works as a campus minister at Missouri State University. More specifically, she works at
Catholic Campus Ministry (CCM) where she ministers to students and also helps with many
other activities.
Sister Michelle is a petite woman and she is also very soft-spoken, but she is always
willing to lend a smile and a friendly “hello.” She has a keen memory, and every time I see her
she asks me about specific details in my life such as how my two brothers are doing or where I
applied to nursing school and whether or not I have been accepted yet. I am always so surprised
that she remembers such details since she has so many encounters with different students each
day, but it is comforting to know that she has a genuine interest in the students that she ministers
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to. As I mentioned, I met Sister Michelle approximately three years ago and after having only a
few conversations with her, I knew she was someone I would always admire. Her passion and
dedication to her vocation is a great inspiration to young adults such as myself who are
considering a religious vocation within the Roman Catholic Church.
When Sister Michelle decided to answer the call to the religious life, she did so against
the wishes of her family. Since she was only a freshman in high school at the time of her
decision, both her parents and siblings thought it would be better if she waited a few years so that
she could decide if the religious life was truly what she wanted. However, Sister decided not to
wait a few years and she joined right away. The order that sister belongs to (Congregation of
Mary, Queen), is based out of Vietnam but there are several locations in the United States. The
U.S. headquarters for the congregation is based out of St. Louis. All of the other nuns in Sister
Michelle’s order are Vietnamese, and they all live together, work together, and pray together.
Sister Michelle spends most of her days at CCM, and she spends much of her time there on
weekends as well assisting with Mass and other various events and activities that the students
take part in. Sister admits that it is difficult for her to keep up with the time schedule of her work,
because she often has to work late in the evening in order to cater to the needs of the college
students.
During my interview with Sister Michelle, I asked her how she felt about the current state
of the Catholic Church and whether or not she had much hope for the future. More specifically, I
asked her if she saw hope within the young college students that she works with, since they are
the future of the Church. Sister admits that although the Church is facing many struggles right
now, she sees a passion dwelling within the youth of the Church and she has hope that the future
will be bright. Sister explained that it is important for young adults to maintain their spiritual
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lives despite the many distractions that exist within society today. When I asked Sister how a
young adult might go about discerning whether or not they are called to the religious life, she
responded with a similar answer. She said it is important to shut out the loudness of the
surrounding world and focus on prayer and spiritual nourishment. Sister admitted that there is no
way to know for certain whether or not one has chosen the right vocation for their life, but she is
confident that God will lead individuals in the right direction and redirect them if necessary.
Missouri State University
Fall 2012
Religious Lives of Ozarks Women