PRAY. LEARN. SERVE. TOGETHER.

I grew up in Highland Park, IL, a suburb of Chicago about 45 minutes north of the city, with my parents and one younger brother (2.5 years younger). My main extracurricular was swimming, which I did from when I was 9 through high school, and ended up being a factor in my decision to come to MIT. STEM subjects were my top classes in high school, and MIT made it possible to continue my sport and study at the best institution in the world. I ended up choosing computer science (course 6-3) because I was interested in learning more about computers, as well as improving my coding ability.

I was raised Catholic and my parents brought me and my brother to mass every week, albeit sometimes against our will as younger children. We spent the hour before in Sunday School, and in order to earn our confirmation hours, served as altar servers whenever we could. My parents instilled the importance of maintaining the faith throughout college, when they weren’t there to remind us to go to mass and receive the sacraments. My parents also gave me the middle name Michael, after Saint Michael the Archangel - while not a human saint, my favorite. I come to mass to connect with God. I feel blessed to be able to do the things that I do on a day to day basis, and to devote an hour each week and give praise is the least I can do. The chapel provides a close community where I can do this, and Father Michael does an incredible job of making the people feel like a family, from the first greetings to the celebra- tion of birthdays at the end.

I volunteered as a lector because I wanted to help out the Catholic community in some way, and since I would be at the mass anyway, it seemed to be the simplest way to volunteer. With a busy schedule it was not always possible to consistently find time to volunteer outside of mass, but since I go to mass each week, I would be available to read. I like reading at Mass because it helps me internalize the Word and gain a deeper understanding of what I am reading. The TCC is important to me because it has helped me grow my faith. When I first came to college after COVID, I had not been to mass for a while (due to restrictions, we were only able to watch recorded masses, with some masked masses available), and wasn’t sure if I would continue in college. I started by going to the MIT Chapel masses, since it was conveniently located a short walk from my dorm, and didn’t stop. I mostly credit my participation in Bible studies to Luke and John for inviting me the first time, and for leading them.

They’ve been an extremely positive experience, as I’ve been able to learn and share my experiences with people I otherwise may not have met during my time here at MIT.

-Tobe Obochi, MIT 2024