College can be a truly transformative experience for students. For Haili Kendall, it’s been life changing. Haili found her faith and a future career that she is passionate about during her time at Walsh University.
A junior majoring in criminal justice and museum studies with minors in forensics studies and community and nonprofit leadership, she was recently accepted into Walsh University’s 4+1 BA/MBA program with aspirations to work in federal law enforcement.
Of course, college is about doing well in coursework and gaining skills for future employment, but it is so much more than that. Haili has experienced a wide range of activities and encountered new ideas and challenges at Walsh.
She is the president of the museum engagement team, president of Cavs for Life, the service and mission coordinator for Campus Ministry, a resident assistant, Career Peer Lead in the career center, and an honors student who interns and volunteers with several organizations.
“I think being involved in all of these things is what keeps me busy and also keeps me responsible and diligent in pursuing my goals,” Kendall said.
The pandemic has been challenging for many students, especially as we’ve physically distanced, but Haili, who had been to Mass with her freshman roommate a time or two and had taken the History of Christianity honors course, found herself wanting to know more about the Catholic faith.
“I thought I was being called toward something greater and decided to convert to Catholicism” Kendall said. “I know myself, and I can’t be 50 percent Catholic. If there is something I am conflicted about, something the Catholic Church says, I need to research it and know all I can. I read book after book during the quarantine. I was finishing my classes, but I was also a voracious reader.”
Haili was baptized, received her first communion, and was confirmed on Easter of 2021.
As she looks forward to being a senior at Walsh University, she is excited to complete her final internship, potentially in the FBI’s Honors Internship Program, and work on her MBA (Master s program for Business Administration) coursework.
“The FBI is all about community, working with different community organizations and helping promote those social justice aspects of society, and I think it plays into my Catholic faith as well,” she said. “I’m learning to be a better Catholic and a better businesswoman.”
