RUSSELLVILLE
Corey Naegle, 23, was raised Catholic but really began taking his faith seriously when he got to college. He became roommates with one of the current campus ministers at St. Leo the Great Church at Arkansas Tech University, Jacob Moellers.
“My freshman year, I was roommates with him,” he said. “He brought me to St. Leo’s a couple times, and then I saw a girl who was pretty so I kept going, and I eventually fell in love with the faith.”
As student president at the university parish, Naegle led the university’s campus ministry in most volunteer hours this past school year. He volunteered for nearly every opportunity over the past three years.
One of his favorite volunteering experiences was helping at the homeless shelter Dallas Life. He got to meet the people that he was helping face to face.
“I love either doing stuff where you get to actually see the people or something behind the screen where no one really knows about it,” he said. “Because I just prefer that the work that I do stays between me and God.”
While studying for his master’s degree in computer science and also working full time, Naegle always makes time for his faith, trusting in God’s plan for him.
“I don’t worry about where I need to be whenever I’m at Mass because I know I’m exactly where I need to be. It’s just the thing of having faith that wherever I am right now, as long as I’m looking for direction from God, I know that I’m going to be in the right place no matter where I go,” he said.
Coffee, tea, or soda?
“Tea. I haven’t been able to drink coffee since I was little because I had some at like a Sam’s Club or something, and it had me throwing up when I was about 5 or something. So, of course, I didn’t realize that what I was drinking was pure black coffee.”
More stories will appear in our 15 Young Adults Who Inspire Us 2024 Section as they are posted online.
