NEC 2024 Interview with MSP Alumna Holly Wright
Alumni Director Michele Drennen interviews 2017 MSP graduate Holly Wright, who now runs Casa Guadalupe, a house of prayer and discernment for young missionaries. Wright discusses the program's Catholic anthropology, learning to listen over reacting, and bridging faith with psychological science.
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0:09Hello, I'm Michele Drennen. And I am the Alumni Director for Divine Nursing University. I'm delighted this afternoon to speak and tell you a little bit about the journey of Holly Wright, one of our masters in psychology graduates from 2017. Welcome Holly. Thank you so much Michelle. So if you could take a few moments and just tell us what attracted you to Divine Mercy University? Well, I have always had an interest in just the human person, understanding how we work and what I really loved about Divine Mercy was the focus on the goodness of a person made in the image and likeness of God and and not identifying people by their weakness or by what they're maybe they're struggling with but really looking at the person and then always just wanting to to be able to better understand how to help, first to start with myself, the things that I need to work on so that I can be a gift to others and to help others.
1:02That's a great reason to find us. So tell me a little bit about your journey since you graduated from Divine Mercy University and some of the things that you're doing that you're very proud of. Well, it was such a blessing. The whole program, was really, really incredible and super solidly Catholic. And the the reason I went into I run a house of prayer and discernment for women called Casa Guadalupe, and it's part of a a large organization called Corazon Puro, which raises up, missionaries in areas of great need. And so a lot of the young people that we're working for are coming from very poor areas, a lot of times with a traumatic background, very difficult situations. And so as I've been helping to form the leaders, my experience with Divine Mercy, the education I received, the formation has been tremendous to be able to help just to learn to listen better.
1:52Most of my education was, like, realizing all the things that I do wrong and how, like, I'd really love to listen better and do better. But, it has really helped in in the formation. Some of the talks that we give are really based in empathy and in listening and understanding how to, you know, respond rather than to react. And I'm still working on these things myself, but it's it's very helpful to be able to have the tools to help others as well. I love that. What type of bridges do you think that you can build and are built between science and religion, health care, and pastoral care? That's a big question. That's a really big question. Certainly, I mean, with faith and reason, you know, being able to see those as the two wings, leading us to to the father and, understanding better the science, behind what we understand as our faith.
2:42We already know it by revelation, but having the science back it up, of course, in today's society, it seems that that's something that people will more gravitate to and are a little bit more suspicious of faith, unfortunately. But we see it corroborating. You know? And then in the health care system, I think, again, the view of the of the human person as precious as, you know, infinitely valuable is something that the health care system doesn't necessarily recognize. And whether it's mental health or physical health, but usually we're treating symptoms or treating, you know, problems, disease, and not people. And I think if we were able to make that shift in the way that Divine Mercy has has taught us, it would be very beneficial for everyone in the whole world.
3:23Thank you for that. One final question. So what have your what have been your three great takeaway from your education at Divine Mercy University? Woah. Three. I'm calling up three. Definitely looking at the human person, made in the image and likeness of God and always, you know, staying away from because there's always gonna be that tendency to kinda to see the week doesn't define whether myself or another person by that. So I think that would be takeaway number one. Second takeaway is really just learning how to listen, you know, how to really strive for understanding through listening rather than through speaking. Has been really helpful and something that I'm constantly coming back to and trying to hone that skill and to learn.
4:09And I think understanding, you know, not as a person as a disease, but understanding some of the the disorders and things that we struggle with can be a lot more helpful to become compassionate and understanding, like, the traumatic response. So understanding when someone might react in a certain way, even if now, someone, like, cuts me off on the highway or whatever, you know, I might have gotten, you know, upset and, like, what's wrong with you? And now it's just kinda like, oh, well, they probably had a traumatic childhood and this, like, poor person. Or sometimes, like, maybe they just need to go to the bathroom. But it's sort of helping me understand a little bit more as to why people do the things that they do that are all sort of wounded children and looking for the father.
4:46And if we can kinda be that gaze of the father to others, it's helpful. Well, Holly, we thank you so much as an alumni for these great insights, and we're so proud of all the work you're doing. Thank you, Michelle. It's really an honor and grateful.