Thomas More University students and staff attend ‘life changing,’ SEEK conference

Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

More than 30 students, faculty and staff from Thomas More University, Crestview Hills, attended SEEK, January 1-5, traveling to Columbus, Ohio, to experience their faith in a new way. Along with Thomas More University, students from the Newman Club at Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, and students throughout the Diocese of Covington attended.

The annual Catholic conference boasted a record-breaking 26,000 attendees, a 24 percent increase from 2025, busting the “weird narrative,” that, “Gen Z doesn’t care about their faith,” said Amber Konerman, assistant registrar.

Ms. Konerman was one of the staff members to attend SEEK from Thomas More University, chaperoning students like Emily Brown, a second-year psychology and philosophy student. Like many of the other student attendees, Ms. Brown is an active member of campus ministry, leading the organization of on campus Eucharistic adoration for students and community members. When Ms. Brown heard of the opportunity to attend SEEK with Thomas More, she knew, no matter the cost, that she was going to attend.

“I knew I had to go because I’ve never seen that many Catholics my age before, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” she said. The lofty $500 conference ticket, in addition to the cost of hotel rooms for the five-day conference, threatened to deter students from attending. However, a donor offered to help pay the way for students, allowing them to “pay what we could,” said Ms. Brown.

Once at SEEK, both Ms. Konerman and Ms. Brown had what they called a “life changing,” experience. “I’ve never seen that many young Catholics in one place before. We were in a room full of 16,000 people who chose to be there on New Year’s Day,” said Ms. Konerman.

In a particularly poignant moment, Ms. Brown was sitting in Mass on the last day of the conference. Listening to the priest’s homily, she closed her eyes and, “I could feel Jesus’ arm around me, like the presence,” she said. This holy moment she attributes to the four days of reveling in likeminded, faith-filled company without the distraction of outside pressures. “I wasn’t thinking ‘Oh, I want to go on my phone right now and look on Instagram,’ I was like, ‘I need to be here right now,’” she said.

As a faculty member, Ms. Konerman said, “It was a really cool experience to see that these students do care about their faith.” A sentiment shared by Ms. Brown, “I can just see in my peers who went, they’re on fire with the Spirit … for young people, the Church is still alive and thriving and we want to spread the word,” she said.