Nicholas Albin, SJ, began to ponder his vocation at the suggestion of one of his Jesuit professors at Xavier University.

In addition to being a Jesuit, people are sometimes surprised to learn that I am also a nurse. I hear things like, “I didn’t know Jesuits could do that.” Or they ask, “How does that work?”

Thomas Bambrick, SJ, reflects on his Jesuit formation and the value of philosophy studies in preparing him to serve others.

José "Chuy" Camacho, SJ, moved to the United States from Mexico when he was 10 and entered the US Navy when he graduated from high school. By the time he was 39, his faith was calling him to a new life.

Andrew Cera, SJ, reflects on how his vocation has been formed and filled by so many names and faces.

Adam DeLeon, SJ, first felt a call to the priesthood during his grade school years in Cleveland, OH. It continued throughout his years at Cleveland’s St. Ignatius High and at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA.

My vocation to the Jesuits initially unnerved me. One clear winter morning, a simple question floated into my consciousness: “Why not a Jesuit?”

My single greatest hesitation in entering the Jesuit novitiate had nothing to do with vows of poverty, chastity, or obedience. It was all the moving around that got me. “Can you really form lasting and loving relationships while constantly on the road?”

I had toyed with the idea of the priesthood and religious life for some years, but my discernment had grown much more serious of late. And while my attraction to the priesthood was sincere, so was my aversion to being a parish priest. I enjoyed academics, and I wanted to teach.

Jesuit regent Garrett Gundlach's formation and work at Red Cloud Indian School helps him surrender his steps to God's desires.

Luke Hansen did not even know what a Jesuit was until a game of darts in college, when he met a priest who encouraged him to apply to the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Years later, Luke is preparing for ordination as a Jesuit priest after accompanying former Guantánamo Bay prisoners in Bermuda and serving all over the country.

Br. Ken Homan, SJ, recounts his journey to becoming a modern Jesuit brother and explores why God called him to this particular vocation.

When I got to Saint Ignatius High School, I remember being impressed with the Jesuits there, how different they were from my parish priest. This would be the first of several encounters with Jesuits that would seal my own fate as a member of the Society of Jesus.

Eric Immel, SJ, talks about his time serving the Lakota Sioux on the Rosebud Indian Reservation.

David Inczauskis, SJ, arrived at Oxford University with a deep love of the Gospels and St. Paul’s letters but little knowledge of how to pray in a personal way. Everything changed when a Jesuit priest entered the picture, bringing him to a personal relationship with Christ and helping him discover his own vocation in the Society of Jesus.

Matthew Ippel, SJ, reflects on how his encounters with others during his Jesuit life have laid a claim on him.

Ever since middle school I had loved science, but I also remembered many of the stories my mom told of the Jesuits she knew in India. So in high school when I first thought of a religious vocation the Jesuits came to mind immediately, even though I’d never met one!

We as a Church commemorate the moment Jesus went into the wilderness of the desert because the Spirit was leading him (Mk 1:12). I find the image of the Spirit leading Jesus powerful and true for all of us.  My vocation in the Society has been where I am able to see the Spirit leading me beyond my awareness in the moment.

Lukas Laniauskas, SJ, explains how serving as chaplain to the Berkeley Fire Department is the perfect parallel to his life journey as a Jesuit.

Bugs and endless rain greeted Jesuit Minh-Hoang Le when he arrived to teach in Northeast India. Months later, he still carries his students' simple joy, an example that can transform each of our lives.

I have two early childhood memories, one of my mom waking me up with a simple prayer and the other of catching frogs and salamanders in our backyard creek. Interestingly, God was clearly present in both moments. Nature and spirituality have been intertwined in my faith journey since its beginning.

“If I saw You on the street / and You said come and follow me…” These words from the song “You Can Have Me” by Sidewalk Prophets came on the radio one summer day. I had just graduated from St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio, and the words spoke to me in a life-changing way.

Jesuit Bryan Y. Norton reflects on his past years as a Jesuit, and the gratitude he has for his life in the Society of Jesus.

While at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, I embraced many of the freedoms college offers, but I failed to develop my spiritual life in any way beyond an occasional prayer to God for a date to go well or for an A on an exam. After graduating, I moved to Chicago to work for a financial firm. I was achieving my goals, yet I felt deeply unfulfilled by life.

Aaron Pierre, SJ, reflects on his prison ministry and shares how God's grace enabled him to find those inevitable points of human connection that eclipse the imaginary chasms which separate us from one another.

As I applied to enter the Jesuit novitiate, I wondered if I had wasted the last ten years earning a bachelor's degree and doctorate in engineering. I had to come to terms with the fact that I could very well be giving up science and engineering for good.

What can all happen while sharing a meal together? For Christ, it was when he gave of himself at the Last Supper; for me, it is where I realized I needed to give of myself and enter the Jesuits as well as experienced unity among diversity.

Trevor Rainwater, SJ, attended Creighton University where he first encountered Jesuits. Delighted to meet this group of men who shared a deep love of Christ but, at the same time, were involved in a variety of professions, Trevor decided to enter the Society of Jesus in August 2010.

A jack-of-all trades, Michael Rossmann, SJ teaches, coaches and gives retreats at Loyola High School in Dar es Salaam.

Joe Simmons, SJ, offers a lighthearted look at what life is like as one of the "Men in Black."

After studying philosophy in Lima, Peru and teaching at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago, Christopher Staab, SJ, finds himself a full time student of theology in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Read his reflection on finding beauty in simplicity on his journey through Jesuit formation.

Vincent L. Strand, SJ, who entered the Jesuits after graduating from Marquette University in 2005, reflects on the experience of living and studying theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

After nine years of Jesuit formation, it is still clear to me that my Jesuit formation actually started with my parents. Even before I joined the Society of Jesus, my parents’ quiet and steadfast persistence in their work, family, and faith had modeled the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

"What are the differences between a job, a career, and a vocation?" Damian Torres-Botello, SJ, reflects on his desire to serve others through his Jesuit vocation.

When I was in the third grade, I happened upon a book about St. Isaac Jogues, the 17th century Jesuit missionary, getting flogged, flayed, and having his fingers chewed off on a mission to “New France.”  It was perfect for an eight-year-old boy with a penchant for reading and dreams of being a world explorer. Though, at the time I couldn’t for the life of me understand why someone would choose to go through such an ordeal!