Isabella Meadows, after graduating from Arizona State University in May 2024, felt secure in her Catholic faith as she moved home to Oakley and started working in marketing for her parent’s business. She’s also training and working as a leadership coach.
While in college, she reignited theCatholic beliefs she held as a young girl attending Holy Rosary School in Antioch, after meeting friends during her freshman year who invited her to attend church. Eventually, after her mom made an inquiry at the campus Newman Center, Isabella started attending Mass there.
In her senior year, she joined FOCUS, an international Catholic outreach organization serving more than 200 college campuses, and attended its annual SEEK conference. “That changed my life,” Isabella recalls, “and it made me realize how much I need God in my life, work and career.”
Since she moved back to Oakley, she has been feeling alone in navigating her work growth and faith journey, wishing she could be part of a vibrant Catholic community that integrates faith in her daily work and would help propel her professional journey forward.
“I have been praying and searching for a group where I can meet other Catholic young adults pursuing their career and walking with God,” says Isabella, who is 23. “Among people our age, there can be a general restlessness that we are all looking for a deeper purpose for our lives -- beyond professional success, a longing for a community that resonates with our faith and values. There can be a glaring gap for young Catholic professionals like me.”
Isabella began searching on the Internet, and “there is not much out there for Catholics my age,” she says. “I went on Chat GPT and looked for any Catholic groups for young adults, and it took me to the website for Young Catholic Professionals (YCP). I learned that there was a chapter forming in the Sacramento Diocese.”
She soon got to know other YCP leaders and became part of the organizing committee for the chapter, which held its inaugural gathering event on Nov. 16 last year at St. Mary Church in Vacaville. Father Brian Soliven, pastor, presented a talk on the role of the laity to be active witnesses for Christ in their workplaces, communities and daily lives. Some 60 young adults attended the event to meet other young Catholic professionals, network and grow in their faith through fellowship.
As a leadership coach, Isabella says she’s been integrating her faith and values when speaking at conferences. “I’ve learned to be so excellent in my work that people will notice what my beliefs are,” she notes. “Speaking on stage allows me an opportunity to be different and unique. I know I am God’s hands and feet to others. Sometimes my faith shines through and I’m doing what no one else is doing. People notice and want to talk with me afterward.”
Brian Grajeda, who is 30, is also on the committee forming the new chapter of YCP. A recent graduate of CSU-Sacramento with a bachelor’s degree in political science, he hopes to work in local politics or government. “I’ve always wanted to work in this field because I want to serve the Lord and his people with whatever I do,” he notes.
He grew up as a member of St. Theresa Parish in South Lake Tahoe, and still serves in ministry when he is in town. He has been an altar server and taught confirmation classes. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and started the parish’s first young adults group, called the Little Way Fellowship.
“I’m always looking for a way to serve the Lord and help others stay strong in their faith,” says Brian. “When I learned about YCP, I saw they are doing good work for the Lord and I wanted to be a part of it. I have seen over the past few years that the young adult Catholic community in the Sacramento area has been growing, and I know a chapter of YCP would serve so many who are hungry for a faith-based community. I’d like to keep this beautiful community strong in the faith in this professional era of their lives.”
Brian adds: “We live in a very secular world and now more than ever we are seeing the professional world condemn and punish people for being Christian. We want to give people the tools to navigate these tough times and stay strong in the faith. We believe that this journey to heaven isn’t walked alone, but with a community, and we want to be a community that helps others see that they don’t have to sacrifice their faith for their profession.”
Brian notes that there are many workplaces that “very deliberately shut down people with faith and any sort of faith expression.”
“It’s important not just for the individual, but for the whole workplace to see that one doesn’t have to leave their faith at home. We need to arm our young adults with tools to combat these hostile workplaces.”
Being part of a young adult community is “key for staying strong in the faith,” Brian says. “I have only gotten as far in my faith as I have because of the community that has supported me. We are facing many secular people and spaces that are actively working against Catholic young adult professionals, so we must acknowledge that and work to defend our faith. If we don’t stand together, we will fall alone.”
Isabella agrees, noting that “where two or more are gathered, Christ is present. We all need a tribe that we can turn to. You will have ethical conflicts in your work, so you need to know how to respond, even if you are alone. It’s easy to get swayed in the wrong direction, but when you have your community you can talk it through with others who are walking with God. That makes such a difference.”