Daniel Spotswood
Mobile, Alabama

Although he spent some of his elementary years in Montgomery, Daniel, 23, spent most of his life in Mobile, AL, where he graduated from Spring Hill College in 2005 with a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Humanities. He has worked a number of jobs, including serving in restaurants and teaching CCD at a local parish. For the past year Daniel has been a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps: Northwest, where he has taught at the grade school in Omak, WA. His favorite ways of relaxing are reading and writing, especially journaling; though he remains physically active by running, playing soccer, and hiking. Daniel’s apostolic aspirations coalesce in his desire to integrate the Society’s works of justice and inter-religious dialogue in an academic setting, particularly in a mission environment.

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Cormac Brissett
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Cormac, 32, grew up in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin and in Wexford and Cahir Ireland, attending Cahir primary school, St. Peters College and graduating from St. Croix Falls High School. He attended the University of Minnesota and Augsburg College. He has worked in non-profit development and as an assistant and contributing editor to various journals. Cormac has traveled extensively in Europe and Southeast Asia and taught English to seminarians and nuns in Thailand at the Seven Fountains Jesuit Retreat center in Chiang Mai. Cormac enjoys exercise especially running and working out with weights, and relaxes by reading and practicing mediation. He is interested in the social justice work of the Society and giving retreats to those in 12-step programs. Cormac has studied French and Thai.

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Matthew Pyrc
Flint, Michigan

Matthew, 42, spent most of his childhood in Montrose, MI, graduating from Hill-McCloy High School in 1982.  For one year each, he attended Sienna Heights College in Adrian, MI and then the University of Michigan in Flint.  His last two years of undergraduate study were at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he completed a B.A in psychology in 1986.  Matthew entered the Third Order Regular Franciscans that year, doing graduate studies in philosophy at St. Francis College in Loreto, PA and later finishing a Master of Divinity degree at Regis College, Toronto in 1990.  After leaving the Franciscans, he worked for several years as a family service coordinator for Boysville, in Michigan.  He later moved to Spokane, WA, where he has worked as a high school reentry counselor for ESD101—Net School.  Listening to music, reading, and walking are Matthew’s favorite ways of relaxing, though for exercise he does some weight lifting and bicycle riding.  He is most attracted to the Society’s works in foreign missions, in education, and in peace and justice work.

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Ryan Rallanka
Sacrament, California

Ryan, 22, is the fourth of five children.  He grew up in Sacramento, CA, where he attended Jesuit High School.  Only recently graduated from Seattle University, where he earned a B.A. with a double major in Sociology and English, Ryan has a strong interest and facility for music, having sung in various university choirs and being skilled in piano. Music remains his primary form of relaxation, along with quiet reflection.  He remains in shape through the use of various machines at the gym and by playing tennis.  Ryan is most attracted to the Society's works that foster spiritual formation, education and social justice work.

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Jason Welle
Valencia, California

Jason, 33, attended Emblem Elementary and Arroyo Seco Jr. High School in Saugus, CA before graduating in 1991 from Our Lady, Queen of the Angels High School Seminary in Mission Hills, CA.  He went on to earn a B.A in Community Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1995.  After college, Jason worked for two years at a travel agency in Dallas, TX.  At two different times, Jason has worked as a flight attendant for United Airlines:  1998-2001 and 2003 to the present; though from 2001-2003, he was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi, Africa, as a community health volunteer in the areas of rural AIDS education, nutrition, and food security.  He is attracted to many of the works of the Society:  from social justice ministries, especially to the homeless and to immigrants, to ministry in the Native-American and Alaskan communities; from international development work, particularly refugee and relief services, to peace work.  Jason relaxes by reading, going to movies, and visiting museums, and he enjoys exercising through nature hikes and biking.

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Christopher Canlas
Mountain Home, Idaho

Chris, 27, grew up in Idaho, but has also lived in the Philippines, California, Colorado, and most recently, Washington State. After graduating from Mountain Home High School, he earned a B.A. in Economics—with minors in English and Spanish—from the Honors Program at Seattle University in 2001. Initially interested in attending medical school, he worked as an ADHD research intern for three years with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Washington Medical School. For the last several years, he has worked in investment banking and brokerage as a partner with the Owen Canlas Investment Group at Piper Jaffray in Seattle. Chris enjoys international travel, hiking, and fly-fishing. He is most attracted to work in the missions, particularly work with NGOs around issues of economic development and the rights of the poor. Chris is fluent in Spanish and also comprehends two Filipino dialects: Tagalog and Kapangpangan.

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Francis Nguyen
Saigon, Viet Nam

Francis, 22, came to the U.S. with his parents and two younger brothers in 1993, graduating from Ingraham High School in Seattle in 2002.  In the spring, he concluded his studies at the University of Washington with a B.A. in Architecture and an ancillary degree in Construction Management.  Fluent in Vietnamese and English, Francis also knows a little Spanish.  He exercises by jogging and through the practice of martial arts.  He especially enjoys walking in undisturbed natural places.  Relaxation comes through being with friends or “simply a good sleep.”  Francis finds himself most attracted to the availability for service afforded Jesuit life; however, he hopes to employ his design and building skills in the service of poor communities, either here or overseas.

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Stephen Veldman
Newark, Delaware

Steve, 30, attended several schools in Victoria, TX and Aiken, SC before graduating from South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics in Hartsville in 1994.  He then went on to earn a B.S. and M.S. in chemical engineering at University of South Carolina in 1998 and University of Texas at Austin in 2001.  Though he had considered studying medicine, since finishing his master’s, he has leaned more towards biomedical and pharmaceutical engineering.  He has worked as a research assistant at UT, USC, and the Los Alamos lab, focusing on microchip development and fuel cells.  Steve likes to work out on a treadmill or elliptical machine, or to lift weights for exercise, though he relaxes by playing the piano, reading blogs on various topics, taking road trips, and reading history.  He is fluent in French.  Teaching is the work of the Society most attractive to Steve; however, ministry to the sick, especially the homebound, feels like a special calling.

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