Patrick Couture
Quincy, WA

Patrick, 26, was born in Wenatchee, Washington and grew up in Quincy. The third of four children, Patrick attended Quincy High School and Big Bend Community College through the Washington State Running Start Program. In 2000—by “dumb luck”, according to him—Patrick entered Carroll College in Helena, Montana, graduating in 2004 with a double major in English Literature and Writing. Patrick has worked a wide variety of jobs, including being an assistant brew master at the Lewis and Clark Brewery and a heating and air conditioning installer. He also has volunteered teaching Junior High and High School CCD, working with Kiwanis, and at soup kitchens in Helena.

Patrick enjoys writing poetry and short stories, reading, being outdoors, working with the community, and the art of Rene Magritte.

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Lorenzo Herman
San Diego, CA

Lorenzo, 33, was born in Dublin, Georgia, but grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, where he attended St. Ignatius High School. He was an in-flight refueling specialist (boom operator) and an analyst in the United States Air Force at Fairchild AFB, in Washington for six years. While living in Spokane, Washington, he was an actor, playwright, human rights commissioner, and contributing writer for the Spokesman-Review and the African American Voice Newspaper. In 2001 he relocated to San Diego, California, where he managed HIV prevention, care, and treatment programs for Comprehensive Health Center and UCSD Medical Center’s Owen Clinic. In 2005 he co-founded and was the board president for a non-profit organization that influenced policy and legislation for African Americans impacted by HIV/AIDS.

Lorenzo has traveled extensively in Western and Central Europe, Southwest Asia, and South America. His interests are writing, fitness, the social justice work of the Society, and finding ways to relax.

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Michael Laveson
Bainbridge Island, WA

Michael, 24, grew up in the Pacific Northwest on Bainbridge Island, Washington. He attended Seattle Preparatory School and then continued his Jesuit education at Boston College. He graduated with degrees in theology and philosophy. Michael worked with L’Arche in Tacoma, Washington before entering the Novitiate. During his free time, he enjoys reading, following his favorite sport teams, skiing and other outdoor activities. Michael is most attracted to the Society’s works in education and spirituality.

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Francis Nguyen
Saigon, Viet Nam

Francis, 23, 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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Jason Welle
Valencia, California

Jason, 34, 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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Cormac Brissett
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Cormac, 33, 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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Ryan Rallanka
Sacrament, California

Ryan, 23, 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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Matthew Pyrc
Flint, Michigan

Matthew, 43, 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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Daniel Spotswood
Mobile, Alabama

Although he spent some of his elementary years in Montgomery, Daniel, 24, 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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