Mariana Antonio (2021)
BS, Nursing – UW-Madison (2026)
Now that I’ve graduated from UW-Madison this spring, I will be working as a nurse in the emergency department at a hospital in Madison. St. Ambrose was crucial in my decision to pursue and my ability to excel in the nursing profession. During senior year Cycle IV religion, Dr. Nielsen had us memorize Gaudium et Spes 24, which states, “Man…can only find himself through a sincere gift of himself.” I have kept this quote close to my heart throughout my college years. My best friend from college even gifted me an art frame with it, and I had it specially printed on my graduation stole. I realized that God was concretely calling me to be a nurse when I experienced a profound fulfillment while giving of myself to my patients and coworkers during my nurse internship at the ER this past summer.
I thrived academically at UW-Madison’s nursing program because of the rigor at SAA. I credit the numerous recitations, classical education model, and analytical papers that gave me a significant advantage in memorizing and understanding the many medications, disease processes, and treatments I had to learn. I performed so well during my first year of the nursing program that I applied to be a peer tutor the next year to help other first year nursing students with our most challenging classes. Funny enough, my knowledge of Latin also became unexpectedly helpful in nursing school. Understanding the literal meanings behind anatomy terms and disease names helped me rationalize the pathophysiology of illnesses, making the material easier to remember and understand.
The intense intellectual formation in the Faith that I received at St. Ambrose helped me to defend my Faith and stand firm in the face of opposing viewpoints. I know how to approach these conversations because of the training I received in classical rhetoric and my deep knowledge of my faith provided to me by my religion classes at SAA. Despite having hard conversations at work, I am deeply loved by my coworkers, and they often call me the “light” in the department, which is an immense honor to me. They have no idea how symbolic that term is in our faith, but I know this is Jesus’s way of telling me that I am where He is calling me.
I feel very ready to step into the emergency department as a nurse, knowing that I am doing the will of God and helping to heal souls physically and spiritually, because of my time at SAA. I hope to be the nurse who completely gives of herself to every patient and coworker, showing them God’s mercy and love.
One of the things I most appreciate about my education at SAA is the integration of a prayer life into the classroom. Going to mass three times a week, praying at the beginning of every class, and having adoration once a week allowed me to see how easy it is to integrate God into the day to day.
Something else that deeply reinforced this idea for me was seeing the teachers and staff at SAA live out their vocations in this faith-centered approach. I witnessed so many teachers love their families and spouses well, teach students with joy, participate in service work and faithfully serve their parishes. They were the first real-life examples I had that living a Christ-centered life is truly possible and can be done well.
Building the Kingdom of God does not need to done in extraordinary events. The reality is that it often looks like being faithful in the ordinariness of everyday life. For me, that will look like getting up for my shifts with my first alarm, being patient with my siblings, and making it to Mass on Sunday mornings after working an overnight shift, just to name a few. The saints were made not through the glorious acts they performed, but through their daily obedience to God. This obedience in the ordinary was their impact on the Kingdom of God.
I hope that my impact on His Kingdom looks like one centered on sharing His love with every single person He puts in front of me, whether that be my family, my coworkers, my friends, or the patients assigned to my care.
Peter Karlen (2025)
Student, Madison College
Since graduating from St. Ambrose Academy, I have kept a fast pace at Madison College while preparing for UW-Madison’s Business School. The rigor of St. Ambrose allowed me to operate at this level. Shortly after graduation, I served as the youngest Master of Ceremonies in Benefit Dinner history, assisting with production and leading the financial appeal. We shattered previous fundraising records, raising $212,000 in a single night!
Professionally, I work at the State Capitol for the Representative from Waukesha, a role expanding this summer to the Mukwonago area. Creatively, I work as an entertainer for the Madison Capitols Hockey Club, recently assistant-directed The Pirates of Penzance, and will soon perform in a community theater production in Oregon.
I’ve found my faith foundation to be significantly stronger than my peers’ due to a deeper understanding of Christ and His Church where faith and reason support one another. I’ve brought this to life by joining the Women’s Care Center board, participating in Bible study, and engaging in frequent dialogue with non-Catholics.
Finally, singing with the St. Paul’s Chamber Choir allowed me to fulfill a lifelong dream: performing the National Anthem at a Brewers game!
Claire Kramar (2021)
BS, Biomedical/Medical Engineering – UW-Madison (2025)
This year, I am serving as a missionary with Christ in the City in Denver, Colorado. Christ in the City seeks to restore hope and dignity to those experiencing homelessness through authentic encounters and relationships rooted in love.
My education at St. Ambrose Academy prepared me for this mission in many ways, especially through the Cycle IV Religion class on Catholic Social Teaching. I learned that serving the poor is not optional for Christians—it is essential. We are called to give not merely from our surplus, but even out of our own need for another’s greater need.
One of the things I appreciate most about my education at St. Ambrose is that it taught me how to think deeply, seek truth honestly, and communicate clearly. Rather than simply memorizing information, I learned how to form ideas, support them with reason, and express them confidently.
In my work on the streets of Denver, I often meet people who have experienced profound suffering and who carry difficult questions about God, suffering, and the Catholic faith. While an answer is not always what is most needed in those moments, my education gave me a deep confidence in the truth and beauty of the Faith and the ability to share it thoughtfully with those who are searching.
More importantly, St. Ambrose formed not only my mind, but also my heart. The faith-centered environment taught me that every person has inherent dignity and is worthy of love. That conviction shapes the way I encounter every person I meet.
Gaudium et Spes 24 has become a motto for my life: my life is meant to be a gift—back to God and for others. As a missionary this year, I have learned more deeply what it means both to love and to be loved, and that experience has transformed me.
Day-to-day, this looks like accompanying people on the streets, listening to their stories, praying with them, and reminding them that they are seen and loved by God. It also means learning to surrender my own comfort, expectations, and plans in order to be fully present to others.
Many of these truths were first taught to me at St. Ambrose Academy, but now I have the opportunity to live them out concretely through laying down my life for the poor. In doing so, I have seen not only the impact it has on those we serve, but also the profound way it continues to change my own heart.
Maria Marsland (2018)
BS, Nursing – UW-Madison (2023)
Since graduating from UW-Madison, I have worked in both healthcare and education. After receiving my RN license, I worked in the Burn ICU at UW Hospital and later as a Homecare Hospice Nurse for Agrace. I am now pursuing my Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. While in graduate school, I have returned to St. Ambrose Academy (SAA) as a Learning Services coach, where I support students in STEM courses and Latin. Alongside this, I continue to stay involved in music through vocal coaching, performance, and helping with the SAA musicals.
One of the most meaningful parts of this season of life has been returning to St. Ambrose and getting to see the continued mission of the school from the other side as a staff member. Although the school has grown and changed locations since I graduated, it still feels deeply rooted in the same core values, faith, and sense of community that shaped me as a student. It has been very special to now encourage students through the same curriculum and formation that once challenged and formed me.
My St. Ambrose education prepared me in so many different ways for the work I do now. The rigorous academics taught me how to think critically and adapt quickly in fast-paced healthcare environments, while my formation in Catholic teaching and moral theology deeply shaped the way I approached caring for patients in hospice and critical care with dignity and compassion, and continues to shape who I hope to become as a counselor.
One of the greatest gifts of SAA was being in a community where we ultimately shared the same desire to pursue truth, goodness, and a life centered on God. That environment shaped the way I view both my faith and my vocation. St. Ambrose also taught me how to integrate science and religion in a meaningful way, which has deeply influenced my work in healthcare and counseling and continues to inspire my desire to keep learning about the sciences through the lens of Christianity. The Catholic, faith-centered formation I received at SAA continues to guide the way I approach my work, relationships, and understanding of the human person today.
Day-to-day, I try to live this out by accompanying people with dignity, empathy, and hope in whatever role I am serving in. Whether supporting students academically at St. Ambrose, mentoring performers through vocal coaching, or preparing for future work in counseling, I strive to remind others of their dignity and worth. I hope to help people feel seen, encouraged, and authentically cared for. SAA taught me that serving God’s Kingdom often happens in ordinary daily encounters through dedication, faithfulness, compassion, and a willingness to walk alongside others, and that perspective continues to shape the way I live and work.
Caitlin Sturm (2022)
BBA, Marketing – Winona State University (2025)
I recently graduated from Winona State University with a degree in Marketing. I currently work for Mercy Dental Group as a Marketing Coordinator.
St. Ambrose Academy (SAA) helped prepare me for college and my job because the small school environment gave me many opportunities to lead – on sports teams, in clubs, in small groups. Additionally, SAA taught me how to formulate and express my own opinions. The confidence I have in my leadership and communication skills was built at SAA.
Also, the close-knit community at SAA made me deeply value relationships and people over efficiency and outcomes. This belief is now central to how I approached college and now approach my job and marketing in general. It is so strongly rooted that it led me to accept a job with Mercy Dental Group because of their alignment with this core belief.
The education at SAA left me significantly more knowledgeable about the Catholic faith than peers I encountered throughout college. It’s given me many opportunities to help other Catholics come to a deeper appreciation of their own faith or share the beauty of the faith with those outside of it. After leaving home for college, this strong base of education that I had already received (“head knowledge”) led me to pursue deeper relationship with Jesus (“heart knowledge”) that is only growing as I get older.
I’m truly focused on impacting lives and service to others: daily prayer, bible studies, strong community – and working for an incredible organization rooted in the values that Jesus preached!