Seth Wiedel is a young man unafraid of rising to the challenge.
Whether on the field or in the classroom, he has shown himself ready to do what needs to be done. A student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he found great success in college sports as well as in his academic pursuits. In fact, Wiedel was just named Nebraska’s male Student-Athlete of the year, along with receiving the Big Ten Medal of Honor. He just graduated with a degree in Accounting.
With so much going for him, some were surprised to hear of his next step after college. Wiedel did not choose accounting or athletics, but has rather accepted a position with Varsity Catholic as a campus missionary.
Varsity Catholic is a movement within FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, reaching out specifically to athletes. Varsity Catholic is about meeting the unique needs of college athletes and striving to “develop the complete athlete.”
When asked why he wanted to become a missionary, Wiedel shared how a Varsity Catholic missionary named Matt Weeder led him to Christ – an occurrence which, he said, “literally changed my life.” Wiedel, who is currently engaged to be married, met his fiancée through FOCUS. The great friends he met at UNL also came through FOCUS.
Living in authentic relationship with Jesus Christ “really put me on a level of living for greatness.”
Knowing how much he has benefitted from this relationship with Jesus and the beauty of His Church, Seth Wiedel jumped at the chance to impact the lives of others. “The opportunity to do that for someone else – that was too much to pass up.”
But Wiedel’s missionary calling didn’t come right away. “I really didn’t feel like I was going to be a missionary per se; I thought I’d go right out and get that business job right away and serve the Church in other ways. At a certain point it became clear that God was calling me.”
He accepted a missionary position with Varsity Catholic on Feburary 19th, the Feast of St. Joseph, which Wiedel considers significant. He is now at New Staff Training at Ave Maria University in Florida preparing to live out the mission in the coming academic year.
Thomas Wurtz, Director of Varsity Catholic, says “There are a lot of young men on university campuses that settle with just getting by. Seth is not one of those young men. He knows he has been given gifts from our Lord and uses them for God's glory.”
Speaking of Wiedel’s accomplishments, Wurtz shares: “He demonstrates the amazing capacity athletes have when they allow the grace of God to build upon the natural virtues they can cultivate through athletics. Simply put, Seth gets it. He is what I would call a ‘complete athlete’.”
On a personal level, Jim Jansen, the FOCUS Team Director at UNL, described Wiedel this way: “I don’t know if I have ever seen Seth not smiling. His intensity in his faith and sport are not marked by a somber seriousness but a big smile and contagious joy.”
To learn more go to varsitycatholic.org and watch the video.
