News & Events

Thursday, September 24, 2009
by: Larissa Maley

Born in Atlanta,Ga. and raised in the Episcopal Church, Kevin Kilgore was led to Seton Hall by his faith.  “I felt like God wanted me to be there,” says Kilgore. He originally thought that his path lay in a career in international relations and diplomacy, but as he nurtured his spiritual life through worship at the University chapel and participation in the FOCUS missionary program, he realized that God was calling him to Catholicism.  In his sophomore year, Kevin converted and embarked on a spiritual journey that would inevitably lead him to serve God and the Newark community.
 
After graduation, Kevin was recruited by Teach for America, and assigned to the Newton Street School in Newark.  He taught third grade for two years and brought 35 of his best students to Seton Hall for a campus tour where they met professors, students and Monsignor Sheeran.  “I told them that in 10 years they will be writing college applications to Seton Hall.  I wanted to show them the power of education and the power of choice.”
 
Kevin's experiences at Newton Street School showed him that “there are no boundaries to God's love” and answered many of his lingering fears and questions.  He had always known he wanted to be closer to God, but his work with Teach for America and a pilgrimage on World Youth Day, helped him realize he wanted to serve God more directly, so he returned to Seton Hall and entered the Immaculate Conception Seminary. 
 
He did not leave his students behind.  Each year he brings Newton Street students to Seton Hall to instill in them the confidence and hope that one day they will walk the halls of a University and have the power to change not only their lives but also their community. 
 
As for Kevin's future, he hopes to be ordained in the Newark diocese as a parish priest because, he says, “this has become home.”

For more information please contact:
Larissa Maley
(973) 378-9822
shuwriter@shu.edu