Doctoral Student Greg Bottaro Discerns a Vocation to Heal
I began college in 1999 as a freshman at Boston College thinking I wanted to be a doctor.
My major was Bio, Pre-med, until I took a philosophy course with Peter Kreeft. The world of Socrates and Plato opened me up to a completely new way of thinking, and I absorbed philosophy like a dry sponge.
I soon realized my pursuits were based in materialistic desires and my true passion was in philosophy, specifically the study of the human person.
Through this new way of looking at the world, I also fell in love with the spirituality of St. Francis of Assisi. The call to religious life tugged at my heart, and after visiting the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (CFR) during spring break of my freshman year, I decided to transfer to the Franciscan University of Steubenville. I wanted to nurture my discernment in a more faith-filled environment.
During that same break, I met a fascinating psychologist from New York named Dr. Paul Vitz. He was visiting the friars and CFR Founder Fr. Benedict Groeschel to discuss a new graduate school that was preparing to open in Virginia - one that would integrate Catholic philosophy and theology with the field of psychology.
Three years at Steubenville gave me a lot of time to go back and forth in my discernment between marriage and the religious state. My understanding of both vocations was continually growing and they both seemed beautiful to me.
By the time I graduated, I chose the marriage and career route and decided to continue my education at IPS.
The Institute had been developing over the past three years since meeting Dr. Vitz and it was constantly on my radar. It seemed a necessary and integral part of my discernment.
I fell in love with the “integration project,” and by studying John Paul II’s Personalism, I developed a deep desire to carry this anthropology into the field of psychology.
I could not shake the idea of religious life though, and by the end of my first year at IPS I knew I had to take a leave of absence to pursue this possible call.
I was blessed with three and a half years with the CFR’s in New York City. During this time I experienced many beautiful encounters with people that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
I discerned, however, that this was not my vocation and it seemed a natural step forward to continue at IPS where I had left off.
Though it seems on the surface that my journey has taken radical shifts, for me it is the continual unfolding of a plan only God could mastermind.
I received my M.S. degree in Clinical Psychology in the Spring of 2009 and I'm now pursuing my doctoral degree at IPS. I hope someday to be a clinician specializing in marriage and family issues. I also look forward to the possibility of teaching at a university.