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A Gift Rooted in Gratitude
Sabrina Torres knows firsthand how deeply Catholic Noles can shape a student’s life. Years after her time at Florida State, the retreats, friendships, and encounters with Christ she experienced through CSU are still bearing fruit—and recently inspired her to give back so that today’s students can encounter that same love and support.
Sabrina attended Florida State from 2017 to 2021 and was involved in Catholic Student Union mainly during her freshman and sophomore years. Originally from Venezuela and raised mostly in Florida, Sabrina’s faith had always been important to her, even as she wrestled with difficult questions.
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On her first retreat as a freshman, Sabrina arrived carrying not only the normal uncertainties of college life, but also a quiet sense that she did not quite belong. She remembered feeling that she was not as holy as some of the other students and wondered whether she was really worthy of a place in the CSU community. But during adoration, something changed. Reflecting on the Gospel story of the woman who reached out to touch the tassel of Jesus’ cloak and was healed, Sabrina found herself drawn into that same gesture of trust. “I had heard the story, and I’m like, you know, I’m going to touch the tassel,” she recalled. In that moment, she experienced the presence of God in a way that felt deeply real. She entered into contemplative prayer and imagined Jesus walking with her through Camp Cherry Lake, where the retreat was held. That encounter stayed with her. It gave her a deep assurance that Christ was real, that He still loved her, and that whatever she had gone through did not place her beyond His mercy. Years later, Sabrina still points to that retreat as the reason she kept coming back to Catholic Noles.
That experience, and others like it, like Spirit Night remained with her even through seasons of distance, struggle, and transition. Spirit Nights were one of the rhythms that made Catholic Noles feel like home. In the middle of a long week, they gave students a place to come together in friendship and praise, to take a breath, and to remember they were not alone.
“Catholic Noles felt like home because I didn’t have to be anyone other than myself,” she said. “I felt like I could really come as I was, and people would still value me.”
Now in a new season of life — preparing for marriage, walking with her fiancé through OCIA, and continuing to grow in faith — Sabrina found herself reflecting again on where so much of that journey began. When an opportunity arose to make a gift, she said she felt a clear prompting in her heart. “We’re called to charity and to give where we’re able,” she said. After realizing she had received $400 through her employer, Medtronic, in connection with volunteer service, she began thinking about where that gift could do the most good. “There was a voice that said, you have to give it to where it all started,” she said. “And it all started at St. Thomas More. So, it started with Catholic Noles.”
She was then delighted to learn that her employer would match the gift as well. “I would have been happy to just donate the $400,” she said, but discovering that it would be doubled made the opportunity even more meaningful. What mattered most to her, though, was not simply the match itself, but what the gift could make possible for someone else. “If I can help just a little bit, and help one or two students find God the way I did, then it’s all worth it.”
When Sabrina thinks about today’s students, her hope is both simple and profound. “I hope that they know how much they are loved,” she said, “by God, and by the other people at CSU.” Remembering what she herself needed as a freshman, she added, “Comparison is a thief of joy. You can’t compare yourself to the other people in CSU. Everyone is striving to be holy and to be a saint, and that looks different for everyone.”
For Sabrina, giving back was more than a donation — it was a way of returning thanks for where it all started, and helping ensure that today’s students can encounter Christ there, too.