Blind man earns graduate degree, pursues work as chaplain

Published: 2005-12-28

WAUWATOSA, Wis. (CNS) -- Steven Gastriech, a 35-year-old who was born blind, had a hard time finding full-time work with his undergraduate degree in communications from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. After holding a series of short-term jobs, he figured "the church must want me" and pursued an entirely different course. Gastriech, a resident of Wauwatosa, followed his mother's suggestion and looked into the programs at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners. He began the admission process in 2002, the year he also traveled to Toronto for World Youth Day with Pope John Paul II. Before knowing whether he had been accepted, he began the fall semester. His first nine credits included six in philosophy that were needed to satisfy an academic void. "There were some equipment issues," Gastriech told the Catholic Herald, archdiocesan newspaper of Milwaukee, of his early weeks at Sacred Heart. However, by tape-recording lectures, utilizing the Notetaker program on his computer and with "excellent support from the library," he completed the work.

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