Can you tell us more about yourself? 

I started my studies at TSPMI in 2020 right after graduation. I was on the Council of the St. Thomas More Club for the academic year 2021/2022. On June 22, I was elected as President of the club for the 2023/2024 school year. I am currently doing my compulsory professional practice at the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to the Holy See and for the Order of Malta. In the autumn I will start my fourth year in the Bachelor of Political Science programme.   

I graduated from Vilnius Žvėrynas Gymnasium; I am a perennial member of the Vilnius Cathedral Youth; I sing in the Vilnius Sacred Music Choir “Adoramus”; I have been scouting for many years in the Vilnius region, and I have taken the “adult scouting” pledge in the Lithuanian Scouts. I am also currently working in St. John of God Scouting. I am currently working as a primary school teacher at St. Joseph’s School.  

I have quite a lot of activities and hobbies, sometimes there is not enough time for everything, but there is so much I want to do, do and see that there is no stopping. 

How do you like your studies at IIRPS VU? Are your studies related to the activities of the St. Thomas More Club? 

Despite the not-so-pleasant quarantine experience, my studies at TSPMI have really given me a lot, but like all the good things in our lives, we probably sometimes forget to give thanks – to see not only the difficulties, but also the bright moments. However, the best experiences I have had at university have been with people. Finding a connection with a lecturer or a fellow student also made academic classes more enjoyable. This is how my studies relate to the St. Thomas More Club – by creating relationships that will be valuable in my professional life, but also bring a lot of human joy to my heart.  

How did you decide to join the St. Thomas More Club? Can you tell us more about the activities of the Club? 

I decided to join the club during the quarantine period, when I was missing lively and warm communication, new acquaintances and stories. The club gave me that; it welcomed me with a great warmth and trust, which was so lacking.  

The club has its own specificity – it brings together students and alumni of political science who are faithful or faith-seeking, who, although united by this aspect, are infinitely different in their fields of academic interest, in their personalities, in their convictions, and who come with very different life experiences. The club is therefore looking for activities that can bring all this together – mainly joint dinners, outings, organised lectures or seminars. The great thing is that everyone can be a creator in the club – to initiate and organise an activity based on their own idea, and the club members will always support it. We don’t have a defined field of activities, we have a few events that have already become a tradition, but we are always looking for how else each person in the club can best express themselves, develop, grow and nurture others, be a passenger in the journey of the other.  

What are your goals for yourself and the St. Thomas More Club this year? 

For me personally, I would like to enjoy my last year of my Bachelor’s degree at the University, to enjoy the university community and my achievements and challenges that I have overcome or not overcome here. This, however, is also very much linked to the activities of the club. In my opinion, the aim of the club should be to create a safe community in which anyone who is searching for faith or truth, or anyone who simply wants to belong to a community, can find a place. The club brings together both students and graduates, so we have a great opportunity to share our experiences with each other, to ask new questions and to seek answers, which is also what I want to do for the club members – to show how much we can learn from each other.  

What would you like to wish the IIRPS VU community? 

I would like to wish the IIRPS VU community not to be closed; to belong to a community, to build a community – a community that has a place for unique personalities and their unique opinions, but also for a common cohesiveness, a sense of each other. It is very healthy and valuable to seek out like-minded people – human beings are “political animals” – and to share not only academic but also life’s joys and sorrows with others. We are here for each other.