This summer, St. Ambrose student Anna Gute ’27 stepped into a leadership role that challenged her to grow in faith, confidence, and community. Traveling from parish to parish throughout the Diocese of Davenport, she spent her days teaching, praying, and mentoring youth alongside a team of fellow college students.
Gute, a psychology and theology double major from Boone, Iowa, served with, a Catholic summer program rooted in Marian devotion. The phrase Totus Tuus, Latin for “totally yours,” was the motto of Pope Saint John Paul II and reflects the program’s mission of offering young people a deeper encounter with their faith through engaging lessons, prayer, and joyful witness.
“Working with kids requires some patience,” Gute said. “But I really like the rawness of kids. They’re unfiltered little people, and to see them express their faith is really special.”
A Calling to Serve
Gute had been looking for something different to fill her summer – something meaningful. When Trevor Pullinger, director of Faith Formation and Catechesis Coordinator for the Diocese of Davenport, visited St. Ambrose to speak after a Wednesday night Mass, the opportunity to serve and grow in her faith caught her attention. Encouragement from a friend who had already participated in the program helped solidify her decision to apply.
“I wasn’t going back to my old lifeguarding job,” Gute said. “And one of my friends did Chicago Diocese Totus, and she loved it so much. Then Trevor came and spoke at Mass & More. I was like, ‘You know what? I’ll give it a try.’”
Before launching into their summer mission, Gute and her teammates trained for ten days with the Archdiocese of Dubuque. There, she connected with fellow Ambrosians and seminarians, learning skits, songs, and lesson plans for their summer of Catholic teaching.
Faith in Action
Each week, Gute and her team traveled to a different parish, living with host families and adapting to a new community. Days began with morning prayer and the rosary, followed by “pump up” songs, skits, lessons, Mass, and recess with the younger children. Evenings included team-building activities, talks, and small group discussions with middle and high school students.
“I do more of the Mass prep,” Gute said. “We go over what to do in Mass with all the kids. And when we do closing, I get to dress up as a banana every day for the banana song. It’s pretty awesome.”
Totus Tuus was hosted at St. Ambrose for the first time this summer. For Gute, returning to campus with her team felt like a full-circle moment.
“It was really awesome, especially because I know some of the kids. I coach the swim team at Bettendorf Aquatics, and so I got to see some of my swimmers in the group,” she said. “It kind of feels good knowing that there’s a lot of Catholic community outside of St. Ambrose in the Davenport area. It also draws awareness to the school in the process.”
Leading with Heart
For Gute, the heart of the mission lies in the small, holy moments with the youth she served.
“There was a kid who was kind of rowdy, and he had some trouble with instructions. But one day, we were sitting in adoration, and he turns to the kid next to him and whispers, ‘That’s Jesus up there,’” Gute recalled. “In that moment, I felt like we did our job.”
She also described the transformation she witnessed during evening programs: “There was a girl who was very quiet. But after my talk, we just had a super good conversation, and she opened up a lot. It was really good to see that.”
Although public speaking wasn’t something she initially felt confident about, Gute said the experience of regularly addressing groups – from introducing herself at parish Masses to leading evening discussions with teens – helped her grow.
“I would say I'm getting a lot better at talking in front of big groups of people, whether that's like the little kids in the day or especially during the night program with the older kids for sure,” she said.
Called to More
Gute’s faith deepened significantly during her time at St. Ambrose, where she found a vibrant spiritual community and opportunities to grow in leadership. Through Campus Ministry events, Bible studies, and theology classes, she began to see how her beliefs could inform every part of her life – including her decision to serve through Totus Tuus.
“My home parish didn’t have a lot of people that were super interested in my faith,” she said. “But when I came here, I joined a Bible study and met some of my closest friends. We’re all deeply involved in Campus Ministry. I think having that community definitely helped me.”
Her academic interests have also evolved alongside her spiritual life. As she prepares for graduate school in psychology, Gute is exploring how to blend her passion for mental health with her commitment to faith. The summer provided fresh insight into how the two disciplines can be unified.
“I definitely see myself living my faith through psychology,” Gute said. “The world likes to separate the soul and the mind, but our soul is a huge part of who we are. So, to separate them doesn’t really work. You don’t get the whole picture.”
This deeper awareness of vocation – of being called to serve in both spiritual and practical ways – has shaped the way Gute views her role not only as a missionary, but as a future professional and person of faith. Totus Tuus, she said, challenged her to offer every part of her life to God, not just the big moments.
“In training, they said, ‘This is Totus Tuus, not half-us Tuus,’” she said, laughing. “So even if it’s something small, like going along with someone else’s plans, just finding the little ways I can be totally His and love people the same way He did.”
And through it all, she’s grateful for her team.
“I love working with the kids, but my team is amazing,” Gute said. “It’s been awesome to get to know other people from all over the place who have the same interests as me, and we’re just goofy. We have so much fun together.”
A Legacy of Love
Totus Tuus, Gute said, is something she’ll never forget.
“It has been such a unique experience,” she said. “It’s something I’ll carry with me for a long time.”
As she moves forward – discerning her vocation, pursuing graduate school, and continuing to grow in faith – Gute sees this summer not as a standalone chapter, but as the beginning of a lifelong mission rooted in service, love, and surrender.
“I’m still figuring it out,” Gute said. “But wherever I go, I know I can live my faith fully – and trust that God will use it.”
