Interview video by Gabrielle Krumpelman.
Conference video provided by UofL Catholic Campus Ministry.
On the wintery Sunday morning of Jan. 5, most Louisvillians were snowed in at home. Louisville native Trey Hankee was one of many travelers stuck in an airport.
He was one of 29 local college students who attended the SEEK25 conference hosted by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS Catholic). SEEK25 drew 17,000 people to the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City Jan. 1-5.
Looking back on the experience, Hankee said in a recent interview that the theme of trust shaped his journey from beginning to end.
Hankee, who wasn’t raised to be religious, is currently attending OCIA classes at St. Louis Bertrand Church, preparing to enter the Catholic Church.
“I’ve always been a bit of a skeptic,” he explained.
He said the conference “opened his eyes” and helped “build that connection to God.” He spent the conference talking with other attendees and enjoying the guest speakers’ sessions.
The stories he heard from the conference’s speakers at SEEK25 showed him that faith is “something you can put your trust in,” he said.
Hankee said that just getting to the conference required trust because of the travel expenses. Students often fundraise to attend the annual conference with the help of FOCUS missionaries — writing up to 50 letters seeking support from family members and friends. This year, airline costs required the Louisville attendees to set fundraising goals of about $1,500.
‘When you go, you don’t feel alone. That’s one of my favorite parts about SEEK. There were 17,000 of us in Salt Lake City, and that’s only the people who could get there.’
— Abby Kaufman, Bellarmine University student
“There was a lot of doubt in me that that amount of money could be fundraised,” said Hankee. When the donations came through, Hankee said, “I was proved wrong. God does provide.”
His journey home tested his faith further. Amid the winter storm, he was stuck in Minnesota after a canceled layover flight. Instead of languishing in the airport, he was picked up by a Catholic friend-of-a-friend who gave him a place to stay and a tour of the surrounding area.
“People were just there along the way trying to help me,” he said. From raising the money to getting home, “I didn’t think it was possible.”
“Through trust and through him (God) providing, it all happened,” he said. “My journey home was a really big part of building that trust. I mean, I was stranded there and still had a great time.”
Travel challenges did not seem to put a damper on the other students’ experiences, either.
Samuel Rhodes, a sophomore at the University of Louisville, recounted a powerful experience he had during the last Mass of the conference.
The Mass — packed with attendees — “wasn’t any different from any other Masses” during the conference, he said during an interview. But during a hymn, as the thousands were singing, Rhodes said he was “moved to tears, which doesn’t usually happen.”
“It truly felt like that Mass was as close to Heaven as I could be,” he said.
Bellarmine University junior Abby Kaufman said she was reminded during a moment of praise and worship that even leaders need to continue to encounter the Lord.
Kaufman, who had attended SEEK23 and SEEK24, led a group of four first-time attendees from Bellarmine University.
“It was a way for Christ to remind me that even though I’m a leader, I have to receive,” she said in an interview. “That hit me really deeply.”
Amelia Glikin, a senior at the University of Louisville who has attended the conference four times, said, “It was just really encouraging. It really fanned the fire of my faith.
“That’s probably why I keep coming back to SEEK — it’s just so encouraging to see all those people on fire for the Lord and on fire for the church,” she added. “It can be really easy to get discouraged by being in the world. It can be very isolating to be a faithful Catholic on a college campus.”
Kaufman expressed similar sentiments.
“Sure, a lot of people claim to be Catholic, but when you go to a church and you can count the number of people your age, it can be a little bit lonely,” she said.
The SEEK conference provides a respite, offering community and encouragement, they noted.
“When you go, you don’t feel alone. That’s one of my favorite parts about SEEK. There were 17,000 of us in Salt Lake City, and that’s only the people who could get there,” said Kaufman.
Glikin said with passion, “This is the church; the church is not dead. The church is alive; the church is full of young people and old people and everyone in between.”
The students hope to see the fruits of the conference grow by sharing their experiences on their campuses, they noted. Rhodes said he plans to “pour into men’s ministry” and “continue to stay close to the sacraments.”
Kaufman plans to rewatch the SEEK talks throughout the semester with other Bellarmine students. She hopes the “SEEK replay nights” will help the students integrate what they learned into their personal lives and campus community, she said.
In addition to Salt Lake City, satellite SEEK25 conferences were held in Washington and Cologne, Germany.
Next year, the SEEK26 conference will be held Jan. 1-5, 2026, in three U.S. locations — Denver; Columbus, Ohio and Fort Worth, Texas.
Focus currently has about 1000 missionaries at 350 colleges primarily in the United States. You can support financially a focus missionary for his little as five dollars a month, there’s no limit on the upside. My wife and I are currently Missionaries