On a mission trip to Jamaica two years ago, senior Christian Domaas met a 5-year-old boy named Michael at an orphanage. Deaf, blind, and confined to a wheelchair, the boy couldn’t speak or hear. Domaas spent several hours with Michael, feeding him lunch and wondering what else he could do to help him.

He realized there was little else he could do that day, but he says “having that experience made me aware that I could make a difference through my major in the lives of children like Michael.” His view of the world changed while he was on that trip, says Domaas, an international economics and finance major at Catholic University.

"I've realized the many ways that faith ties into my life," he says. "I have a lot more joy. I understand that everything I do should be for a good cause."

In the fall, Domaas will start the Master of Arts in Integral Economic Development Management program, which is committed to thought-leading economic development informed by the principles of Catholic social teaching. Domaas notes that once he has his master’s he’d like to get a job in a developing country, possibly in West Africa, helping to strengthen school infrastructure or developing agricultural programs.

As an undergraduate, he has participated in programs that have helped him prepare for the future he sees for himself. He spent the spring semester of his junior year in Paris, perfecting his French. He was hired for an internship at Catholic Relief Services (CRS) last summer, working in a department that collaborates on projects in more than 100 countries. At CRS, he says he has been exposed to both the financial and conceptual aspects of development, which have given him “a holistic view” of the field.

This spring he participated in the University’s Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults program and at the Easter vigil Mass on campus he became a Catholic. Domaas notes that joining the Church and studying at The Busch School, have been critical to his success at Catholic University. “I’ve realized the many ways that faith ties into my life,” he says. “I have a lot more joy. I understand that everything I do should be for a good cause.”