Could you imagine moving from one country to another? That is what one senior did in hopes of becoming a candidate for the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSCs).
Evarlyne Ndeti came to Cabrini back in 2017 under the guidance of the MSCs. Ndeti was born and raised in Kenya as a Catholic. Her brother was the one who first suggested that she become a sister back when Ndeti was in the fifth grade. They were washing clothes together when the idea was presented to her.
“Evarlyne, I want you to think of becoming a sister and make our family proud” is what her brother said to her.
Evarlyne pictured herself as a musician when she was a child. Evarlyne also recalled one visit with her father’s cousin, who is one of her mentors in her religious life.
“She put her veil on me and she told me I looked cute, but I disagreed and I gave the veil back. But from that point on I began to consider the possibility of becoming a sister,” Ndeti said.
She wasn’t completely convinced and decided to pursue her love for music by joining a ministry group in Kenya after she was finished with school. During her couple of years there, one priest would always call her “Sister Evarlyne” because he saw the potential for Evarlyne to become a sister. This led her to speak to her mother’s cousin, who is a priest, who then directed her to the MSCs.
After working with the MSCs, Ndeti along with sisters in Ethiopia and Swaziland had the chance to reflect on the choice to be a part of the religious order. She then enrolled at Cabrini, after recommendations from the sisters to continue her education during her time as a MSC Candidate.
Ndeti is majoring in social work and educational studies. She loved her experience of teaching young children when she was in Swaziland and she was also told by one of the sisters that she is a great listener and would make a good social worker, so she decided to double major.
She loves helping those who are oppressed or neglected. Her mother was an orphan and she also grew up befriending many who were disabled. When she found out that part of the MSCs’ mission is to spread love to those who are abandoned or neglected, that’s when she realized what she wanted to do with her life.
Ndeti has worked on many projects helping those in need. Last semester she focused on voter registration, and she did this through the Wolfington Center. She is the social work intern in the office there.
This semester she has partnered with Information Technology and Resources (ITR) in order to get more laptops for students to borrow. Dr. Ray Ward, the Wolfington Center director, was a large help in this project as well. These past few semesters students have needed their own laptops more than ever.
She got the idea while staying in New York over the Thanksgiving break while talking to another sister. Ndeti originally went to just say hello to the sister. The sister had asked what she was going to do for her next project, and Ndeti thought about it for a minute and came up with the idea.
Ndeti faced many hurdles in the process of getting the laptops, but none more challenging than writing the grant. It took her about four months to write and it took a lot of editing to get it right. Ndeti and ITR were awarded the grant, and the next step was figuring out what type of laptops to get. She decided against Chromebooks. While cheap, they are not exactly the best for college students.
Students can borrow the laptops through the loaner program. The laptop loaner policy is run through ITR and the Holy Spirit Library. Ndeti hopes the next social work intern for the Wolfington Center can continue on the program.
Ndeti has come a long way, touching many people along the way. She hopes to continue helping others in need as long as she can.
